Twins join charter family

By ROBIN BAILEY


In a notable first for the charter-boat sector of Auckland's marine business, a pair of "twin" $300,000 Beneteau Oceanis 373 yachts have just been launched at Westhaven.

The Foxglove and Blue Planet went into the water just weeks after the first 373s were publicly unveiled in Europe. As numbers 113 and 114 off the production line, they are not only sisters but are also among the first 373s to be ordered from the yard, which produces about 3000 yachts each year.

The launching was a cause for celebration for the yachts' owners and a special moment for Shane Walker, managing director of Sunsail New Zealand, the charter operator based in Westhaven and operating in the Bay of Islands and out of Vavau in Tonga as well as in the Hauraki Gulf.

What he describes as a quite dramatic increase in demand from both overseas and local sailors had meant an urgent need to add new yachts to Walker's 17-boat New Zealand fleet. The Benetaus have boosted the company's fleet by four.

Walker is particularly happy that the new boats are owned by people who have previously had yachts in the Sunsail fleet. "It's a real vote of confidence in us and our way of managing the boats and producing a return for our owners," he says. "The yachts remain theirs, but we manage them to ensure they are not just sitting on a marina berth or a mooring and eating up money."

Walker credits a lot of the increasing international interest in chartering to the high levels of exposure our waters received during the America's Cup.

"Even though the cup has now been gone for more than a year, these people read about it, saw it on TV, and discovered that we have some great cruising here - particularly in the summer months.

"We also have some unique features. For example, Sunsail's cruising area ranges from the top of the Coromandel up to Mangonui. That's 180 nautical miles of coastline to explore - far, far more than is normally the case in places like the Mediterranean or Caribbean."

Walker emphasises that increased interest in chartering is not just coming from Americans, Europeans and Australians. More New Zealanders are discovering its convenience and cost-effectiveness.

"A lot of people are realising that it makes more sense to charter a boat when they want to go sailing rather than own it and coping with the ongoing maintenance worries," he says. "When they charter, they get to sail on the latest yachts from the world's major production boatbuilders and they also get a high level of appointments. Our top yachts have GPS, chart-plotter and autopilot, CD players, high-performance modern refrigeration systems and a very high level of style and comfort."

The cost of chartering is also a lot less than many people think.

"With our fleet of boats ranging from 9m to 15m, and worth from $200,000 to $300,000-plus, we can ensure the vessel is perfectly suited to those who charter it. The smaller yachts are ideal for a couple away on their own, while the bigger boats and the catamarans suit families and larger groups."

The rule of thumb is that it costs an average of $100 a person a day to charter a Sunsail yacht. That includes transport, accommodation and entertainment. "Once people start doing the sums, they realise that this is incredible value for money compared with staying in a luxury hotel or resort - and that it is much more fun."

Walker says the convenience factor is also important. "If you only have a week or two to go cruising in the Bay of Islands, you don't want to spend half that getting there and back. You can leave Auckland and be at our base on the dock in Opua a few hours later, ready to cast off right in the middle of the cruising grounds."

The company offers skippered and crewed options for those who don't want to take the helm.