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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
46 remained competitive in the Citizen Watch Match Racing series up to the final match in 1989. The public exposure given to the Stewart 34’s as a result of their use in the Citizen Watch Match Racing Series greatly contributed to the overall success of the class. The enormous amount of live television coverage of this exciting form of yacht racing, which aired in New Zealand, was a World Match Racing first. It literally introduced the sport of yacht racing to many New Zealanders all over the country. If the Citizen Match racing series raised awareness on the part of the public, it also raised the bar on the performance of the Stewart owners and their crews. First, the crews were introduced to this new form of on-the-water competition known as Match Racing,which is a much more intense contest requiring greater skill than sailing what often ended up being long reaching legs around the buoys on the Waitemata Harbour and Hauraki Gulf. Secondly, crewing with top International helmsmen, the hometown boys learned a whole new sea bag of sailing tricks. Ten Stewarts sailed in the final Citizen Match Racing Series in 1989. Six of the ten still have the same owners. All six currently rank in the top 10 in Stewart racing results and four of them fill the first four places. While all these gentlemen are of course all now 20 years older, they have obviously maintained at least the tactical skills they acquired from their participation in the Citizen Series. Even though the old guys rule, the continued success of the class attracts, and is dependent upon, quite a few young “rising stars.” Many of them show up for the exciting and highly competitive Monday evening windward/leeward races. Currently a young sail maker named Miles Addy, a regular crewmember of Bill Miller’s Pionnier, was invited to sail in the Star World Championships, crewing with fellow New Zealander Rowan Lord in a class boat in which he had never sailed. They came in sixth overall, a tremendous result, finishing ahead of another 70 boats. They were part of the NZ Squad selected to train for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Stewarts have proven themselves to be very strong and sturdy boats. Most of the wooden boats were very well built and have stood up to decades of hard racing, not to mention the occasional prang when racing becomes a “contact sport.” Two beautiful boats, Princess and Pim, built by John Lidgard in 1960, have both been lovingly refitted, and are looking good and still turning in excellent race results in 2009.To keep the boats identical, the newer fibreglass boats, by order of the Stewart 34 owner’s committee had to be at least as heavy as the wooden ones even though,in theory,they could have been built considerably lighter. As this was not done, they too are extremely strong. Being slightly“overbuilt”will no doubt add to their longevity. From 1980-1989 the Stewart’s were accurately weighed each year and in 1987 they were carefully swing tested to insure that they complied with the class rules. This enabled the class to correctly publish their results and to demonstrate to the yachting world the efforts made to ensure their equality. We are not aware of any other keel boat one-design class that has had anything similar published. For any organization to experience long-term success, it must be continually innovative and strive for continuous improvement. The Stewart Class has embraced these concepts over the years, which has resulted in keen interest in the class. Here are a few of the innovations that the Stewart 34 class has introduced to the New Zealand yachting scene: First New Zealand one design keelboat class to limit number of crew members on board to ensure equality. 1978 The first New Zealand Class to organise an international match racing event. 1979 The first New Zealand keelboat class to weigh and equalize fibreglass hulls and decks cast from moulds. 1979 First class to institute compulsory independent supervision of all fibreglass lay-up. 1984 The first New Zealand class to buy one-design headsails as a class and draw lots for them on race days, insuring that there was no advantage to those who could afford to buy new sails more often. 1986 The first keelboat class in New Zealand (if not in the world) to conduct swing testing of yachts to ensure identical moment of inertia (MOI) and height of the center of gravity (COG). 1987 The first New Zealand keelboat class to promote regular teams racing. 1988 First New Zealand class to have a single sponsor for the entire class. 1988 The first keelboat class to hold an international teams racing contest. 1989 The first Auckland keelboat class to sail a regular windward/leeward series. 1990