About Us

The R. Tucker Thompson is operated by a not-for-profit charitable Trust on behalf of the people of Taitokerau Northland. All income derived from our commercial activities is used for her maintenance as well as providing a contribution to help our taitamariki teenagers access our youth development voyages. This allows the ship to create lifelong memories for people of all ages; young and old, Māori and Pākehā, visitors and Northlanders alike.

The ship was originally owned in partnership by Tod Thompson, Greta Simmonds and Russell Harris until 1992, when Russell purchased Tod and Greta’s shares in the ship. On reaching retirement, Russell wanted to protect the future of this iconic ship. He transferred her into a Trust on 6 June 2006, for the benefit of the people of Te Taitokerau Northland. He still remains involved on the Board of Trustees along with 7 others who contribute their time willingly to support the Trust.

Visit the STQRY app to find out more about the work we do.

Our Mission

The mission of the R. Tucker Thompson Sail Training Trust is:

Learning for Life through the Sea

Through embracing the values of Kaitiakitanga – GuardianShip, we wish to:

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Preserve the tradition of tall ship sailing and specifically the R. Tucker Thompson

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Allow those who sail on her to learn more about who we are, where we come from and where we are going
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Make a positive difference in the lives of those who come on board, whether for a day, a week or longer

Our Vision

To provide a variety of activities and opportunities to enable and inspire as many people as possible to share in the R. Tucker Thompson
To maintain the ship in top condition to therefore preserve the tradition of tall ship sailing and marlinspike skills
To promote local employment and the vocational growth of our community
To optimize trading (commercial) results in order to foster and promote training results
That the R.Tucker Thompson will be an iconic product in the Bay of Island, New Zealand
To create a secure financial base from which to expand the influence of the R.Tucker Thompson

Our Values

We are a values driven organisation, one that operates under the principles of whanaungatanga, bringing people together as a family. The things which are important to us are:

  • Kaitiakitanga or guardianship
  • Manaakitanga or looking after others
  • Trust in each other
  • A can-do attitude
  • Acceptance of others
  • Having respect
  • Organic and natural
  • The value of relationships and whanaungatanga

Our Philosophy

We are a learning organisation and over the past three decades, we have trained many crew in the “Tucker way”. A large number of our former crew have gone on to be Masters in their own right and had or have full time careers in the Maritime industry. Some have worked all-round the world on super yachts, others are tourism boats masters and a number of them are running their own Charter business.

Annual Reports

The Trust’s financial year runs from 1st June to 31st May, with our Annual Report being published in November. Our annual reports provide a great and easy to read overview about the Trust’s work; and how we earn income through our tourism sailings in the Bay of Islands as well as how those funds are then applied for our youth development voyages, developing leadership, confidence and teamwork for the young people of Te Tai Tokerau Northland.
View Latest Annual Report

Previous Reports

(direct downloads)

2019-2020

2018-2019

2017-2018

2016-2017

2015-2016

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