The Millennium Cup runneth over after delay N
ow in its 15th year, the Bay of Islands’ Millennium Cup is the longest-running superyacht regatta in the South Pacific, but the 2021 version wasn’t all plain sailing.
The regatta was delayed thanks to the latest Auckland Covid-19 lockdown, but the fleet finally made it to Russell at the end of March for three days of racing under a new scoring system.
The first day’s racing was in the rain, the Ron Holland-designed Tawera battling it out with Miss Silver, a 36.2 metre sloop, which was declared the winner by a margin of just four seconds.
The bulk of the fleet was escorted out to the start of the second day’s race by a pod of dolphins, which might have been a good omen for Sassafras, a Royal Huisman-built yacht of 34.3 metres and captained by Tim Michalick, which took line honours in both the day’s events, albeit with Miss Silver still in the lead overall.
Unstable weather conditions forced the cancellation of the third day’s racing, gifting the overall honours to Miss Silver, which won all three handicap races.
Meanwhile, in between races, the crews swapped their sails for oars, jumping into skiffs and battling it out for the top prize, a 20-litre barrel of Mount Gay rum. The crew from Aschanti IV overcame questionable technique to be the first to return to the beach but forgot to run to the finishing barrel, which cost them the race.
Catalina’s team started strongly in the first heat before an in-boat tumble took its toll, limited skill but plenty of enthusiasm seeing Tawera’s Foul Play power ahead to take the prize.