In 1969, on the banks of Auckland's Tamaki river, a boat yard started to take shape. As the first boats which bore the hallmarks of McMullen & Wing's signature quality and innovation began to emerge, Chris McMullen and Eric Wing were setting the standards and enthusiasm that remain today.
Wai-Aniwa, the first welded aluminium yacht in New Zealand, went on to win the 1972 One Ton Cup in Sydney, Australia. McMullen & Wing continued to build a number of successful racing yachts in this era.
New Zealand’s first ocean racing maxi yacht, Ceramco, was built by McMullen & Wing for Peter Blake’s Whitbred Round the World Race attempt. The campaign gained world-wide respect after Blake and his crew sailed 2,500 miles under jury rig. Ceramco was one of many boat building projects undertaken by McMullen & Wing for Sir Peter Blake, including the modification of round the world sailing catamaran Enza and culminating in the victorious America’s Cup champion racers of 1995.
New Zealand’s first attempt at the America’s Cup saw the world’s first fibre-glass 12m yachts constructed at McMullen & Wing. New Zealand went all the way to the Louis Vuitton Finals; an outstanding debut.
Triumph in San Diego. NZL 32 sweeps to a comprehensive victory in the America’s Cup. Both yachts, NZL 32 and the unbeaten NZL 38 were built at McMullen & Wing.
Built in the USA in 1902, the 52m three-masted schooner Shenandoah has long been loved as one of the yachting world’s greatest treasures. Arriving in Auckland New Zealand in 1994 in a poor state of repair, Shenandoah underwent a full restoration at McMullen & Wing, with sensitive design from the boards of Terence Disdale and Martin Francis. Shenandoah won the award for best refit at the 1998 International Superyacht Society Awards.
