News: 28 November 2019
The flotilla has just announced it will perform a special sail-by around Wellington Harbour this Friday between 1 – 3pm. A ‘sail-by salute’ is a maritime tradition dating back to ancient times. The flotilla is two months into a three-month journey visiting sites of significance to Māori, Pacific and Pākeha sailing traditions and settlement of New Zealand, and engaging communities with interactive education about voyaging by vessel crews.
Wellingtonians can see the tall ship HMB Endeavour replica, youth ship Spirit of New Zealand, the waka hourua Haunui and Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti, and the Tahitian va’a tipaerua Fa’afaite which has sailed 4,300km to New Zealand using celestial navigation.
Image of the HMB Endeavour under sail, image courtesy of the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Sail-by route: The vessels in the flotilla will be entering Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington Harbour on Friday morning and mustering off Matiu / Somes Island by noon. From 1pm to 3pm approximately, the flotilla will sail by Eastbourne, past the Petone foreshore, move along the western side of the harbour and then along the Wellington Waterfront. The vessels then berth at Queens Wharf on Jervois Quay in the CBD: the tall ships at around 3pm, and the waka around 4pm. The HMNZS Wellington will also be docking.
Note: The times and route above are approximate and subject to weather and maritime conditions and logistics on the day.
Take your boat out to welcome the flotilla
You can watch from the water, observing these maritime exclusion zones:
- Stay 100 metres away from the vessels when they’re underway
- Stay 50 metres away when the vessels are anchored or berthed.
Visit the vessels
Come down to Queen’s Wharf to experience life onboard the vessels with free visits for the public between 10am – 4pm on Sunday 1 December. This is the last opportunity for New Zealanders to board the tall ships as part of the flotilla, before they resume usual operations as R. Tucker Thompson has done.
Updated on 28th November 2019