29 Nov 2011

Niue Yacht Club wins international recognition

2:28 pm on 29 November 2011

Niue's Yacht Club has been named the 2011 Cruising Station of the Year by the Seven Seas Cruising Association.

The Association, which has over 100 member stations with more than ten thousand members worldwide, deemed Niue a safe and enjoyable stop for cruisers.

Niue commodore, Keith Vial, says it really comes down to the club providing the onshore facilities and looking after the crews while they're on the island.

"We have got quite a sophisticated website and one of the big plusses is that any incoming crews and captains can email ahead, to find out, using our single side band radio, to find out some of the information they need to know. Waypoints and GPS locations, all those things. Which is almost a world first apparently."

Keith Vial says last year around 240 yachts called in with more than 600 crew.

He says the visits are a key supplement to Niue's tourism drive.