Super yacht’s surprise marina visit
Aucklanders have flocked to Westhaven Marina to catch a glimpse of and snap a photo next to one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world.
At almost 100 metres long, the super yacht Eos has been clearly visible from as far away as the Harbour Bridge since last week.
Eos means ‘‘the Greek goddess of dawn’’.
Eos was one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world, and as of 2009 was owned by movie and media billionaire Barry Diller, husband of fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, Wikipedia said. Some reports value the vessel in excess of US$150 million (NZ$217M).
Auckland man and boat enthusiast Bruce Leeg said he spotted the Eos as he was driving over the Harbour Bridge, and decided to go and get a closer look.
It was amazing to stand beneath it and ‘‘soak up the sheer size of the thing’’, he said.
‘‘It just makes me so incredibly proud to be a Kiwi,’’ he said.
‘‘Not only do these multimillion dollar boats come here for leisure, but a lot of them come for repairs or paint because we are some of the best in the world at maintaining excellence when it comes to boats - yachts in particular.’’
A crew member said Eos would be in Auckland for about a week.
‘‘We are all pretty flat out getting everything ready,’’ he said.