Celandine Brief

Celandine Luxury Yacht Charter & Superyacht News

Sailing yacht Kaori by Palmer Johnson completes Refit in New Zealand

November 16, 2010

After an extensive 12 months refit, sailing yacht Kaori (ex Mandalay) is back in the water, rigs in, and currently undergoing sea trials in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. S/Y Kaori is likely to be ready to head offshore for an owner’s cruise around 16 November.

Sailing yacht Kaori and S/Y Celandine on the slipway – Photo courtesy of 37 South Ltd

Sailing yacht Kaori and S/Y Celandine on the slipway – Photo courtesy of 37 South Ltd

The 125 foot schooner Kaori built by Palmer Johnson in 1991 and designed by well known C.W. Payne yacht designers, was formerly known as sailing yacht Mandalay.

Sailing yacht Kaori (Japanese for Fragrant Breeze) has under gone extensive engineering and paintwork, the project was managed by Phil Tomlinson of 37 South Ltd and was undertaken by the Auckland ship yard, Titan Marine.

The yacht arrived in New Zealand last year after a cruise from the west coast of the USA. After the vessel is launched it will continue on its world cruise. It is privately owned and used extensively by its owner.

The S/Y Celandine also visited New Zealand over the 2009/2010 summer and whilst here took the opportunity to also take advantage of 37 South and Titan Marine’s expertise and had a short yard period for servicing and paint touch ups.

It was wonderful to see both yachts on the slipway together taking advantage of the marine skills available in New Zealand.

NZ Marine Cup

March 09, 2010

On the 4th of March 2010 the first NZ Marine Cup was held. The race began at New Zealand’s Auckland Harbour, with scenic Kawau Island as their destination which lies in the Hauraki Gulf, (40 km  north of Auckland), and 1.4km off the North Auckland shore.

The race included a small fleet of superyachts that set sail late in the morning on Thursday 4 March for the first NZ Marine Cup, hosted by the New Zealand Marine Export Group (NZ Marine). This one-off race saw the beautifully-crafted superyachts SY Drumbeat, SY Shenandoah and SY Celandine as the official entries for the Kiwi Kawau Challenge.

The beautiful, classic three-masted schooner Shenandoah was built in 1902. She is 54m (177 ft) in length with a steel-hull and a traditional timber superstructure.

Sailing yacht Drumbeat is a 174 ft (53 m) Dubois-designed, Alloy Yachts-built ketch that is back in New Zealand having scheduled maintenance work done according to Captain Michel Personnic.

Sailing yacht Celandine is a 95 ft (29m) cruising yacht that is visiting New Zealand while on a round-the-world cruise following a westerly direction. Sailing yacht Celandine arrived in New Zealand in October and has been undergoing some repairs and maintenance after more than a year at sea covering 17,000 nautical miles.

The course provided perfect sailing for the race with clear sunny skies and a good wind blowing. All three yachts had different start times allocated by race director Hal Wagstaff of the Royal New Zealand yacht Squadron. With the difference is start times, Sailing yacht drumbeat was across the finish lines first, with Sailing yachts Celandine and Shenandoah following. With the race completed entrants and spectators headed the Kawau for the prize giving and celebrated with a kiwi BBQ under a marquee setting pitched beside the historic landmark Mansion House.

With the times reconciled, the results were announced as follows:

1st place: Sailing yacht Celandine

2nd place: Sailing yacht Shenandoah

3rd place: Sailing yacht Drumbeat

The race was a great success that aimed to help profile New Zealand and Auckland as fantastic places for super yachts and their passengers to visit.