Sunday 21 November

This weekend marked the end of Round Robin Two of the Louis Vuitton Cup, an excuse for every one to hang up their oilies and head for the nearest bar. It wasn’t all beer swilling throughout the entire weekend, as at least 90 per cent of the America’s Cup entourage spent Saturday night in the company of Pavarotti, who was singing to Auckland as part of his world tour.

Another famous face around the village this weekend was Ellen MacArthur, on a flying visit to Martin Marine, Auckland to check on the construction of her new Vendee Globe yacht.

The superyacht Independence has finally found a friend in the village marina with the arrival of Hyperion, owned by Jim Clark, the Netscape billionaire. The systems on board this new 48m superyacht are amongst the most advanced in the world and include a computer controlled wine cellar.

A million visitors have now visited the village, the numbers continue to increase as New Zealand moves into summer and the competition on the water hots-up. Even between the rounds there is a constant stream of visitors coming to enjoy the free concerts and street artists performing along the waterfront.