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21 For the Squadron’s CentennialYear racing calendar there were 19 boats starting in the Stewart 34 Division. 1972 saw 23 Stewart 34’s in the Squadron’s yacht registry, with three new ones launched and another five, including Bob Stewart’s own Precedent, under construction. The Squadron was attracting up to 20 starters in the Stewart 34 Division. For their size, they were the fastest yachts in Auckland, the least expensive to build, and they were a great hit with cruising families. The Stewart 34s were the only one-design class with sufficient numbers to be given separate race starts by the Squadron. Four new boats had been launched before Christmas in 1975 and already there were rumours that fibreglass hulls would become available very soon! Bill Miller did the class proud when he set a new record sailing the 25.5 nautical miles Kawau from Auckland in just 2 hrs and 49 minutes on Pimpernel. Violating the Rules of Racing While the Stewart owners have usually been a harmonious group, sometimes some arguments have erupted over rules violations. At the Ponsonby Cruising Club after a day of racing a group of Stewart owners were discussing one of their number who wasn’t present (and who shall not be named), saying how terrible he was, how he never gave way when he was on port and how, one way or another, he was a real nuisance on the race course. The Club President at the time said “hang on, he seems like a nice guy, he might not know the rules very well but we shouldn’t criticize him so much.” However one of the other said “No way! He is the worst sportsman I ever met, and I cannot stand him” and continued to trash this guy, right and left. The President, sensing there was some hidden agenda, finally said “what is your problem?” “He ran off with my wife!” The Stewart 34 Story - John Lidgard In early 1959 I was approached by Mr. Peter Colmore-Williams founder of Sonata Laboratories and invited to build him a 34 foot light displacement yacht to a design by R.L. Stewart. Peter would provide a building shed and lines plan/general arrangement and wanted the cast cold moulded, using the epoxy glues and resins, which his company manufactured. I was to decide on construction details and Bob would follow up with drawings so future boats would conform. The boats were quite radical as we eliminated rabbit lines and many of the sacred cows of conventional wooden yachts.We used 6mm skins, the first (inner) from chain plates to waterline forward. The second square off centerline and the last at approx 90 degrees to the first.We skinned the finish all with 10 oz glass boat cloth and epoxy resin. I built the boat mostly on my own but where assistance was required Peter was a willing helper. It was meant to be a plug but Peter said“not this one”. Construction began shortly after Easter 1959 and the boat was launched in October, of the same year. We fitted her out with spruce spars that we built alongside her. Bob Stewart sailed the boat in the first race, Squadron Harbour Race. They started in the 3rd division with all other 36, 34 and 32 footers of the day. It was a complete rout. Patiki as she was named, not only thrashed all of her division by about 15 minutes but also caught up to and passed all of the division ahead, which had started 10 minutes ahead of her. The early comment by the skipper of the Logan classic Queenie “She looks like a bloody launch” was grudgingly given the appendage“and what’s more she goes to windward like a bloody launch as well”. Patiki was moved to 2nd division but had already caught the eye of James Davern. Jim Davern contacted me in January 1960 proposing a similar arrangement to my earlier one with Peter. In a very clever move he also persuaded his friend Ron Neil to build one. This was particularly favourable for me as Ron had a suitable building shed unused at his yard. Peter Colmore-Williams also put me in touch with a former school friend of his Boyd Hargraves who contracted with me to build a third Stewart 34. By this time I already had one employee but within weeks there were six of us and by October 1960 Princess,Patiko and Pim for Jim,Ron and Boyd respectively were finished and launched along with a modified version built by Maurie Palmer for Basil Kelly, by crane from Queen’s Wharf. Jim had been quite innovative and against Bob Stewarts advice had decide on a spade rudder.