$33m superyacht turns Tauranga heads

Evviva the superyacht will stay in Tauranga for a few days before heading up to Auckland. Photo / Ruth Keber

A superyacht worth millions and equipped with its own helicopter will be docked in Tauranga Harbour for the next few days.

The 50m vessel, Evviva, arrived yesterday morning. It is reportedly worth $33.3 million and weighs 500 tonnes.

The superyacht was built in 2006 in the United States.

The boat can sleep up to 12 guests in six suites and can carry up to 12 crew on board.

The vessel is owned by Bayliner Marine founder John Orin Edson, according to various superyacht websites.

According to Forbes, Mr Edson, who served during the Korean War, purchased the brand name Bayliner for $100 and started a company to build affordable plywood motorboats. He sold Bayliner to The Brunswick Corporation in 1986 for $425 million and spent some years cruising the world on Evviva.

Tauranga Bridge Marina manager Tony Arnold said the crew on board were sworn to secrecy as to who was on board.

"They had got some people on board who are enjoying the boat. I don't know who they are but the captain is an American chap and they will be in and out of the marina dropping people off and picking people up."

Nine crew were on board the boat.

The captain of the yacht had contacted the Tauranga Bridge Marina a week ago and said they were on their way to the area, he said.

The vessel had made its way around the South Island, stopped in Wellington, and would continue to Auckland after its stay in Tauranga.

Mr Arnold said there was not a berth large enough in the marina to hold the vessel so they suggested it anchor in the middle of the harbour.

The vessel would be in the harbour until the end of the week to wait out the bad weather coming, he said.