One of the world's great superyachts has been berthed this week at Napier Port with some mystery about whether its owner is in town and how long it was staying.
The 58.04-metre Ethereal, is owned by Silicon Valley inventor Bill Joy and his wife Shannon. It was built to house up to 10 people in five luxury cabins, was thought to have arrived on Sunday night.
It remained in port yesterday, dwarfed by the 311metre-long cruise liner Voyager of the Seas, which arrived about 7am yesterday with 3130 passengers.
A seagull atop the yacht's 60-metre foremast still appeared to have a bird's eye view of the grass deck and pool atop the people-moving behemoth.
Designed by New Zealand yachting visionary Ron Holland and built by Royal Huisman Ship in Vollenhove in the Netherlands, Ethereal was launched late in 2008.