Cup boat owner tells of rust woe

Urgent work was needed to get rid of rust marks on the superyacht Ultimate Lady to make her "presentable" for high-paying clients watching the Americas Cup, the High Court in Auckland heard yesterday.

But although the paintwork was cut and polished, the craft had to be repainted several months later. Repainting, plus ancillary work, cost $385,000.

Ultimate Lady Ltd, which charters the 27m catamaran to well-heeled clients, blames its rust problems on a former Japanese fishing vessel, the Northern Challenger, which was having work done on it at a Tauranga wharf in February last year.

It is claimed that particles of rusty iron filings caused by angle-grinding off the rail guard of the Northern Challenger carried to the Ultimate Lady, which was also at the wharf, damaging its paintwork.

Alan Hassall, QC, and David Allan, representing the Northern Challenger, deny that the fishing vessel was at fault. They say the contamination could have come from other boats in the area.

The Ultimate Lady had the Northern Challenger arrested. It remains in Tauranga pending the outcome of the court case.

Yesterday Iain Thain, appearing with Neil Beadle for the Ultimate Lady Ltd, told Justice Hugh Williams of the efforts made to spruce up the craft for cup customers.

It was extensively cut and polished to get rid of the rust spots, said Mr Thain, in an effort to make her "presentable."

Mr Thain told the judge that the grinder operators had been warned about the possibility of damage to the Ultimate Lady.

Ultimate Lady's master, Simon Jennings, had returned to find it covered in iron filings and had shouted at the grinders to stop.

He had said that the wind was blowing towards the Ultimate Lady from the Northern Challenger.

An attempt was made to hose away the iron filings, but Mr Thain said the scientific evidence was that iron filings didn't hose off.

He said that the craft, which was 18 months old had to be painted about seven years earlier than would have otherwise been necessary.

He said that Northern Challenger's owner, Victor Bracken, had signed a berthage licence and had a duty not to damage any other vessel in the refit wharf.

Mr Thain dismissed other sources, including volcanic ash, as the cause of the rust. The weight of evidence, he said, was that it was caused by iron filings.

He said that a metallurgist had given evidence that samples of particles from the Ultimate Lady were consistent with coming from the Northern Challenger guard rail.

Justice Williams reserved his decision.