A flotilla of 90 Riviera luxury motor yachts made a spectacular sight as they cruised through Auckland Harbour in support of Emirates Team New Zealand.Â
The impressive armada of enthusiastic Riviera owners, one of the largest ever assembled in the 41-year history of Australia’s largest luxury motor yacht builder, was organised by New Zealand representative R Marine Flagship.
The flotilla featured Riviera motor yachts from 10.4m to 22m in length cruising from the Auckland Harbour Bridge on Saturday morning (March 13), heading to prime vantage points for the much-anticipated day’s racing in front of North Head and Rangitoto Island.
The fleet headed in a two-by-two configuration creating two separate convoy lines more than 2km long. Each line was led by Riviera’s flagship 72 Sports Motor Yachts, with another two at the convoy’s end.
Dealer principal of R Marine Flagship Dean Horgan said Rivieras’s impressive line heralded the start of a weekend of camaraderie and enjoyment by the Riviera family as the Cup racing took place.
“It was a wonderful opportunity for Riviera owners to share such a great event with their friends and the Riviera family while watching the fast-paced action unfold,” said Dean.
“We had an overwhelming response to this special outing for our Riviera motor yacht owners with 90 yachts enthusiastically attending on the day. The support and passion for this exclusive event was incredible.”
“This was the largest gathering of Riviera’s since our record-breaking raft-up in February last year.”
That raft-up in February marked the start of celebrations in 2020 for Riviera’s 40 years of evolution with a record flotilla of 106 Riviera luxury motor yachts joined together at Awaawaroa Bay, Waiheke Island, to create a massive circle measuring 234-metre in diameter.
A memorable experience for all, Riviera has a very strong following in New Zealand, with more than 600 Rivieras now cruising local waters since the first Riviera’s arrival in 1984.
“We’re ecstatic by the number of Riviera motor yacht owners who took part in this awesome event,” said Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst.
“It is a credit to the hard work of the team at R Marine Flagship for bringing the Riviera family together in such a spectacular way, and what an incredible outcome with the win by Team NZ this afternoon. Last weekend was truly amazing for all concerned, reflecting the fantastic efforts by our representatives around the world to deliver outstanding boating experiences for our owners, their family and friends.”
