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.
We pride ourselves on being a ship that is accessible to all, to continue creating lifelong memories for people of all ages; young and old, Māori and Pākehā, visitors and Northlanders alike.
Learning for life through the sea.
Through embracing the values of Kaitiakitanga – GuardianShip, we wish to:
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:
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 boat masters and a number of them are running their own Charter businesses.
As Te Tai Tokerau Northland’s tall ship, we are proud to support our community. We are pleased to offer gift vouchers for a sail where the recipient organisation aligns with our giving criteria.
This includes:
For members of community groups, we have special rates and special sailings so that your group can enjoy a sailing on board the R. Tucker Thompson. Please contact us to see how we can help.
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 of 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.
Previous reports