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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
53 to get them out for the racing. While the results were often disappointing, Gloria never gave up. Neither did Christine Webb, who was elected the first president of the Stewart 34 Association in 1988. The job is an onerous one to begin with, not to mention the additional challenge a woman might face in dealing with some of the Stewart owners who have a reputation for being just a wee bit chauvinistic. Not to worry, as Christine handled it all quite well, including the challenges during 1988/89 with the R.N.Z.Y.S. with respect to the match racing. Soon after Gloria Locke retired as Secretary/Treasurer of the Stewart 34 Association, along came Jan Divers. Jan brilliantly handled both jobs for five years and the job of Treasurer for another two years after that. She carried on the phone campaign to cruisers and non-racers to the extent that it seems to have become part of the job description of the Secretary. If that wasn’t enough, Jan also volunteered to assist on the committee boat for races. Soon Jan was running many of the races as P.R.O. (Principal Race Officer) with a mostly female team assisting her-another first. Jan was the P.R.O.for nearly all the Stewart races for five years. I can personally attest to the fact that Jan loved to be out on the water running races. If it was not for Jan’s and others like her, the Stewarts would not have had the quality of the races they enjoyed. When Jan Divers shifted from Secretary/Treasurer to PRO (principal race officer), Chris Lancaster, co-owner of Paquita came in to fill the void. Chris was yet another fabulous secretary,holding the position for more than four years. She was instrumental in organizing the Stewart’s 40th anniversary at the R.N.Z.Y.S. As well as compiling historical information about the Stewarts, 318 people who were, or had been involved with the Stewarts gathered for the celebration. When Chris Lancaster was appointed“Events Manager”for the 40th Anniversary in July of 1988,Linda King was elected as the new Secretary/Treasurer. Linda,a long time crew member on Patrician,turned out to be another superb choice for the jobs.She worked her heart out for more than five years until increasing work commitments forced her to resign. She still manages time to race on Patrician. The string of female Secretary/Treasurers was finally broken in 2004 by Mike Adeane. As well as the committee memberships discussed above, numerous other ladies have contributed to the class’ activities, especially during the years of the Citizen Match Racing. Many may remember the Stewart owner’s wives and partners assisting at the various R.N.Z.Y.S. functions, or of Betty Miller handing out thousands of programmes to the great crowds that used to congregate to watch the races during the eleven years of the Citizen Match Racing on North Head, Devenport. Isyachtingaman’ssport? Isaynot,andtheStewartAssociation has been very fortunate over the years to enjoy the excellent participation and support of all these fantastic ladies. 3 - The Establishment of Match Racing in New Zealand In the mid 1800’s, sailing vessels in New Zealand were almost exclusively working boats, used primarily for fishing or the transportation of passengers and cargo. With the exception of annualAnniversary Regattas held in the waters off the larger coastal cities, sailing purely for pleasure was almost unheard of. It wasn’t until the mid 1860’s when pleasure yachts and purpose-built racing boats began to arrive on the scene. With the expansion of the New Zealand economy and population,yachting emerged as a popular recreational activity,with racing in the forefront. With an excellent natural harbour and a spectacular cruising ground in the neighbouring Hauraki Gulf,Auckland was the sailing capital of the country. Thenext100yearssawcontinuousimprovementsinthequalityandperformanceof NewZealandyachts,butasidefromoccasional passageracestootherSouthPacificIslands,thetypicalracewassailedonacourseof 30milesormore,startingoff OrakeiWharf in the Waitemata Harbour,sailing well out into the Hauraki Gulf,around a few islands or rocks and then returning to the finish line Sue Blazey shows the fleet the way on Pamoana Mark Blazey