Cruise and view the America's Cup

By ROBIN BAILEY

While many of the super-plush boats here for the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series and Team New Zealand's America's Cup defence are the preserve of the world's super-rich, the 40m Oleanda is in a class of its own.

Visitors to Princes Wharf over the past few weeks will already have spied Oleanda - at 300 tonnes and with three large decks it is hard to miss, either at its berth alongside the Maritime Museum or towering above the spectator fleet out on the water.

Originally built in Suva in 1974, the ship was for 25 years the flagship for the world-famous Blue Lagoon cruises fleet, taking passengers through the remote and stunningly beautiful Yasawa Islands.

In 1999, its present owners, Tongan-based Coral Island Cruises, bought Oleanda. The company is jointly owned by four businessmen, including two New Zealanders well-known to the boating fraternity - Shane Walker, managing director of charter company Sunsail, and David Hunt, owner of the Royal Sunset Island Resort, a Tonga-based holiday resort long popular with Kiwis.

After an extensive, four-month refit, the refurbished cruise ship was based predominantly in Vavau, a picturesque island group at the northern edge of the Kingdom of Tonga. From there it cruised the Tongan and Pacific waters, voyaging south through the Haiapai group to Tongatapu (Tonga's largest island and home to the kingdom's capital) and across to Fiji and Samoa.

Capable of cruising for long periods at a comfortable 10 knots, Oleanda made the journey to Auckland in just 5 1/2 days, arriving in late September, in time for the Louis Vuitton and America's Cup regattas.

"We decided to bring Oleanda here for the Cup because she provides such a superb platform for spectators," says Walker whose company is managing the ship and handling bookings while it is in New Zealand.

"She is also the ideal party boat," he laughs. "Capable of carrying up to 120 passengers, one of her biggest advantages is that all of those people can be accommodated on a single, elevated level.

"Unlike other big charter vessels in the spectator fleet, our customers don't have to split up. They can remain together and all enjoy fantastic, high-level views of the racing."

Also, in contrast to many of the bigger charter vessels, most of which are also harbour ferries, Oleanda does not need to be back at the dock at a certain time to meet a tight commuter schedule.

"This has proved to be a huge advantage for some of our charter groups," says Walker. "When the racing is delayed, as it so often is, many others have to head home halfway through the racing.

"We can stay out until the end so our clients can see all the racing regardless of when it finishes. One of the other things people really like about Oleanda is that she is a 300-tonne ship and is very, very stable.

"Oleanda doesn't bob about and rock and roll. She just sits there, hardly moving, even in an uncomfortable beam sea, which is great news for those who are wary of the dreaded sea-sickness."

Since her arrival at Princes Wharf, the island queen has attracted plenty of attention and not only as the ultimate party boat.

As well as bookings for both the big regattas, Sunsail has also had interest from corporates, from people wanting a special dinner cruise and from couples looking for a unique venue for their wedding.

Walker again: "We cruise at a comfortable 10 knots, have 19 refurbished double guest cabins, a commercial galley designed to cater for large groups, a well-stocked bar and there's TV for those who want to watch Pete Montgomery as well as the actual racing."

Oleanda will be Auckland-based until April.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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