Richard Raea Bio
Richard began sailing as a boy in Auckland sailing a P class, Flying Ant and his dad’s trailer sailor. At 18 he was offered the opportunity to sail with family friends to the Pacific Islands and Australia aboard the 39’ ketch Rehuata.
Upon arrival in Suva, after a mid winter stormy passage, he laid eyes upon the 21’ Laurent Giles Trekka Manu-Karere. This tiny vessel had also sailed from New Zealand through the atrocious weather experienced by Rehuata, proving that well designed small vessels were just as capable as the larger ones.
It wasn’t too long before Richard purchased his own small Keeler back in Auckland with the intention of sailing into the Pacific Sunset as a solo sailor. However after three years of living aboard and coastal cruising it became apparent that this particular vessel was not of the same pedigree as the Trekka and the boat was sold.
About the same time Richard became involved with the Pacific Peace Flotilla in 1985 and voyaged to Mururoa aboard the 56’ Brigantine Breeze acting as the radio operator for the three month voyage. It was on this voyage, and under the guidance of Master mariner, Jim Cottier that Richard learnt celestial navigation. This was also the year his parents Liz & Geoff Nevill sold the family home and purchased the 43’ cruising yacht Te Kaitoa with the intention of circumnavigating the planet.
Departing Auckland aboard Te Kaitoa in 1986 Richard took the role as navigator for the first passage to Tonga before returning to Auckland and then taking up an eight-year residence in Sydney Australia.
During these years in Australia Richard restored the 28’ steel keeler Passatt and voyaged extensively off the east coast sailing between Sydney and Townsville. In 1993 Richard joined his parents again in Cape Town and spent the next four months sailing across the Atlantic and Caribbean oceans to Panama. From here he then sailed with an Australian crew aboard the 50’ Nicholson sloop Pasha as far as Tonga where he met up with his Dad for the sail back to Auckland, the final leg of Te Kaitoa’s circumnavigation.
Two years later in 1995 Richard set sail as skipper aboard Te Kaitoa with a crew of six for Mururoa Atoll. She sailed in company with over 20 vessels in what was to be the largest protest flotilla in the history of the Mururoa saga.
It was nearly 10 years before Richard would purchase his next boat Nimbus II with the intention of entering the Solo Trans –Tasman race in 2007. It is no coincidence that Nimbus II and the little Trekka, visited in Fiji all those years ago, are almost sisters says Richard. “All boats are equal, only some are more equal than others”.
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