A rare junk rigged yacht that has sailed across the Pacific Ocean from British Columbia has been waiting for the wind to change in Pilot Bay this week so she can return north to Whangarei.

Skipper Kurt Ulmer has made several return voyages from New Zealand to the tropics, and says the junk rigged Mehitabel of Victoria will do everything the standard fore and aft sailing rig can do.

Marie, Kurt and Theresa Ulmer on board Mehitabel of Victoria in Pilot Bay.

'It's at least as good as any other rig, and better with the wind on the quarter,” says Kurt.

'The only time the performance drops against other rig types is in light airs. It is better to wait for the wind to change than to try and beat to windward in light airs.

'In less than ten knots she doesn't feel anything, but in 12-15 knots and she's fine.”

Designed originally as a cat schooner or cat ketch, Kurt says he bought Mehitabel in British Columbia in the mid-1990s for her roomy hull, free standing masts and small 20hp diesel.

The diesel and the fuel tanks have since gone, replaced by an electric motor which runs off absorbed glass mat deep cycle batteries. They are charged through solar panels and a wind generator at the top of the foremast.

He tossed the diesel engine because electric is greener and marginally cheaper, but it means he won't motor to the Barrier. He probably could, but Kurt doesn't want to discharge the batteries on a voyage and then not have power for manoeuvring in close quarters on arrival.

So he's waiting for the wind - something sailors have done for centuries.

'The difference is patience,” says Kurt.

Kurt, his wife Marie and their daughter Theresa live aboard Mehitabel in the Whangarei town basin. When the family first arrived in New Zealand some 14 years ago there were three children on board.

The two eldest have since left home, with another daughter now living in Tauranga, but Kurt's now looking at extended family for future voyages.

'My crew's up and disappeared in New Zealand,” he adds. 'Next year I'm looking at a niece from Canada and a couple of grand nephews.”

Junk rigs are popular among those who take to them because of their simplicity and ease of operation. Kurt can reef his sails from the cockpit.

Instead of clambering forward and wrestling with a swinging boom while the sail is lowered to tie in reef points, all he has to do is lower the sail, dropping a couple of sail panels onto the boom.

The sails themselves are lighter and cheaper than sail cloth, with Kurt making his from cover fabric.

The rig is so light and easy to handle that there are no winches. He's got a few blocks and a sister block, instead of the traditional Chinese euphroe for the lines from the battens.

Kurt Ulmer's junk rigged yacht.