North Shore cliff residents will be among those with grandstand views of one of the 36th America's Cup courses. Photo / NZPA
North Shore cliff residents will be among those with grandstand views of one of the 36th America's Cup courses. Photo / NZPA
Thousands of homes on both sides of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour will get clear views of the America's Cup races and estate agents are expecting the rental business to boom as the event approaches.
Properties ranging from humble baches on Rangitoto Island to cliff-top North Shore and Eastern Bays mansionswill get grandstand views of the flying AC75 monohulls, due to be released early next month, during the Prada and America's Cups between January and March 2021.
Some of the baches on Rangitoto Island will get a grandstand view. Photo / Jason Oxenham
As the aerial motion graphic by Herald designers Phil Welch and Nathan Meek shows, suburbs including Devonport, Narrow Neck, Cheltenham, Takapuna and Milford beaches, the ridges along Parnell, Orakei, Mission Bay, Kohimarama, St Heliers and Glendowie, Musick Point, Howick coastal areas and the ocean side of Bucklands Beach, and the eastern beach suburbs of Beachlands and Maraetai will get good views depending on the course.
Emirates Team New Zealand's boss Grant Dalton said the five courses - A, B, C, D and E – had been deliberately placed so that as many locals and visitors as possible could experience outdoor viewing without crowds of people in front or having to charter a boat.
The race course will be set each day by the regatta director, with racing due to start late afternoon. Dalton said the 4pm start meant the afternoon sea breeze would have built up enough to make racing in the inner harbour possible and less likely that thousands of spectators would turn up only to find the race had been cancelled.
During the 2003 America's Cup many race days were lost because the races were scheduled to start earlier, at 2pm, and racing was further out in the gulf. "They'd [the race boats] would float around waiting for breeze, motor back to base and into a perfect breeze for racing, " Dalton said.
Views from North Head will be among the best for the inner-harbour America's Cup course. Photo / Dean Purcell
He hoped the predominant course would be in the inner harbor which would give the best public viewing platforms including North Head, Bastion Pt and Narrow Neck. Spectators on Bastion Pt would be close enough to hear the AC75s whistling past, he said.
On race days when the wind direction means course E is the best option, Waiheke residents at the southwestern end, and residents of Beachlands and Maraetai across the water will get the best view.
The best views of the race
One of the cheapest places to stay with a potential view is the Auckland Council's Omana Clifftop Campground at Omana Regional Park near Beachlands, known for its sea views and farm animals. At $16 a night per person ($6.50 for kids between 5 and 17) Omana will be budget viewing, and free for day visitors to the park.
Spectators camping at Omana Regional Park will be able to see one of the America's Cup race courses from the cliff. Photo / supplied
With 16 months still to go before the Prada Cup challenger series, estate agents are already getting inquiries from Aucklanders planning to rent out their homes during the peak months. While it's too early to know what the demand will be, agents say rental rates will undoubtedly soar during the America's Cup.
Agents predict a shortage of the top-end executive homes – think designer kitchens, bedrooms with ensuites, swimming pools, media rooms – and say rents will be at a premium.
Kyria Warren, who has launched a new business Luxury LAS (Land, Air, Sea), to cater for the needs and whims of high-end clients, already has some executive properties on Waiheke – mansions with jetties and helicopter landing pads - which the owners will vacate during the cup and rent out for thousands of dollars a night.
Kyria Warren already has luxury homes ready to rent out for the America's Cup. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Owners of executive homes in Auckland's top suburbs Warren they will rent out their houses to America's Cup visitors.
Samantha Arnold, general manager of property management for Barfoot & Thompson doesn't think there will be a shortage of mid-range houses to accommodate the wide range of people wanting to experience the America's Cup.
"Just trying to get the properties we need for the [America's Cup] syndicates, we've come across hundreds of people who would be willing to rent out their properties at that time."
Barfoot's director Kiri Thompson predicts the shortage will be at the high end of the rental market, particularly those with sea views. For owners to uproot their families and move out for two or three months over the summer would be a major undertaking.
"It's not like the middle of winter when you can go off to Europe. So people who want to rent these places for three months should be prepared to pay quite a premium."
But Thompson warned that wealthy visitors would not pay "ridiculous" prices.
"You're not going to get $100,000 a week but you might get substantially more than in a normal rental."
