Navigation: Stunning footage shows ferry passengers getting very close to the America’s Cup ship

Ferry passengers held their breath in Auckland’s Waitematā harbor as American Magic’s AC75 America Cup ship Defiant got very close yesterday.

The moment took place around 1.10pm on a ferry traveling to Waiheke Island from Auckland.

Dean Barker’s team was testing their AC75 on what was a perfect day in Auckland.

Aleysha Knowles was on board the ferry and watched the harrowing moment unfold. As the yacht got closer and closer to the ferry, it was forced to veer to the right.

“My boyfriend is a captain of a superyacht, so he was telling me that surely the ferry would slow down because of the maritime rule ‘power gives way to navigation’, but it didn’t,” he said.

As the yacht navigated the ship, the ferry captain said, “I have to slow down … I don’t know where that yacht has gone.”

“You can hear the captain make his clever comment about the yacht,” added Knowles.

Another yacht can be seen in the background of the video, believed to be a Team New Zealand ship.

The United States union Defiant flipped over earlier this month while training on the east side of Browns Island, Sail-World reports.

The ship quickly recovered without apparent damage to continue sailing.

The incident showed the safety features of the AC75, suggesting that the boats will be able to be pushed to the limit and recover from any mishap, unlike the AC50 and AC73 boats in the 34th and 35th American Cups respectively.

The New Zealand team also overturned their AC75 Te Aihe in December, but were also able to quickly resume training.