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The America’s Cup is paying a special visit to Gulf Harbour Yacht Club this week, on Friday, September 22, ahead of its official tour around the country, which starts next month.
Since it was won by Team NZ in June and held high at parades around the country, the cup has rarely left the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron’s headquarters in Auckland. Gulf Harbour is only the second yacht club to host the cup – it was recently on display at Peter Burling’s home club, Tauranga Yacht Club.
The visit provides an opportunity for locals to see the famous cup up close and take photographs, which organisers of the visit hope will help encourage more young people to take up sailing. Other local sailing clubs have been invited, as well as schools, sponsors and Hibiscus Coastguard.
Peter Clarke of Gulf Harbour Yacht Club says that the visit is a privilege for the club and came about due to strong links between its members and the Royal NZ Yacht Squadron. This includes Sheryl Lanigan, who lives on the Coast and is on the Yacht Squadron’s general committee. She says the squadron is keen to share the cup around and show the amount of support that was behind the campaign. “We want to inspire kids to get involved in the sport, at grass roots level,” she says.
There are also a number of locals involved with Team NZ who live locally, including logistics and base manager Andy Nottage.
Royal NZ Yacht Squadron general manager Hayden Porter, who lives in Stanmore Bay, will accompany the Cup to Gulf Harbour.
The cup will be on display to the public on Friday, September 22, from 3.30pm–5.30pm. A gold coin donation is requested, which will be put towards repair of the club’s safety/patrol boat’s engine.
