Quick whiff of luxury can be yours for $350

By ALAN PERROTT

Aucklanders have been given a rare opportunity to step aboard the playthings of the rich and famous, thanks to an Italian thief.

The Inspiration superyacht tour is part of Sharon Ferris, Martha Parker and Joanna White's plan to refloat their Olympic dream after their $65,000 racing yacht was stolen from outside an Italian hotel.

The trio have resorted to an ageing boat as they chase qualification for the 2004 Olympics, but a few kind words from some well-connected friends have convinced four superyacht owners to open up their vessels for $350 a head to help their fundraising.

The trio's first tour around the Viaduct Basin yesterday took in three multimillion-dollar New Zealand-built yachts, Mari-Cha III, Destination and Sariyah, and the Italian motor yacht Cannon Ten.

First up is Mari-Cha III, a ketch with a split personality.

The 44.7m yacht is at present in cruise mode with her dark, wooden interiors echoing the mood of a country manor.

Her British owner, Robert Miller, is serious about racing so every inch of finely tooled panelling and fittings from televisions to dishwasher can be removed, stripping away more than 1.5 tonnes.

Mari-Cha has reached 34 knots in full flight and regularly cruises at a healthy 20. Mr Miller is looking forward to defending the superyacht crown, the Millennium Cup, on the Hauraki Gulf next year.

Destination, $40 million worth of floating luxury, is barely a month old and still smells new, or maybe that was the smell of money.

Wooden panels, leather seats, wall-to-wall carpeting, touch-screen remotes, art-laden walls, air-conditioning, marble fittings and, naturally, computers that do everything but make the coffee.

Eighty workers slogged away for 22 months to complete the 41m (134ft) yacht in time for the America's Cup and her anonymous owner has already given his toy a personal makeover.

The many paintings on display are by New Zealand artists and his musical leanings are shown by the bust of Louis Armstrong, the saloon's centrepiece, and three large crystal replicas of a trumpet, violin and saxophone.

Nearby Sariyah is about comfortable, lived-in luxury.

The 8-year-old 42.6m ketch is owned by Saudi Arabian businessman Isam Kabbani, and his influence gives an exotic flavour to the American east coast stylings.

The wooden panels are a light, nutty brown, the ceiling is mushroomy suede and you can scrunch your toes in the carpet, but much of the floor is covered in Persian rugs.

The regulation nautical paintings are broken up by an Arabian portrait and an engraved Arabic inscription, and above the rich blue bedspread in the master bedroom is a large painting of a ruler's harem.

As cosy as it feels, and it feels very cosy, Sariyah is also a racing yacht and came second in the transatlantic race in 1997.

On the other side of Te Wero Island is Cannon Ten and she is a different speed altogether, the only motor yacht of the tour and the only boat built overseas.

She was constructed in Italy for a Chinese Minister of Defence and was then bought by an American now sailing with the Oracle team.

Cannon Ten has a light-coloured interior with deco-styled Italian glass insets, giving it the air of a floating nightclub.