Choose your tall ship experience

  Despite the less than perfect weather, little sun followed by overcast skies but most disappointing but for a very short while little breeze for full sailing, we had an excellent... read more trip. The crew, under the watch of Captain Ben were friendly, informed and went out of the way to ensure one and all was having a great time, whether climbing the rigging, raising the sails or just relaxing "on the water". Highly, highly recommended.

  This is a great trip even if you’re not really into boats, or the idea of sailing is a little bit scarey. We had winds up to 30 knots or... read more more (50km/hr) and the Tucker handles it with comfort. Our Skipper, Wayne, installs confidence and humour, while the 2 crew couldn’t do more to make everyone happy. A trip ashore to a gorgeous island was the highlight. Small groups make it especially enjoyable.

  My husband and I went on the cruise as a gift from our 3 children for our 50th Wedding Anniversary There were only 9 other passengers, apart from the 3... read more crew. Two other couples were also celebrating their annversaries. So a rather special cruise. We enjoyed the stop at Roberton Island and the walk to the top of the hill was well worth it for the beautiful view over the island. The lunch on board was really good, as were the delicious scones with jam and cream. The crew were great. We would highly recommend this cruise.

  We had an amazing day sailing around the bay of islands, chatting to the captain and crew. They were all so keen to pass on their local knowledge and sailing... read more experiences, and a lot of fun to be with. Thanks Wayne, Rangi, Abby and Libby. It was an experience that will stay with me forever.

  Absolutely fantastic day. Crew wonderful and gave good history lesson of Bay of Islands. Will definitely be booking again

  Went with a group of school kids on a outing, great crew, nice lunch and kids loved climbing the rigging and jumping off the boat

  Went with a group of school kids on a outing, great crew, nice lunch and kids loved climbing the rigging and jumping off

  A lovely day shared with Whanau. Sailing on the beautiful R.Tucker Thompson. Recommend as a must do in Russell. Great food, great crew, beautiful scenery and... read more swimming in a picturesque bay in Autumn! An awesome day out!

  A day out on the R Tucker Tompson was awesome. The crew, lead by Captain Steve made the day fun and informative. Although I wasn't brave enough to go up... read more the mast, many did and had a blast. Stopped at an island for lunch and a swim before heading back joined by a pod of dolphin.
A great day was had by all..
Highly recommended..

  Everything was great! We considered ourselves fortunate that there were only 13 passengers (4 crew) on our two hour Sundowner sail since that perhaps made it more intimate. The best... read more fun was in climbing up the rigging and helping with the sails, encouraged by enthusiastic crew. So nice to be out on the water on such a splendid, beautiful and historic vessel.

  A lovely day shared with Whanau. Sailing on the beautiful R.Tucker Thompson. Recommend as a must do in Russell. Great food, great crew, beautiful scenery and... read more swimming in a picturesque bay in Autumn! An awesome day out!

  Fantastic day out with a fun, friendly and informative crew.
We had a go helping hoist the sails, climb rigging and even took the helm!
Very much recommend... read more this trip.

  I went on this cruise as a single person and enjoyed every minute. Interaction was encouraged but I diidn’t feel I had to . The crew were fantastic - really... read more kind people who clearly love what they do. The best part of the experience is knowing that young people of Northland may one fat benefit from my $ spent on this cruise.

  We left the wharf at Russell at 10.00am on R Tucker Thompson, an 85-foot gaff rigged topsail schooner, in a strong southerly breeze. The crew soon had the sails up... read more and we were sailing out of the bay between Paihia and Russell bound for one of the 144 islands that make up the Bay of Islands. It was a beautiful day with perfect wind conditions for a good sail. The crew of three, led by Skipper Wayne, encouraged those to wanted to become involved in hoisting and lowering sails to do so. Tea, coffee and delicious cream scones were served mid morning and shortly after midday we anchored off a beautiful beach at Motuarohia Island to the north east of Russell. A rib with an out board was lowered into the water and the guests ferried ashore to the beach to swim and wander around for an hour. Beach towels were provided for the swimmers.

A delicious bbq chicken lunch with potato salad, ordinary salad and brown bread and butter was served with wines and beer available for purchase.

Skipper Wayne, a Maori, was extremely knowledgable and well-informed about the history of the islands and the various events that had taken place over the previous 250 years. Not only that, his vessel was spotlessly clean and well maintained. All three crew were absolutely charming.

After lunch, in a stiff south easterly breeze, enabling the vessel to reach 7.3 knots, we cruised around the bay before returning to Russell wharf by about 3.30pm.

Although it might seem expensive, (NZ$164 per person inclusive except for alcoholic beverages), it was excellent value for money. Not only that, but it is a charitable trust whose profits go towards being able to take 16 young people to sea at a time on voyages for youth training, so in addition to having a marvellous and informative day at sea, it was in support of a worthy cause.

  We left the wharf at Russell at 10.00am on R Tucker Thompson, an 85-foot gaff rigged topsail schooner, in a strong southerly breeze. The crew soon had the sails up... read more and we were sailing out of the bay between Paihia and Russell bound for one of the 144 islands that make up the Bay of Islands. It was a beautiful day with perfect wind conditions for a good sail. The crew of three, led by Skipper Wayne, encouraged those to wanted to become involved in hoisting and lowering sails to do so. Tea, coffee and delicious cream scones were served mid morning and shortly after midday we anchored off a beautiful beach at Motuarohia Island to the north east of Russell. A rib with an out board was lowered into the water and the guests ferried ashore to the beach to swim and wander around for an hour. Beach towels were provided for the swimmers.

