Tim (aka Sticke) is Bay of Islands born and bred having lived most of his life in Russell Kororareka. Educated at Bay College his career has involved being a Department of Conservation ranger, pest trapper, driving the White Ferry Waimarie, and many other varied activities. He is a keen surfer and often found at beach when the waves are up. He has been with the Trust for four years and has taken on the role of Bosun, looking after the ship’s maintenance needs.

Ethan has been involved with the Trust since 2015. At the age of 15, he became a trainee on one of the youth development voyages. He discovered a passion for the ocean and sailing. Shortly after his voyage, he applied to volunteer aboard during the summer tourist season. He was a volunteer crew from 2015 to 2017. Ethan was then offered a cadetship and on-going training for 1 year to work towards his skipper’s ticket. This was fully funded by the Trust. In October 2018, he attended his final examinations and gained his SRL Skipper’s ticket. He is now a member of the core crew aboard the Tucker.

Jane has been involved with the R. Tucker Thompson since 1998, initially as a business mentor to Russell Harris when he owned the ship. When she moved to Russell in 2000, she continued working with him assisting with administrative and business management functions. In 2006, she helped Russell transfer the ship into a Trust, and since then has been the Executive Trustee, a title which really means means keeping the ship afloat financially. She has sailed on board for a number of offshore voyages, in 2002 and 2005 down the West coast of Canada and USA and in 2006 from Rarotonga to Tonga.

Kyra hails originally from France but is a Canadian citizen who is now a New Zealand resident. She and her husband sailed away from Canada in 2011. After spending 16 months in Mexico, they crossed the Pacific on board their 60 year old strip-planked yacht Nyon and arrived in New Zealand in November 2013. They continue to live aboard and spend as much time as possible sailing in the Bay. Like most of us, Kyra is capable of turning her hand to most tasks, she is a “Jill of all Trades”, an asset when working for small not-for-profit organisations back in Canada and now in New Zealand. She joined the Tucker in 2015 and is the Sales and Operations Manager for the Trust. She’s a creative individual, artist and writer as well as an avid sailor. Her hashtag is #lifeonagypsyboat.

Wayne joined the Trust as a trainee in December 2012 and is our longest serving crew member. He completed his Skipper’s training last year and this year is stepping up to the role of Master in Training. Of Ngati Porou descent, he hails from Gisborne. He has previously worked on fishing boats but prefers living in the winterless north as going to sea is much warmer than in the southern ocean. He has earned the respect of many sail trainees who have benefited from his care; he is a mean cook with boil up corned beef and roast pork as his signature dishes.

Estelle was born in Saint Malo, France, a city famous for its maritime heritage. She grew up on a little farm by the sea and has always had a strong connection to the sea. She worked on a two-masted brig in the Baltic Sea. In 2015, she participated in her first Tall Ships’ race, from Lithuania to Poland. Since then, she trained as a sailing instructor, completed her deckhand certificate and volunteered on traditional wooden boat refit programmes. She sailed in the Mediterranean Sea, parts of the Atlantic, the North Sea, the English Channel, and now the South Pacific. Estelle joined the Tucker in the summer of 2018.

Sophie job-shares our youth programmes with Pauline, and looks after the admin side of the youth development voyages. A young mother of two girls, Sophie started her career with the R. Tucker Thompson as Deckhand. She then progressed to Master, where she was responsible for being skipper for tourism sailings as well as the youth development voyages. She therefore knows the ship and how the Trust operates extremely well. With two young daughters to look after, Sophie works mostly from home, juggling a number of roles to ensure that berths are filled with the right type of students on any given voyage.

Shelley officially joined the Tucker team over three decades after being at the Mangawhai launch in 1985, though she has followed the progress of the ship ever since that fateful day. She lives in Kororāreka – Russell and has worked as a shoemaker, sports coordinator, museum curator and heritage gardener. She is also a volunteer ambulance officer in her spare time, when not out on the water waka ama paddling. She volunteered as a Tucker crew member one summer, and is very happy to now be part of the shore team.