The six-man, one-boy crew arrived in Whangārei on Tuesday after a nine-day voyage.
It wasn't the calmest crossing due to bad weather in the Tasman, said the boy's father.
''We just tucked ourselves in under the cyclone and got blown home,'' Fortune said. ''But Jack was fine, he's been around boats all his life.''
Although the trawler was not built or fully fitted in Whangārei, all marine services are available locally, easily accessible and of a high standard, he said.
''That's why Whangārei is Karearea's registered port. This is where we'll be coming for everything we need and to come home.
''We've had a team of guys running backwards and forwards to Adelaide and now, two years later, we're back here but with the boat.''
The boat's hull will now be cleaned and some final fit-out work done.
When the quota is in place, Karearea will head off for the scampi fishing fields near the Auckland Islands.
Between 15-30 centimetres long, scampi looks like a big prawn and is from the same family as Norway lobster and Dublin Bay prawn.
