With the New Zealand Millennium Cup due to start tomorrow, organisers have elected to postpone the regatta in response to an elevated Covid alert level across New Zealand.

New Zealand Millennium Cup organisers have elected to postponed the regatta to March 2021.

With the event due to start tomorrow, organisers have postponed the Bay of Islands regatta due to precautionary Covid restrictions across the country. Racing will now be held 28 - 31 March in Russell, returning to the regatta’s Duke of Marlborough headquarters.

The regatta is run by the NZ Marine Export Group and promotes New Zealand’s cruising grounds and marine industry to international and domestic superyachts.

“As an event run to further the interests of the New Zealand marine industry, we feel a keen responsibility to our industry, superyacht owners, guests and crew, sponsors and the wider community to ensure we are taking every precaution possible,” says NZ Marine CEO, Peter Busfield.

“Postponing until late March allows us to still run an excellent event, supported by our sponsors, and our hosts, the Duke of Marlborough Hotel. Organisers expect the event to be well-supported by superyacht entrants post-America’s Cup .”

The regatta was first held alongside the 2000 America’s Cup, and was due to run from 15-18 February, 2021. It’s the longest running superyacht regatta in the South Pacific and has garnered a reputation for its camaraderie and fierce competition.

Coppercoat Pacific Limited will be making major announcements in the coming months, due to the success of its first 12 months in business. 

Coppercoat Pacific was begun in response to a lack of change within the traditional antifoul market. Antifoul is damaging to seabeds and has limited staying power; factors next-generation product, Coppercoat addresses. 

After introducing Coppercoat to the market last year, the company has now perfected a system that provides years of protection with a durable shell protecting all underwater sections of the boat. 

This change is brought about by the addition of best-of-type underwater surfaces coatings that complement Coppercoat Multi-Season Antifoul Coatings, creating an unrivalled, integrated, high-performance underwater surfaces coating system.

"Coppercoat is internationally acknowledged as the most environmentally-responsible antifoul coating in the world. Add to that our anti-foul remover, anti-corrosive primer and high-build barrier coatings fully embrace our ethic of only providing high-efficacy solutions to vessel owners with products that also help restore and protect our oceans and marine life," says Coppercoat Pacific's Richard Cleave. 

The largescale changes set to be announced in April will cement the work of Coppercoat Pacific which, over the last 12 months, has drastically improved anti-pollution, durability, and efficacy outcomes which New Zealand and Australian boats can expect from their coating systems. 

Subsurface Coating System
System characteristics include:

• Ablative antifoul removal with solvent-free, inert, non-toxic, non-corrosive biodegradable product. Eliminates damage caused to gelcoat and barrier coats often associated with abrasive blasting removal. Environmental pollution is eliminated. 

• 80% solids, self-priming, two-part epoxy anti-corrosive primer for aluminum, steel and lead substrates.

• 100% solids, solvent-free, two-part epoxy high-build barrier coat for all substrate types.

• Coppercoat Superyacht, Coppercoat Commercial and Coppercoat Multi-Season Antifoul Coatings have proven efficacy against biofouling for ten or more years. Coppercoat products comprise 100% pure recycled, ultrafine copper powder suspended in a water miscible two-part epoxy. They are solvent-free and contain no non-copper biocides. Coppercoat is impermeable, non-eroding and exceptionally durable providing substrate protection not available in ablative or foul-release antifouling.

• The two-part epoxy composition of Coppercoat can eliminate the time and cost of applying multiple undercoats and tie coats.

• The MAZU primer, MAZU barrier coating and Coppercoat can be applied in a continuous sequence creating a chemical bond between each coating. The chemical bond is infinitely stronger than a physical key created by sanding and sanding between coats is eliminated. 

• Application of the system in a continuous sequence and the elimination of tie coats, undercoats and sanding between coatings frequently reduces hardstand and underwater coating durations by days or weeks.

Technical Support and Certified Applicators

• Coppercoat Pacific's people are highly qualified and thoroughly committed to providing the highest levels of technical expertise and support to its clients. 

• Project specific Preparation and Application Guideline Procedures are prepared for each project.

• A program for certification of professional applicators and boatyards in specific regions throughout New Zealand is presently in progress. Preparation and application by certified applicators and boatyards only are designed to provide certainty that vessel owners and stakeholders will benefit from all attributes available from the system.

Donations, Sponsorships and Associations

Adding to its efforts to protect the oceans around us, Coppercoat Pacific also; 

• is a donor to Sailors of the Sea (world leading ocean conservation organisation).

 

• is a recognised member of the New Zealand Marine Industry Association, a sponsor of the New Zealand Millennium Cup and LIVE OCEAN and an Official Supplier to the PRADA Cup – Challenger of Record America’s Cup 36.