Millennium Cup Debrief
The Millennium cup!
New Zealand’s largest and most iconic superyacht regatta, hosted by a beautiful Auckland city to start the month of February 2025. The regatta was made up of two divisions bringing in some of the finest super yachts from around the globe. This regatta, I was sailing on board Lion New Zealand in the Pacific cup devision.
Lion New Zealand is a historic New Zealand Ocean Racing Yacht, Built for the Whitbread Round the World Ocean Race which to this day is labelled ‘The Ocean Race’. The yacht team which raced in the 1985-86 edition of the race, skippered and helmed by NZ great Sir Peter Blake finished the race 2nd overall. 40 years later and the yacht is owned and maintained by the NZ Sailing Trust, and is now used as an educational vessel.
Over the course of 16 years the Trust has given over 30,000 kids the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a sailor, teaching them seamanship skills which can light the spark for the next generation of sailors. Thanks to the Royal New Zealand Yacht squadron, Doyle Sails and The NZ Sailing Foundation I was lucky enough to be a part of a youth U30’s crew, sailing in the pacific division and was nominated to helm this historic yacht.
The forecast for the regatta was looking light, our main competitors being the other NZ Sailing trust boat Steinlager 2. It was Peter Blake's second boat to compete in the Whitbread race which went on to win in the 1989-99 edition. The 30T Lion NZ boat was tough to get to grips with, keeping the heavy boat powered up and rumbling along the race course with a light and shifty breeze required incredible attention, continuous trimming of the sails and adjusting course. The crew was made up of a youth U30’s team, ranging from under 20’s involved in the youth training scheme to fellow graduates of the program like myself, people whom I used to sail with and against.
During the regatta we were incredibly fortunate to have an on board coach and mentor who doubled as our boat captain, a name well recognised in the sailing world and 5 x Volvo Ocean Race winner Stu Bannatyne. Not only was he able to tell us some great stories from his incredible yachting career but he was able to share with us his knowledge of boat handling, boat management, communication skills and navigation techniques. His presence on board in conjunction with a well put together crew we were able to get Lion NZ around the course in good shape taking 2nd place in our first 2 races of day 1.
Day 2 greeted us with no wind, we waited patiently for the breeze to fill in and as predicted by forecasts it did. After completing some practice starts before race 3, we set off the start line which was classed by the race committee as “ The best start of the regatta ”. Our navigator and my close friend Josh Wijohn got us to the top of the upwind beat in good fashion, picking the correct shifts and using the outgoing tide to our advantage. After rounding our windward waypoint Rakino Island we popped the Shute and slid down to the finish, crossing the line in a well deserved 2nd place.
The regatta was governed by the ORC handicap system, giving boats a (more or less) equal chance to win based on how well you sail your boat around the course. Our main competitors had now turned to a well rated yacht Hikurere, who was proving hard to beat on corrected time.
We motored out to the race course with a good south-westerly breeze behind us and the sun shining, final race day 3 was shaping up to be a good one. Off the line we beat to windward to then round a laid mark and bear away to hoist the gennaker. We battled with our close friends on the classic yacht Innismara on the downwind run, and created a good gap with Hikurere. Our main goal being to finally beat them and get a race win. The race course consisted of observing a few islands and rounding some laid marks, we had to time right our spinnaker drops and hoists in conjunction with wind shifts, wind builds and the wind shadows of islands. Doing all of this at the right time around the race track was key for taking the race win.
Not in favour of the wind gods we were smacked with a rough wind shift on the final upwind beat giving Hikurere the chance to slide up the inside and take the win on line and corrected time. A tough lesson, however a 2nd place was earned and celebrated by the team, a consistent scorecard landed us a 2nd place overall!
The Millennium Cup overall was a fantastic regatta, the race committee able to deliver the fleet 4 amazing races which was first thought to be a hard task given the light forecast. Prize giving was loud as sailors celebrated their wins or losses over beers and cocktails. The Lion NZ crew were summoned on stage to claim 2nd place reward, I took the honours of taking the mic and delivering a speech. Thanking the regatta sponsors, organisers and race committee, and dedicating our 2nd place to the NZ Sailing Trust. The real heroes of our sport.
I had a fantastic time as I was able to set sail with some old mates and make some new ones racing around on the beautiful Hauraki Gulf. I learned new techniques and skills that will prove to be useful in the coming years of my sailing career. It was an awesome opportunity to network with people and sail beside a legend of the sport Stu Bannatyne.
My time In New Zealand now comes to an end as I venture back out to Europe chasing my dreams. Relocating to Europe is a necessary step to achieving my goals, there are exciting upcoming adventures that await and I look forward to sharing them with you.
Hasta la vista New Zealand