Each year, when the World ARC fleet arrives in Niue, Admiral Yacht Insurance joins the island’s close-knit yachting community to celebrate their shared passion for ocean voyaging. During their recent stop off on the island of Niue, the Admiral Yacht Insurance and World ARC fleet gathered for sundowner drinks kindly organised by Niue Yacht Club at the New Zealand High Commissioner’s residence. As a supporter of World Cruising Club, and provider of yacht insurance to many of fleet members, Admiral proudly sponsors this annual event. In 2024, Niue recorded a 28% increase in visitor arrivals compared with the previous year, 82% of tourists came from New Zealand and 10% from Australia (TV Niue, 2025). Rising interest in the Pacific’s lesser-known gems makes stopovers like this one even more special for fleets such as the World ARC.
First discovered by Captain Cook and the world’s largest raised coral atoll, Niue continues to fascinate sailors with its dramatic caves and raised coral landscapes. With features that have drawn explorers for generations, including an ancient forest and the remains of a lagoon. The diving is renowned due to the exceptional clarity of the water and large number of underwater limestone caves. However, being somewhat off the beaten track, Niue remains peaceful and welcoming, with friendly locals who embrace visiting yachts that make a considerable contribution to the local economy. Surrounded by over 310,000 km² of ocean within its Exclusive Economic Zone, Niue is one of the world’s most isolated islands and boasts some of the clearest waters in the South Pacific. Marine scientists note that its raised limestone cliffs were once ancient coral reefs lifted by geological forces — creating the dramatic caves and dive systems that attract adventurers today (Fiji Marinas, 2024).
With increasing global concern over ocean acidification, Niue actively joins regional programs to protect cora and marine ecosystems, to make sure that visiting yachts can continue to experience its pristine underwater world responsibly (IOSD, 2024).
Visiting yachts have also contributed hugely to the membership of Niue Yacht Club which calls itself “The Biggest, Little Yacht Club in the World” owing to the large number of overseas members recruited as they pass through. The club is unique in that none of the management committee actually own a yacht; Niue has no natural harbour and with the ocean lapping at the island’s 60 foot cliffs, there is nowhere nearby to sail to! Despite the island’s small population of around 1,600 residents, the Niue Yacht Club has more than 1,100 members worldwide — many of them international cruisers who joined while transiting through Alofi Bay (NiueIsland.com.au, 2024). The Club currently maintains 15 secure moorings for visiting yachts, with all guests encouraged to use these rather than anchor due to the island’s open-roadstead conditions (Niue Tourism, 2024).
Niue Yacht Club’s website says that the club’s main focus is ‘providing safe facilities for visiting yachts’. By all accounts, they also provide a very warm welcome and are brilliant hosts. Visiting skippers should review the Club’s “Do’s and Don’ts for Yachties” before arrival, which include booking moorings early, observing reef protection guidelines, and budgeting for the island’s NZ $150 departure tax (TV Niue, 2023). Such local protocols ensure Niue remains a sustainable and welcoming destination for generations of sailors to come.
Admiral’s Yacht Managing Director, Robert Holbrook, visited Niue and met Commodore Keith Vial in 2008 when he sailed across the Pacific. Today, that same spirit of camaraderie continues — with new generations of cruisers and insurers alike supporting Niue’s small but vibrant maritime community. The partnership between Admiral Yacht Insurance, World ARC, and Niue Yacht Club embodies the global connectedness of ocean voyaging — proof that even the most remote island can unite sailors from around the world.
