R.Tucker Thompson
Encyclopedia
The R. Tucker Thompson is a gaff rigged tops’l schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
based in Opua
Opua
Opua is a locality in the Bay of Islands, in the sub-tropical Northland Region of New Zealand. It is notable as the first port for overseas yachts arriving in the country after crossing the Pacific Ocean...
, Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located 60 km north-west of Whangarei, it is close to the northern tip of the country....
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. She is operated as a non-for profit charitable trust and owned by the R. Tucker Thompson Sail Training Trust. The mission of the trust is “Learning for Life through the Sea”. The ship is used for tourism day sails in the Bay of Islands from October through April and for sail training activities between May and September. Youth sail training is particularly focused at youth from the Tai Tokerau Northland region of New Zealand. She is a member of the Australian Sail Training Association (AUSTA), and participated in the American Sail Training Association
American Sail Training Association
Founded on April 3, 1973, by Barclay Harding Warburton III, the American Sail Training Association is currently the largest sail training association in the world and a founding member of Sail Training International....
(ASTA) West Coast Tall Ships Challenge events in 2002 and 2005.
Design
The ship was designed by Pete Culler, a naval architect in the United States, as a working fishing boat with a large engine and a small sailing rig. Tucker Thompson changed her design to build her in steel and extended her by more than two metres, making the hull longer and deeper to accommodate the tall rigging. Her design is based on a halibut schooner and a replica of vessels that plied their trade on the Pacific West Coast of the USA in the early 19th century.Building of the R. Tucker Thompson
The R. Tucker Thompson was started by Robert Tucker Thompson and his son Tod. Tucker Thompson was born in California and always called Tucker. He and his family immigrated to New Zealand in January 1971. After a few years he moved to Whangarei Heads and started work on the ship with his son, Tod. The plating was not quite complete when Tucker became ill and needed a heart operation. He was 49 when he died. The hull lay there for some years before Tod decided to work on it again. In a chance meeting, while working in Whangarei on the replica of the Bounty, Tod met Russell Harris and the pair went into partnership to complete the ship.The hull was moved to Mangawhai Heads where work began. Limited funds meant that things had to be recycled. The massive fisherman’s anchor was found when a pub was being auctioned in Auckland and is stamped with the seal of approval of Lloyds Proving house in Chatham. The anchor windlass was modified from the back of a bulldozer; the bits were made from railway sleepers. The belaying pin
Belaying pin
A belaying pin is a device used on traditional sailing vessels to secure lines of rigging. Their function on modern vessels has been replaced by cleats, but they are still used, particularly on square rigged ships....
and handsome wheel were made from old Pururi fence posts. Spars were scarfed and laminated of Douglas Fir taken from an old Auckland building demolished to make way for the Regent Hotel. The varnished cap rail was made from demolition kauri. Skylights came from the yacht Askoy.
She was launched on Mangawhai Beach on 12 October 1985. Karewa, a Maori figurine to be her guardian, was carved by Gordon Hatfield and presented by William MacDonald Taylor, both of Ngapuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
.
History of the R. Tucker Thompson
Russell Harris purchased Tod Thompson’s shares in 1993. The ship was then marketed and operated by Fullers Bay of Islands, providing day sails in the Bay of Islands. In the winter, the ship provided a limited quantity of sail training voyages for young people deemed to be “at risk”. In 2003, Fullers decided to build their own sailing vessel and terminated the arrangement with the R. Tucker Thompson, who continued to operate directly.
Voyages
Since her launch, she has taken place in the following significant voyages:- First Fleet Re-enactment 1987;
- Nuclear Free Pacific protest flotilla, 1995;
- Sail Korea 2002;
- ASTA West Coast Challenge 2002;
- ASTA West Coast Challenge 2005.
The R. Tucker Thompson could not participate in the ASTA West Coast Challenge 2008, as July 2008 was her maintenance month.
Film work
The ship has been used in films and documentaries including "The Adventurer" series by TVNZ; "Red", a Somerset Maugham story by Infa Film Germany; Rite of Passage for the Australian First Fleet Re-enactment Company; Life of Mammals by the BBC; Captain's Log , a TVNZ documentary charting Captain Cook's circumnavigation of New Zealand; BBC Scotland's documentary on the life of James Morrison; Survivor: Cook IslandsSurvivor: Cook Islands
Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
for Survivor Entertainment Group and Leo Houlding's "On the Edge" for Ginger TV.