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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
130 Pavo sat at anchor and the official inspected the spare ground tackle.That Miller would have such a fine (and heavy) spare impressed the official.Amanwhowouldcarryasparelikethis,henodoubtthought,couldbetrustedtocarryothersafetygear.Afterall,itwasclearthat Miller was much more interested in safety than speed. More whisky was applied to the official and soon a half-hearted search for the second fire-extinguisher began.It was buried up the front underthesailshewastold.Intentonhavingalook,anotherwhiskywasapplied. Ataroundthispointthedinghyanchorlostitspathetic grip on the mud below and Pavo drifted out into the channel. Deeply concerned that his row back to the shore was increasing by the minute,he skulled his last dram,abandoned the search for the fire extinguisher,approved Pavo’s safety gear,congratulated Miller and his crew and rowed away. Despite this racing success,Miller couldn’t initially understand why Pavo didn’t win every race.Eventually he decided she was“slow”and sold her.Years later he conceded that perhaps she wasn’t so slow after all. Pavo went through various hands. During the 80s as the dog-killing virus Parvo-virus became known, her name was changed. Some airlinepilotsownedherforawhileandcalledherPro-rata.Itseemsthatthisarrangementinvolvedthepilotsequallysharinginherneglect. Later her name was changed again, this time to Perchance and she was last sold bearing this name in 2003 to current owner Ellis who bought her to cruise.Little did he realise that buying a Stewart was effectively stepping into a place where dark forces would be brought to bear against him. An engine breakdown while returning from the Bay of Islands to Tauranga caused her to call into Westhaven. Had he been more observant,hewouldhaveheardthegatetoWesthavenclangbehindhimasPavoreturnedtothespiritualhomeland–theturangawaewae – of Stewart racing. Association officials started to gently ease the net around her as Ellis, foolishly thinking they liked his company, drank their rum and soakeduptheadmiration. Fearandloveof hisfamilyandfingersmeansElliscannotrevealthedetails. Indeed,hesays,itwasentirelyhis owndecisionnottotaketheboatbacktoTauranga. Ellisassuresthatitwasalwayshisplantogoracing,havehisboatatWesthavenand invest all his grocery money for the greater good – the glory of Stewart racing. Ellis categorically denies that he was ever bullied. He denies that he ever had it imprinted in his mind that Bob Stewart had a lot of influence“upstairs”and that the devil (apparently in the form of late-night visitors with black balaclava with S-34 logos on them) would make him regret a return toTauranga. Ellisfurtherdeniesthathehasbeenbrainwashed.ThehypnoticrockofPionnieronthemarina,thebinauralhumandbeatoftheThursday liesessionandvariousmantrasimprintedonhisweakmindhadnothingtodowithit. Despitemanyextensivesessions,Ellis’psychiatrist stilldoesn’tknowwhy,onaThursdayafternoonatworkhestartsrockingandmoaninginhischairatwork,mutteringoverandover“If I can’t go racing on a Thursday I’m a failure.” Pavo currently lives at Westhaven and does approximately 70 races a year,participating in Ponsonby Cruising Club Rum Races and the Stewart Championship Series. Pegasus Sail No. 835 Builder: Max Carter Launched: 1963 Construction: Cold moulded triple diagonal kauri, glassed over Pegasus is the other non class-conforming Stewart 34 with a raised foredeck similar to Pania, built by Max Carter with Bob Stewart’s approval, as a 34’ motor-sailor rather than a racing yacht. Max Carter said:“I recall she was planked in 4 working days - 3 skins diagonal.” Pegasus Stewart Association Collection