The 30-metre superyacht turning commuters' heads off Tauranga Bridge Marina's northern breakwater this morning is the French-built vessel Chrisco.

German owned and Maltese registered, the eye-catching yacht has been cruising northern New Zealand waters since October and is sitting in Tauranga waters awaiting a lift.

The superyacht Chrisco is currently off Tauranga Bridge Marina. Photos: Tracy Hardy.

One of the ironies of modern superyachts, which cost millions of dollars to build and tens of thousands a week to hire, is that the economics don't pay for long ocean voyages.

All of which means Chrisco, along with Tatiana of Cowes, The Duchess and a sprinkling of other big yachts, are hitching a ride to Gibraltar on the Muntgracht, which is loading onions alongside the Mount Maunganui wharf.

While Chrisco may return to the Mediterranean, Tatiana of Cowes, a Swan 68, is returning north following a sojourn in South East Asia and an appearance in the Sydney Hobart race.

It was sailed down from Auckland by skipper Gina Hewson and crew Julia Savage and Brad Walker.

Chrisco, launched in 2009 in the French port of Bordeaux, is renowned in the superyacht world for her 1.3 tonne glass panelled coach roof and for winning the International Superyacht Society award for best interior and best sail in 2010.

Skipper Uwe Roch says the interior is all taped up and packed down for the voyage, but it can be viewed online.

Chrisco normally has five crew, but four brought her down from Auckland for loading on board the Muntgacht.

Chrisco Skipper Uwe Roch.

The yacht has been in New Zealand since October sailing the Bay of Islands and spending time at the Viaduct in Auckland and Orams Yard. The owner, along with family and friends, were able to spend two weeks on board over the summer.

Chrisco has an overall length of 30.48m, a beam of 6.82m and a 3.51m draft. It's constructed of sandwich composite, carbonfibre/balsa/vinylester hull and deck with a honeycomb-cored interior.

The interior is described as mostly black and white, with the interior palette making use of carbon fibre, leather and transparent panels, enhanced by white leathers, linens and silks. There's also a combination of gloss and matt lacquers and LED light-walls.

Each guest cabin has the flexibility to be arranged as a private lounge. The owner's cabin occupies the entire area forward of the mast. It includes two double beds, an open plan dressing area and bathroom that connects to a private spa in the bow.

Building the superyacht took 25,000 hours of technical design involving 18 engineers and specialists, 1,600 drawings, 110,000 man-hours and the consumption of 13 tons of carbon and resin.

The keel weighs 24 tons, while the carbon fibre mast is 43m tall. There are 15,000 LEDs used for interior lighting, the colour and intensity of which are computer controlled, and there is 1km of entertainment-system cabling on board.

The Muntgrach is scheduled to put to sea at 18:00 next Tuesday (March 24).