Former Team New Zealand grinder Simon Greenwood's seat for the regatta - a luxurious superyacht. Video / Dean Purcell
When former Team New Zealand grinder Simon Greenwood finished up his sailing career, there were some things he never saw coming.
One, that America's Cup boats would fly, and two, that he and his partner Charlotte Devereux would be watching the 36th edition of the regatta from their very own superyacht on Auckland's waters.
"I'm really not sure how that happened," Greenwood laughed, when asked how he went from grinder to superyacht owner.
"We've always loved boats and my partner and I fell in love with this one and wanted to rejuvenate her."
Greenwood was a grinder on Kiwi Magic in the 1987 America's Cup - the first challenge by a New Zealand team - and spent years as part of the Kiwi sailing scene.
Devereux herself has America's Cup links, with her great uncle Terry Hammond having been the first New Zealander to race in the event in 1962 for Australia, before Team NZ was formed.
The pair's boating background had them drawn to the idea of investing in their own boat in 2018, before setting eyes on the classic 31m multi-million dollar motor yacht Sea Breeze III - originally built in Australia as Ulysses in 1976 and later owned by Kiwi billionaire Graeme Hart.
"Simon and I decided we wanted to get a small boat and before we knew it, we discovered this beautiful girl and fell in love," Devereux said. "But I don't think we knew what we were getting into."
Greenwood and Devereux set out on a mission to give Sea Breeze III a new lease on life. But the ambitious renovation quickly became more than they bargained for.
Simon Greenwood and Charlotte Devereux onboard the motor yacht Seabreeze III. Photo / Supplied
"I think we were quite naïve. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into and what we thought was going to be a six-month re-fit turned into two years," Devereux said.
The Covid-19 pandemic and last year's level 4 lockdown heavily disrupted the schedule, before Auckland's recent level 3 restrictions made things tricky getting the boat into the city of sails from Whangārei where it was being done up.
Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, the possibility of a tsunami in parts of the North Island last week threatened to destroy everything - with the couple forced to abandon ship and run for the hills.
"You could make a movie about it, it's that crazy," Greenwood said.
Devereux added at times, it was difficult to stay positive.
"We've had so many things happen along the way and there have been times we thought, 'this is crazy, what are we doing?' so there's been highs and lows.
"But it's incredible seeing this amazing team of people to bring this mission to fruition."
Having watched the first day of the America's Cup aboard Sea Breeze III with invited guests, Greenwood was relieved to see it come together.
He was also relieved to see Team NZ start the America's Cup with a win in race one, and is confident they'll successfully defend the Auld Mug.
"Team NZ clearly has some boat speed, we almost came from behind in the second race so we're looking pretty good," he said. "It was a little bit balanced, and we had a bit of excitement, I think we'll win or I'd like to think we'll win, it's good to have a 1-1 situation where it's not one-sided ... but I think we'll do well."
Sea Breeze III can host up to 60 guests each race day, with some spots still available through Boutique Superyachts.
Heading into the Cup racing?
• Give yourself plenty of time and think about catching a ferry, train or bus to watch the Cup.
• Make sure your AT HOP card is in your pocket. It's the best way to ride.
• Don't forget to scan QR codes with the NZ COVID Tracer app when on public transport and entering the America's Cup Village.
