Ben has 25 years of tallship experience, having sailed across 3 oceans and to many countries on square riggers. Having worked on 6 square riggers and being master on 2 and mate on the others), 3 gaff tops’l schooners and having sailed around the SW pacific and coastal NZ and Australia on a gaff tops’l cutter that he and his wife owned, we welcome his experience that many thousands of sea miles on similar ships gains.

Zeran is a keen young sailor whose background in sailing started through his experiences of Waka Hourua (a traditional Polynesian sailing catamaran). Zeran has also been aboard the “Tucker” for two youth voyages and is currently undertaking the role of cadet where he will complete his training to become a Qualified Deck Hand.

Zeran is a driven young Māori tane who is passionate about learning tikanga and kaupapa Māori as well as embracing the ways of his tupuna.”

Sarianna is a Northland girl, born and bred in Whangarei. She joined the Trust at the end of March 2016, taking her command in June 2016. Sarianna has spent much of her life on the water, attending the Whangarei Young Mariners and then Sea Scouts at a young age. She headed to Tauranga for study but the lure of the sea was too strong, so she spent 2 years as a Cadet on the Spirit of New Zealand where she did her seatime training. She has spent 5 months sailing offshore on board the Robert C Seamans and prior to joining the Trust was working at Fullers in Auckland. She has done 18 months as master in training and is now working at Opua Marina, but is still involved with the occasional voyage and support for our Cadets. 

As a child, Chynna was very adventurous- always caught up in her imagination, she spent many days at the beach. She was very in tune with the ocean and grew up doing surf lifesaving club, adventure racing, and many other sports. She even had Moko the dolphin as a swimming companion for many years. He was a huge influence on her career path. In 2014, Chynna took an 8-week trip to Australia, volunteering at the dolphin centre in Bunbury Perth. In 2016 she completed a Marine and Eco-tourism course through Northtec, Kerikeri – this course taught her a lot including how to sail.
In February 2017, she became one of the core crew aboard the R Tucker Thompson. With the knowledge she has accumulated and her training on the R Tucker Thompson, she and her fiancé have recently purchased a 33 foot yacht in the hopes of one day sailing it offshore.

Jess hails from Canada, a French Canadian fluent in French and English. She owned a sea kayak company in Yukon Canada, and was responsible for taking out groups on overnight wilderness experiences making sure that they were operated in a safe environment. In addition, she has formal qualifications in Special Education and has a background of working with young people including teenagers with behaviour disorders. She brings her positive nature and cheerful enthusiasm to every voyage to ensure that all our trainees have amazing experiences on board and works her magic with everyone, making sure that everyone gets involved and gets the most from their time on board.

Peter Deverell was born in Auckland and grew up on a Mid-Northland farm; where he was entirely home educated along with his three siblings. With a love of the ocean Peter was taught to sail from his earliest years and enjoyed Optimist and P-Class and Starling dinghy sailing, and sailing on his parents’ boats and his grandfather’s yacht. Passionate about wildlife and conservation Peter has a wonderful knowledge of New Zealand birds and other fauna. He has worked as a horseman for seven years and has his own Equine Hoof Trimming business. He spent three years in Germany working as a joiner; becoming fluent in the German language; dinghy sailing at every opportunity. On his first sailing yacht Peter sailed extensively around Northland and the Bay of Islands coast, honing his sailing skills. In 2015 Peter bought Waka Irie, a Mariner 32ft classic sailing ketch and has spent the past three years rebuilding and refurbishing her and has become a skilled joiner/boat builder. In 2018 Peter crewed for his cousin on Sea Wolf, a 42ft Beneteau sailboat, sailing around Australia, from Sydney to Perth via Darwin; a 5,000 mile voyage.

Terry grew up in Wellington, learning to sail in extreme conditions and spending his formative years in the Sea Scouts rowing around on pitch black nights playing Smugglers and sinking the enemy, and has never lost the love of just “playing around in boats”. He moved to the Bay of Islands in his twenties and purchased the classic gaff cutter Aorere. It was also the start of many years cruising the Bay of Islands, the Northland coast and offshore voyages to the Pacific.

In 1990 he started Great Escape Yacht Charters and Sailing School teaching to provide affordable sailing options in the Bay. Over the years he operated a fleet of 14 yachts, passing on his enthusiasm and love of sailing to kiwis and international visitors alike.

After he and his wife Cindy sold Great Escape, he joined R Tucker Thompson as a relief skipper and he is a welcome addition for our youth voyages and day sails alike.