Bidder wins yacht for just $480,000
A Wanaka woman is set to pocket $480,000 from the sale of her 1944 yacht – a far cry from the $1 reserve at which the Trade Me auction began.
Fiona Campbell said she had not yet been in contact with the successful bidder, who is believed to be based in Christchurch, but was feeling confident the sale of the 20-metre schooner Ruah would go through.
After her divorce in 2015, Campbell decided it was time to sell the 73-year-old Staysail Schooner she had bought for her former husband, and enter the new year with one less thing to worry about.
During the two weeks that Ruah was listed online, it attracted about 163,000 page views and more than 140 bids.
Bidding passed the $500,000 mark last week, but Campbell said a handful of illegitimate bids had to be removed by Trade Me, including one made by a schoolaged child.
Other than that, the auction had run smoothly, and Campbell was happy with the result, despite the vessel being insured for $800,000. It was listed on a marine broker’s website for $795,000.
‘‘Mentally, I was happy with $1,’’ she said. ‘‘That’s the thing. So obviously half a million dollars is fantastic. It would have been good, but slightly heartbreaking, to sell her for a song.’’
During the course of the auction, Campbell had several offers to swap the boat for blocks of land or other boats, and even fielded a marriage proposal.
She said the auction process had been a positive experience, and she had enjoyed the bidding banter on Trade Me, where she answered close to 100 questions.
The long-distance cruising vessel was designed and built for the Australian navy in 1944 as a survey ship and had undergone an extensive ‘‘high-quality conversion to become a supremely capable and comfortable private yacht’’, Campbell said.
It will remain moored at Chaffers Marina in Wellington until the buyer is contacted and arrangements for its travel are made.
Under Trade Me’s guidelines, if a seller is unable to contact the winning bidder, or the buyer refuses to complete the sale, the auction can be relisted.