Dennis Conner, who was in New Plymouth to compete in the Ross 780 national championships, was reported in a local newspaper saying he loved the place and picked Team NZ to win the America's Cup.
However, when a certain other American star by the name of Tom Cruise was mentioned, Connerreplied: "Tom who? I thought I was the only celebrity in town."
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Designers of SUI64 are confident their boat has gained around 20s to 30s around the 18.5-mile America's Cup course since it was launched in November 2001. Alinghi bosses feel the new-generation boats are about a minute faster around the same course than NZL60 was in 2000. Time will tell.
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Still with the Alinghi boat - the Swiss have spent 1100 hours fine-tuning SUI64 in on-water testing and training.
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High-performance cruisers took out the top prizes in both divisions of the Millennium Cup regatta which finished in Auckland yesterday.
Prada tactician Torban Grael steered the 112ft sloop Ipanema to victory in division one, while Prada helmsman Gavin Brady had the wheel on the Dutch 80ft sloop Innovision which won division two.
Fifty-five yachts took part in the four-day regatta, which involved two days of racing out on the gulf and then a race to Kawau Island and back.
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A Whangarei pie maker is sailing into familiar territory with a Black Velvet pie.
Regency Pies has produced a series of special pies to mark New Zealand sporting events in recent years, including David Tua's world heavyweight title fight "tua tua" pie and the Warriors NRL "stuffed roosters" grand final appearance.
Owner Dennis Lyall said producing the pies was a way for his team to show support for New Zealand's sporting heroes.
The Black Velvet pie has a gamey mix of venison and red wine, with a secret herb and spice recipe.
