Over 1,000 years ago the Maori people journeyed by canoe to a place they named Aotearoa or Land of the Long White Cloud – arguably laying the groundwork for New Zealand's tourism industry, with their carefully chosen name. People who have spent time in the country can tell you why its magical landscape is so green and lush, and if you mention the persistent rain to a local the typical response is, ‘Ah, you should have been here last week, mate’. Last October the long grey cloud that lingered over Auckland tormented the team at Yachting Developments Limited (YDL) as they put the finishing touches to their latest launch, a deep blue 29.3 metre Frers flyer named Symmetry.

The project was conceived in late 2002 after Symmetry’s owner and his representative visited New Zealand to trial another similarly sized sailing yacht. They desired a long list of features and lacked the time to design a vessel from scratch (as the delivery time was limited), so the logical conclusion was to buy a semi-production boat or develop an existing design. They arranged a visit to Yachting Developments Limited (YDL) on Auckland's north shore, where construction of the 28 metre Frers sloop Keturah was far enough advanced for them to get a feel for her deck arrangement and interior volume. Since Keturah's original parameters were consistent with the owner's requirements – a performance-oriented yacht that could go anywhere in the world on her own bottom – they decided she could provide the basis for a new design that included all of the desired amenities. Keturah's owner, an experienced American yachtsman, openly shared the thinking that had culminated in the design of this new yacht, and his input and advice proved invaluable throughout Symmetry's construction.

YDL is one of several high-quality boat builders in New Zealand, and its principals Ian Cook and Jon Douglas have impressive credentials when it comes to performance sailing yachts, The company's 70 staff have all the necessary skills to build such yachts, with only the electrical work and upholstery being subcontracted. The construction facility can accommodate two custom composite yachts at once, with each hull and deck being built over a temporary male mould that is destroyed after the component is produced. Cook and Douglas are both hands-on and can typically be found helping to laminate a hull or executing some construction detail. Their first-hand knowledge of the company's projects streamlines the communication process, encouraging an ongoing dialogue between management, the craftsmen and the customer to promote continual improvement of its products.

Symmetry took some 19 months to build from the signing of the contract. Her hull is longer overall than Keturah's with a stern profile that is slightly more traditional, which meant the German Frers design office had to modify the lines of the forward sections. Most of her additional length is aft, permitting a graceful counter with a reverse transom.

Commenting on the hull design, German Frers says: ‘Symmetry's relatively high prismatic coefficient has been optimised for moderate to heavy conditions and higher speeds under power. The LCG (longitudinal centre of gravity) is optimised to match the pre-determined weight distribution of the structure and systems, and the optimum position of the keel relative to the sail plan for proper balance under sail. The comparatively high beam to length ratio results is a seakindly yacht with good behaviour in all weather and sea conditions. The rather generous draught we have specified allows for the design to have a rudder with close to the ideal aspect ratio, which is reflected in the pleasant feel to the wheel and the excellent control on all points of sail.'

Symmetry was built using SP Systems epoxy resin system. The laminates specified by Frers were impregnated at YDL with Ampreg 22 epoxy, and as a Flag Blue hull finish was specified, Ampreg 26 was used to laminate the outer skin. The core was formed from two layers of 2 centimetre SX-grade cross-linked PVC foam from DIAB, the density of which varies according to where it is in the structure (80 kilogrammes, 100 kilogrammes and 130 kilogrammes were the primary densities used). The keel is an SGiron casting with a hollow centre, and is one of the largest ever produced by A&G Price Limited’s   Precision Keels division. Including the streamlined lead bulb, it weighs 26 tonnes.

In early November the sun finally broke through and Symmetry began her sailing trials. We unfurled her mainsail and 105 per cent genoa in Waite Mata Harbour, and her generous rig – which towers almost 40 metres above the water – powered her efficient hull form at 10-11 knots through the green waters of the Tamaki Strait, with her designer smiling at the helm. Her performance could best described as sporty: she accelerates quickly, is light on the helm, while her twin carbon wheels provide precise, frictionless steering. The mainsail can be controlled from either helm pedestal, and each pedestal has additional controls for the engine, the bow thruster and the propeller, as well as a video chart plotter, an autopilot control head and full function sailing instrumentation.

After reaching along the south side of Waiheke Island we anchored in one of the coves. Thanks to Symmetry’s Southern Furl boom and the Onboard Systems carbon reel winch for her main halyard (which is housed beneath the sole of the lower saloon, just aft of the mast step), her mainsail rolls easily away. We deployed the 108 kilogramme Manson CQR using an articulating anchor arm, and while there is nothing new about this, it certainly makes a statement. Cook joked that if Alloy Yachts' director Tony Hambrook could make his articulating anchor arms out of polished stainless steel, then YDL would make theirs out of carbon fibre – and the clear-coated carbon laminate in conjunction with the stainless steel CQR emphasises the fact that every detail aboard Symmetry reflects the best thinking of a dedicated team, and a high level of craftsmanship.

This was our first opportunity to observe Symmetry's profile away from the dock, so we lowered the hydraulic transom door to reveal steps leading to the bathing platform and the tender (an isolated gasoline locker under one of the steps means the platform also acts as a fuelling station). Clambering aboard with our cameras around our necks, we circled Symmetry, whose hull lines appeared effortless and natural, with an elegant sheer. Her teak toe rail and cockpit coaming caps worked in concert with her stainless steel hardware and blue hull to create a jewel-like appearance.

