MV Oleanda carries spectators at the America's Cup [1]
Saturday, November 30, 2002 - 09:00. Updated on Thursday, February 18, 2016 - 19:01.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.
Tonga’s little cruise ship, the M.V. Oleanda, has sailed to Auckland, New Zealand, to offer its services as a support ship for the America’s Cup yacht races.
David Hunt of the Royal Sunset Island Resort, an owner of the Oleanda, said the Captain Masi Uta‘atu and nine Tongan crew were ferrying spectators out to the race track, during the 67 days of racing for the Louis Vuitton Cup, and also offering catering and entertainment facilities at the wharf for corporate clients and others throughout the major international event.
It has been called the clash of titans, where yachts represent the ultimate in power and speed from around the world. Starting on October 1, the races, some two hours long, over six legs, three upwind and three downwind, cover 18 nautical miles. There are three months of Challenger races, the victor to meet Team New Zealand, holder of the Cup, in February.
The Oleanda is tied up at Auckland’s Princes Wharf, outside the Hilton Hotel, in the berth usually occupied by the Spirit of New Zealand, which is away at the moment. The Sunsail offices in New Zealand are contracting the business for Oleanda.
David sailed with the Oleanda down to Opua in the Bay of Islands, at the end of September, but he said when they continued down the North Island coast to Auckland, they struck 50 knot winds and high seas, “I had forgotten how bad the New Zealand weather can get, particularly around Cape Brett,” said David.
The Oleanda, a 39 metre cruiser with 19 cabins, has been based in the sheltered waters of Tonga’s Vava‘u group for the last two years, where the Coral Island Cruises offers tours of the archipelago.