Tom Cruise, with his son Connor, surprised Team New Zealand as he paid an unannounced visit to the America's Cup in Catamaran where team New Zealand was fighting against Italians Luna Rossa.

Cruise was obviously impressed with the team. From the team's VIP vessel, Imagine, where he was just watching, Cruise jumped aboard the team's race boat, Aotearoa, and joined them through the ride around San Francisco Bay.

Cruise and son Connor took over the wheel from Dean Barker and continued to drive the boat.

"Unbelievable... unbelievable... really extraordinarily. We were put right on the grinders and got to work with the crew. It was remarkable actually. We thought we were going to get on and just cruise in to the slip and the next thing you know we're told, you're on this one, you're on that one. It was a real privilege, a unique experience, incredible," Cruise told Fairfax NZ News.

Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton fondly admitted that he intentionally kept Cruise's visit a secret from the team as a way of surprise.

"That is one of the things about the America's Cup... opportunities that money can't buy. That was seriously cool. Tom had a drive for a while, they were perfect conditions for them. He got a real buzz out of it. In the end he said I've raced cars, I've flown airplanes but that was the coolest thing I've ever done," Mr Dalton said.

"He was absolutely buzzing. I think they had an absolute ball. It was like nothing they'd ever experienced before, " Team New Zealand skipper Dean Barker said.

Skipper barker cannot get enough of his excitement about Cruise.

"We were very fortunate today, after the race, we had Tom Cruise and his son jump on board and we took them for a bit of blat. He had an absolute ball. Tom jumped on the handlebars and probably did a better job than I did, then he and his son had a competition to see who could who could get the top speed. It was a real boost to the team to have someone like that come along. It was fantastic to have him there," Barker said during a Louis Vuitton press conference.

Meanwhile, a report from TVNZ had Government Minister Gerry Brownlee revealing Cruise's plan on returning to New Zealand and to make some movies in the country.

"He does have a great fondness for New Zealand and does want to spend more time in New Zealand and be able to perhaps make some more films down there," Mr Brownlee said.