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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
154 wasChairmanatthetime,tocomeandsortoutanangryownerwhoclaimedthegrouphadnorighttobarbequeonWaiheke. Whilst thatwasgoingon,LaurieKendallwentdownbelowonPolarisandgrabbedtheoneandonlySquadronflagthatisvirtuallyneverused. WhereasalltheotherSquadronflagsareroyalbluewithcrownsandstars,etc.onthem,thisoneisagreenpennantwithawhitestripe down the center. It means,more or less,everyone in the bay is invited aboard for free drinks. Interestingly he wasn’t even a Squadron member. KendalljumpedaboardMiller’sPrincessandtiedittothestarboardcapshroud. HethenmetBette,onherfirsteverStewart picnic and said,“Look Bette,Bill has invited every one on board for drinks.” Bette was completely bewildered as nobody had told her anything about it,but being her usual hospitable self,started bringing out her world famous shortbread as well as the rest of the food and most of the boat’s booze. Kendall then went and told everyone else on the raft up that Miller was shouting. Despite the fact that thiswasahighlyuncharacteristicthingforMillertodo,everyonesoonrushedenmasseontoPrincesswheretheyproceededtoeatand drinkpoorBetteoutofhouseandhome. Miller,havingsettledtheargumentashorebypromisingnottogoabovethespringhighwater mark,andtocleanupanyshamblesafterwards,startedtorowbacktoPrincess. Drawingcloser,henoticedinthemiddleof theraftthat Princesshadacrowdof peopleonboardandwassittingquitelowinthewater. Of coursebythetimehegotonboardtherewasnothing lefttoeatordrink. TheonlythingleftwasalittlegreenandwhiteflagwhichMillerpromptlyconfiscated. Abouttwentyyearslaterat Laurie’sfuneralsendoff attheBrown’sBayR.S.A.hehungtheflagonalamppostoutsidetoinvitethewholeof Browne’sBaytocome and join. Laurie’s family didn’t mind and were only too happy to pay the bill. Miller still has the flag - beware! Convinced that Princess’ hull was as good as it could get, he hauled her out, disassembled her, turned her upside down used her as the“plug” to create a mould for the new fibreglass boats. Using the mould, Miller built the first fibreglass Stewart, Pionnier, for himself in 1978. After the launch of his new boat, Miller leased Princess to Ray Haslar 78/79. Haslar sailed Princess to a fourth place finish in the 1979 CitizenWatch Match Race Series. Princess would be a regular part of the Citizen fleet. Alan Day & Gloria Locke bought Princess in 1979. Alan & Gloria were very much involved with the Stewart 34 Owners Association. Gloria also had an all women crew and sailed Princess in the Summer Evenings Spinnaker Division for all women crews. Princess was purchased in 1994 by Koos Schipper & Ann McDonald of Waiheke Island. Little is known of her activity during their ownerships, but the author saw her on numerous occasions in the early ‘00’s swinging on a mooring in Matiatia, Waiheke Island. She appeared to be neglected and was in a terrible state of disrepair. Princess was leased to John Collinson for the 2003/04 racing season. Collinson invested in a suit of sails and she began to appear again on the Auckland racing scene. Collinson, a friend of Russell Coutts, organised some match racing between Coutts,skippering Princess, and Bill Miller on Pionnier, on 22 December of 2003. Proving once again that old age and cunning can overcome youth and exuberance, Miller, with Mark Bond at the helm, beat the most winning skipper in America’s Cup history, 3-0, in a very competitive and exciting match. The fact that Miller had an experienced match racing crew and that very few of Coutt’s jack up crew had ever been in a match race is purely coincidental!!! Stewart raft up, Awaawaroa Bay Bill Miller Collection Nice bum! Princess’ fine hull was used for the mould to build fibreglass Stewarts. She is shown being launched after a major refit in 2005. George Backhus