Balaena, a Denis Brown-designed yacht owned by Magnus O'Grady, competing in the Tall Ships Regatta 2025. Photo / John Mead
The Russell Boating Club has hosted the Tall Ships Regatta most years since 1976, which means the January 2026 event will be the 50th anniversary of the first.
The idea was the brainchild of Bill Sellers, partly as a way to make visiting yachts feel welcomed and also to transform the Russell Boating Club into a cruising club for the summer.
Back then, tall ships meant genuine tall ships with at least one crossed yard but even that was a stretch for the rulebook.
There were a few large yachts visiting in those days, often crewed by young men escaping the USA draft.
The event grew in strength and by 1990, the fleet consisted of 32 large yachts, seven square ships and scores of smaller spectator boats accompanying them.
In the fleet was the Soren Larsen, Spirit of Adventure, Spirit of New Zealand, Young Endeavour from Australia, Tradewind, Breeze and R. Tucker Thompson.
The rule – which still applies today – was the boats had to be more than 9.14m and have two masts and today only entrant, the R. Tucker Thompson, based in Ōpua, strictly complies.
RBC commodore Bruce Mitchison said it’s too expensive today for tall boats to come from their home base to consider contesting the event, although he was hoping for one or two from Australia to enter for the 50th anniversary event.
The January regatta will include three divisions of yachts, Tall Ships, Classic Invitation and All Comers.
The Tall Ships Division is open to monohull vessels with a deck of not less than 9.14m length and with two or more masts. It may include square rigs as well as fore and aft rig. This division is by invitation only so the organisers recommend an early registration.
The Classic Division is open to monohull vessels of a recognised “classic type”, not less than 7.7m on deck with any type of rig. It’s by invitation only so early registration is advised.
The All Comers Division is open to all sailing vessels not meeting the criteria for the Tall Ships, Classic Invitation or Junk Rig divisions. This includes monohull and multihull vessels not less than 7.7m on deck, with any type of rig.
To help celebrate the anniversary, the regatta will be a two-day event, incorporating the Kororāreka Classic Launch Rally on Friday January 9.
This rally will showcase some of the best examples of restored classic launches.
There is only one entry so far. Commodore Bruce Mitchison will be on board the classic launch Lady Ellen, built in 1950. No electronic gear is permissible.
Equally traditional with the regatta is the famous-in-Russell hāngī on the Saturday night, where around 900 people are expected to partake. Two live bands will perform to help rock the night. For more information, visit the Russell Boating Club website: https://russellboatingclub.org.nz.
In 2022, a group of businesswomen got together to form the Northland Women’s Club.
There were just 12 members to begin with but that has now grown over the past three years to 300 members.
The founder is Vanessa Bennett. She and her husband moved from Auckland to Kerikeri during the height of the pandemic and although she wasn’t born here, she can trace her ancestry back to Samuel Marsden.
A large component of the club’s raison d’etre is about networking and forming relationships with other businesswomen, while raising funds for various charities.
In mid-October, the club held a “Black, White & Sparkles” fundraising ball in Kerikeri and 160 people attended.
An auction, raffle and donations raised more than $75,000 on the night, which brings the total amount the club has raised in three years to more than $200,000.
Up for auction was a rare 100-year-old crystal decanter donated by Kerikeri’s Beryl Thompson; a golf experience at the private course of Sir Russell Coutts in Queenstown, and a day out boating on board “Laughalot” – a Grand Banks motor yacht captained by America’s Cup alumnus Mathew Mason.
Club chair Darlene Smits shared her own cancer journey over the past 18 months when a small “itch” in her breast resulted in a double mastectomy, despite having had a clear mammogram just eight months before.
Other speakers included Breast Cancer Foundation NZ chief executive Ah-Leen Rayner, who detailed how many people in Northland experience breast cancer.
Warwick Hunt, a part-time resident of Northland whose wife went through breast cancer, outlined the other side of the story – that of the families and carers who walk alongside those going through their treatment.
The night included a three-course meal created by Canadian-Kiwi chef Ken Van Mackelbergh of BBQ Bay of Islands and Tama Choat, a local chef who works for The Range NZ, a private luxury dining and a clay target shooting range in Northland.
More than a dozen Russell Kororāreka artists will exhibit in the Russell school hall from mid-December through to January.
The exhibition will be opened by New Zealand artist Shane Cotton on December 14 at 2pm.
Curator and manager Sue Fitzmaurice said: “These are some of Russell’s best, most popular and most skilled artists, all of whom have exhibited before.”
The whimsical paintings of Darina Denali, the moody landscapes of Pete Cernis and the carvings of Gary Wilson are among the artworks to be exhibited.
“This is an incredibly rich showing and it’s very much about Kororāreka, the bay and Te Tai Tokerau,” Fitzmaurice said.
“Artists find a lot of inspiration here, there’s copious history you can feel.”
Darina Denali is well known in the town for her exquisitely imaginative pieces. There are eight or 10 originals in her new series, as well as prints and cards.
Kororāreka carver Gary Wilson creates legend. His carvings range from practical tokotoko (walking sticks) to decorative pieces nearly 2m high.
Fitzmaurice is the editor of the town’s monthly newsletter, Russell Lights. She said she grew up with art.
“My mother painted and my daughter became a fulltime artist, so it’s always been part of my life.
“Most of these artists I’ve known for a while; they’re all the type of artist that have to do their art and if they don’t, they get restless and stressed.
“We also have weavers, some wonderful fabric art, there’ll be around eight painters with 50 or 60 original works, plus prints. It’ll be quite the extravaganza.”
A percentage from sales will contribute to purchasing new computers at Russell School.
The show, the Russell Artists Summer Gallery, takes place at the Russell School Hall, on the corner of Chapel St and Church St. It opens on December 14 at 2pm and then runs daily from 10am to 4pm.