A delicious bbq chicken lunch with potato salad, ordinary salad and brown bread and butter was served with wines and beer available for purchase.

Skipper Wayne, a Maori, was extremely knowledgable and well-informed about the history of the islands and the various events that had taken place over the previous 250 years. Not only that, his vessel was spotlessly clean and well maintained. All three crew were absolutely charming.

After lunch, in a stiff south easterly breeze, enabling the vessel to reach 7.3 knots, we cruised around the bay before returning to Russell wharf by about 3.30pm.

Although it might seem expensive, (NZ$164 per person inclusive except for alcoholic beverages), it was excellent value for money. Not only that, but it is a charitable trust whose profits go towards being able to take 16 young people to sea at a time on voyages for youth training, so in addition to having a marvellous and informative day at sea, it was in support of a worthy cause.

  Well organised and very friendly, professional sailing cruise on a two masted classic small sailing vessel. Commentary, historical anecdotes and banter were interesting and good humour. Morning tea/coffee and delicious... read more cream and jam scones and the a very tasty lunch. Stopped at truly beautiful and historic bay on one of the islands - the beach is nice sand and the bush behind the bay is full of native birds.

  Everything was great! We considered ourselves fortunate that there were only 13 passengers (4 crew) on our two hour Sundowner sail since that perhaps made it more intimate. The best... read more fun was in climbing up the rigging and helping with the sails, encouraged by enthusiastic crew. So nice to be out on the water on such a splendid, beautiful and historic vessel. …

  A day out on the R Tucker Tompson was awesome. The crew, lead by Captain Steve made the day fun and informative. Although I wasn't brave enough to go up... read more the mast, many did and had a blast. Stopped at an island for lunch and a swim before heading back joined by a pod of dolphin. A great day was had by all.. Highly recommended.. …

  Fantastic day out with a fun, friendly and informative crew. We had a go helping hoist the sails, climb rigging and even took the helm! Very much recommend this trip.

  Our fourth trip on Tucker and just as special as the very first more than 10 years ago. She is an awesome ship with a super crew. Take your togs,... read more towel & sunscreen and enjoy a fun filled, relaxed day out in " the bay". I had the best birthday ever. Thanks a bunch guys 🙂

  This was one of the best experiences and I would highly recommend it for everyone. The staff were friendly and so welcoming, chatting easily with everyone and sharing their experiences.... read more Absolutely loved the day with them on the ship and seeing how a sailboat works. It was a great way to see the Bay of Islands and we had an awesome time swimming in a Bay.

  A marvellous day. In awe of the skilful and friendly crew (Skipper Ben, ably assisted by Jess, Michelle and Abby) who made it a day to remember. Scones and lunch... read more delicious and plentiful too. Such a great cause too, supporting young people to find their best selves through team work and onboard experience. Thanks again for a wonderful day.

  Great experience. make sure you take the opportunity to help hoist sails and rigging.
Was a good windy day so we got some good sailing in.
The crew were awesome... read more and engaged with us.
Nibbles and drinks available if you want.
I would highly recommend this attraction, give it a go you wont be disappointed.

  Wow... this trip is amazing. We had the best time, the ship was beautiful, Captain Ben and his all female crew were awesome, so friendly and accommodating. The kids (and... read more adults if they wanted) could climb up the rigging, swing off a rope into the water and even captain the ship. We stopped off at an island, had a fabulous morning tea and lunch on board and of course sailed around the Bay of Islands. These summer cruises are not the main purpose, the money raised from these trips goes towards helping Northland’s youth... so great experience snd great cause.

  An exceptional experience and something we would do again we did a road trip from Christchurch to Northland and this was the highlight. Awesome day out, great crew, exceptional food... read more and an outstanding experience. Highly recommended best thing we did all holiday on our 4000km road trip !

  Unbelievably fabulous day. Welcoming crew, could do as much or as little as you liked to help with the rigging etc.
We were encouraged to don a harness and provided... read more tuition to climb the rigging and bow sprit, with photo opps galore.
Outstanding commentary of both the ship and the Bays we sailed by. As we headed out of Russell, some diesel power plus sail, the return home was purely by peaceful sail.
Lunch was perfect - marinated barbequed chicken with salad, potatoes and bread if you chose. Bar available. The highlight was the stops though - that day we sailed it was Waiwaitorea Island. Clear waters, easy to see the bronzewhaler that coasted by a couple of times, warm water, swing into the water, beach or climb the hill for second-to-none views of the Bay of Islands. Just couldnt have been better.
Great value we thought and a great charity doing outstanding work with our younger people in the less busy season.
Also blessed with the godfather of the ship; one of the two builders, so you can imagine the richness his stories added to our perfect day too.
Others comments about this being the highlight of their trip are echoed by us.

  We took the sunset cruise with appx 25 passengers. The crew were friendly, knowledgeable and organised.
They served antipasto platters and beverages were available from a cash... read more bar.

If you feel up to it you can climb the rigging and haul the sails.

Fun in the sun.