Cup hype ends era for sailboat

By Nick Perry

A year moored at Dargaville costs a boat-owner less than a day tied up in the America's Cup-hyped Viaduct Basin.

That simple economic fact has led to Auckland's icon of the waves, the 90-year-old kauri sailboat Te Aroha, heading to the Kaipara Harbour in Northland.

For 15 years Aucklanders Mike and Dee Pigneguy have run eco-tours on the 30m boat, sailing from the basin to Hauraki Gulf islands.

But yesterday, Mr Pigneguy said outrageous increases in mooring fees, now around $100 a day, had forced them to sell up. Only developers and super-yacht owners could afford to be on the waterfront.

Another charter-boat owner, Geoff Parsonage, described life on the basin as a nightmare for boat operators. He is awaiting a court hearing in July over his right to a place in the inner viaduct during the cup competition.

The America's Cup Village has said that it is happy to accommodate charter-boat owners as long as they are prepared to pay the going market rates.

The Te Aroha was built in 1909 in Northland from a single kauri tree. It initially operated out of Napier as a cargo vessel, then for about 50 years from Nelson, during which time it is said to have crossed Cook Strait 10,000 times.

Mr Pigneguy said that at first he ran a passenger and cargo service to Great Barrier Island. But some people slept on the floor for the round trip to experience the scenery, making him think that eco-tours might be viable.

The Kaipara couple buying the boat, Avin and Donna Curel, said they intended taking tours to unexplored sandy beaches and showcasing wildlife in the Kaipara Harbour. One trip would offer the public a chance to see the last sunset of the millennium.

First priority this week was getting to the west coast. The Curels plan to sail from Whangarei around North Cape to the harbour - a journey they say is more arduous than any attempted on the Te Aroha for many years.