INDEPENDENT NEWS

America’s Cup set to visit the Wanaka Yacht Club

Published: Mon 25 Sep 2017 10:07 AM
America’s Cup set to visit the Wanaka Yacht Club
The Wanaka Yacht Club is inviting the local community to have lunch with one of the world’s most coveted trophies – the America’s Cup – when it travels to Wanaka next month.
The Auld Mug will visit Wanaka for the first time ever on Monday, October 16, accompanied by members of Team NZ and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
To celebrate the visit, the Wanaka Yacht Club is hosting a free event for the general public to come and view the Cup, take a selfie and have lunch with some of the Kiwi sailing team such as platform coordinator and sailor Richard Meacham, performance engineer Nick Hutchins, on-water operations manager Chris Salthouse, Sean Regan (shore team coordination/boat-building team) and team chef Harry Lynskey. RNZYS committee member Richard Wingfield will also attend.
Wanaka Yacht Club commodore Jeff Mercer says the event provides a rare opportunity to view the distinguished America’s Cup in person.
“We feel very privileged that Team NZ and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron are bringing the Cup to a small town like Wanaka,” he says. “It’s hugely important for the local community to see it – the America’s Cup is one of the oldest trophies in world sporting history and it’s extremely difficult to get your hands on it. We may never get it back here again.”
The Cup will visit Mount Aspiring College from 11.30am-midday before heading to the Wanaka Yacht Club on Lakeside Road from 12-2pm. From 12-1.30pm at the club, food and coffee will be available to purchase from Federal Diner and Raspberry Creek’s mobile food stall, for an alfresco community lunch beside the Cup.
A VIP table will be set up outside the facility for the members of Team NZ, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and supporters of the Wanaka Yacht Club. Mercer says the event provides an ideal opportunity to appreciate the club’s six Wanaka sponsors and donors – Ray White, Kai Whakapai, Fiordland Expeditions, Hard-Case Construction, Paterson Pitts Group and an anonymous individual, as well as the Lion Foundation – who helped fund the O’pen BIC boats for the Club’s nationally respected youth sailing programme.
“We put a lot of consideration into our youth sailing programme and getting the America’s Cup here is extremely important to our young sailors and our sponsors,” Mercer says. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for them to see the Cup up close and have a photo with it – it really shows that if you dream big, you can get there.”
Only three sponsorship positions are now available for the Wanaka Yacht Club’s youth sailing programme and interested business or individuals can contact the Wanaka Yacht Club for more information.
ENDS

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