A fleet of three St Ayles skiffs and a beautiful clinker dinghy decended on Whitianga over the weekend of 17-20 October 2019 to help celebrate Cooks arrival 250 years ago and what a great time it was. Friday saw us venturing out into Mercury bay to be part of the official Tuia 250 fleet which meant we could get right up close to the Endeavour.

The following day we ventured up the harbour and eventually up the Waiwawa river all the way to Coroglen. what an awesome trip and relatively easy going with the tide, Its approx 12km one way amongst native bush and farmland passing remnants of giant Kauri mills and former settlements the area is full of history.

A great weekend with a wonderful group of people, Many thanks to Baden Pascoe for organising this one, Mutterings around the camp suggest that the next mini raid is likely to be in the Bay of Islands. Watch this space !