Studying Symmetry's rig, several obvious features differ from mainstream yachts of this size and type. Perhaps most noticeable is the fact that she has only three spreaders, as the specification called for a radar platform on the front of the mast and stowage for the spinnaker pole. Symmetry's ‘I’ dimension (the measured height of the fore triangle) is 1.2 metres greater than Keturah's, and Southern Spar's design director Steve Wilson explained: 'our initial thoughts were to go with a four-spreader rig with a slightly smaller section.

However an increase in righting moment started us thinking about going up a size in the tube to reduce weight in the mast tube. Due to the sideways stiffness achieved from the larger section, it became apparent that we could drop a set of spreaders and have a three-spreader configuration while maintaining minimum safety margins on the rig. There were several benefits … the ability to align the staysail hounds and runner attachment with the top spreader and the fact that spreader one is higher so that the radar could he perfectly positioned. Generally, we try to have the inner forestay and runner intersect the mast at a spreader, so that when the boat is reefed down to that point the transverse forces applied by the sails are reacted by a stay as opposed to transferring the force via the mast tube to the stays. With the four-spreader rig this was not going to be possible but with the three-spreader rig the geometry happens naturally, which means the rig will behave better across a wide range of conditions.'

Southern 's solution for the spinnaker pole was to allow the inboard end of the pole to pass through the radar bracket to stow on the front in of the mast behind the bracket. This was the first time that it had used this method and this arrangement is sure to be seen on more performance cruisers in the future. The overall appearance of the rig is clean and aesthetically pleasing, with less windage than the four spreader alternative.

Another subtle yet handy feature is that Symmetry’s 4.0 metre Novurania RIB can be stowed either forward or aft by fixing carbon chocks to stainless steel threaded pads set flush in the deck. When day sailing or when she is moored stern to the quay, the tender is stowed forward out of the way. During offshore passages it is stowed on the aft deck, where a 3.2 metre carbon pole extending from the aft end of the boom deflects the spare main halyard yard to facilitate launching and retrieval (effectively using the boom as a gin pole).

After lunch we hoisted anchor and set the asymmetric spinnaker, and the point of sail across the Firth of Thames to the Coromandel Peninsula was perfect. Working Symmetry's foredeck you are immediately impressed by how clean it is: all of the carbon fibre hatches are flush (and were fabricated in-house by YDL), the dodger sheltering the crew access hatch forward uses a bolt rope groove that is set into the deck and trimmed with a flush stainless steel track, and the dodger bows can be removed to leave the area totally clean. As the entire deck is entirely flush with no cockpits as such, it is easy to work and move about on, and raised seating areas are created as part of the superstructure.

We arrived at an anchorage inside Te Kouma Head just before sunset and relaxed on Symmetry's deckhouse settee. It is evident that a considerable care has been taken here to optimise the sightlines, with ample windows to port, starboard and forward providing an effortless 270 degree view of the surroundings, Two tables set within in the U- shape of the settee can he joined together with a removable leaf for dining, and opposite is a navigation station with two LCD monitors at the chart table for the radar, chart plotter and the ship's computer, and additional instrumentation running fore and aft below the starboard window.

Symmetry's lower saloon has a cosy feel, with the warm atmosphere of a vessel built in northern Europe or Scandinavia rather than the southern hemisphere. The U-shaped settee to port is an ideal place to watch television, read or enjoy an after dinner drink, and sitting here you can admire the detailing. The joinery and interior arrangement were a team effort by YDL, Symmetry's owner and his representative, and the quarter-sawn teak veneers are sequenced for uniformity in grain and colour, the solid fiddles and corner pieces are colour matched lied to the veneers, while custom-blended varnish fills the entire grain to provide the desired soft patina. The sole is teak splined with maple and has a high gloss finish. To starboard a cabinet houses a 1.02 metre LCD television screen and other entertainment electronics, as well as acting as a buffet during meal times. It has a bookcase on either side and when the doors slide open to reveal the television, they neatly cover the bookcases so that the cabinet looks correct in either mode. Overall, the quality of the interior certainly lives up to expectations.

A door tucked neatly under the navigation station gives access to a dayhead, the laundry and the engine room. Behind pocketed doors running athwartships in the aft portion of this space is a stacked Miele washer/dryer, while you enter the engine room through a door in the inboard bulkhead, although access through the hatch on the port side deck is preferred.

Accommodation for the owner and his guests is aft. To port and starboard of a central passageway are two identical twin guest cabins with an additional Pullman berth and an en suite shower room. The full beam owner’s cabin at the end of the passageway provides two double beds a desk/dressing table, abundant drawer space and twin shower rooms – a rare amenity on a yacht of this size. Portlights in the topsides and numerous deck prisms and hatches ensure all these cabins are bright and airy.

Forward of the lower saloon is the crew dinette to starboard and the galley to port, the latter providing a gimballed Alpes Inox stove and a Fischer Paykel dishwasher, microwave, trash compactor and icemaker. The stainless steel refrigerator/freezer on the aft bulkhead is supplemented with frozen foods from a freezer under the galley sole. Forward again are the two-crew cabins: a captain’s cabin to port with a double berth and a Pullman berth, and a twin-bunked crew cabin to starboard. Both of these have an en suite head but they share a central shower room.

In the northern hemisphere Symmetry will debut at Antigua Sailing Week, and during her summer season she will cruise the northeast coast of the USA. The following summer she will be based in Europe, remaining in the Mediterranean throughout the America's Cup.