THE OG GOES OFFSHORE, SOLO – PETER BOURKE
Some say Peter Bourke of Hauraki Express has saltwater flowing through his veins – a fitting inheritance for a man who sailed solo around New Zealand, then across the Tasman and back, for fun.
Peter comes from a long line of Bourkes who've been sailing New Zealand's coast for over 130 years. In 1893, his great- grandmother Rose commissioned Omaha shipbuilder Davy Darroch to build the 84-foot sailing scow Shamrock, captained by Peter's great-grandfather Billy Bourke. Billy later found fame as skipper of the scow Moa when it was captured during World War I by Count Felix von Luckner – the German sea captain notorious for his daring escape from the Motuihe Island prisoner-of-war camp. But that's another story entirely.
With the Bourke name cropping up throughout New Zealand shipping history, it was little surprise that in 2012, after a career in construction and property, Peter set up Hauraki Express, a marine fuel business operating tanker vessels and shore-based facilities around the Hauraki Gulf. The company is also a partner in Island Direct, a new ferry service running out of Auckland's Downtown Ferry Terminal to Waiheke Island. True to form, it's a family affair: Peter is the founder, or "OG" as the team calls him, with son-in-law Stu running operations, son George the main skipper, and daughters Holly and Amy working behind the scenes.
Peter "sort of" retired in 2020 – though rather than slowing down, he decided to buy an old classic yacht, restore it, then go sailing. Diablo, a 29-foot kauri offshore keeler built by Keith Eade of West Auckland in 1970 had lived a wild life and needed a full restoration.
The work began and Peter started planning a coastal cruise – not a hop from anchorage to anchorage but a circumnavigation of Aotearoa, solo! The 5,000km voyage took him two months and was completed in April 2025 – right around the time the Opua Cruising Club announced it was reviving the Solo Trans-Tasman yacht race for 2026. Peter's response was immediate: "I'm in!"
A lot of water went under the bridge from then to the start of the race from Opua on May 30 2026. Of the 23 yachts entered, only 15 reached the start line, and just 11 finished. Peter and Diablo, representing Sandspit Yacht Club, were among them, battling a three-day gale, electrical storms and strong headwinds before finally finding clear sailing to the Gold Coast. The race claimed three retirements to damage, one skipper injury, and one boat that crossed the line half-sunk. Peter and Diablo did themselves proud, finishing an impressive 5th on handicap against far faster competition after 10 days at sea. Not bad for the smallest and oldest yacht in the fleet whose combined age (man and boat) is 130 years.
After just six days ashore, recovering, repairing, and preparing, Peter and Diablo turned around and sailed home across the Tasman, solo again. A return trip he found even tougher than the race itself – stormy, cold, wet, and hungry. "I can't say I enjoyed it that much," he admits.
Asked what's next, Peter doesn't hesitate: a cruise to Fiordland via Nelson next year. As for why he sails alone, he jokes it's "because he has no friends and maybe he smells" – though it's more likely because his adventures push the limits most others wouldn't dare. His wife Bubbles just sighs.