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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
69 Gordon Ingate,AUS Sailed on Premier. Sailed against the USA in the America’s Cup, and placed sixth in the previous year’s Citizen. Tenth place with 1 point. The top two finishers from the previous year swapped spots in 1981. What was also notable was that after Cudmore, who had seven wins, the next four boats all had six wins, demonstrating just how close the competition was. Skipper Evan Kerr-Taylor,with Brad Butterworth calling tactics,came in third place, and was the top New Zealand boat with six wins. Mark Bethwaite, a Kiwi born Australian and world champion sailor, also had six wins. For some reason, he never received another invitation to the Citizen after that year. I wonder why? The recommendation from the previous year’s competitors that ten minutes be allowed for starting manoeuvres instead of 5 was granted. Identical Hood mainsails were added to the inventory of genoas supplied by sponsors last year and no boats with rudder skegs were selected. By this time, the Citizen was generally recognized to be at least equal in stature to the Lymington Regatta held in Cowes, England and not too far below the prestigious Congressional Cup held annually in Long Beach, California. At a StewartAssociation meeting held inAugust of 1981,with Bob Stewart in attendance,some new Class Rules were adopted, “in the interest of further standardization of the boats”even though“the equality of the boat speed of the 10 yachts [used in the Citizen] was, by far, the best to date.” The Stewart Association’s involvement with the Citizen had everyone fired up. New rules and regulations were continually being drawn up in order to improve the Class and the event. Owners whose boats were now under close scrutiny and who might have to spend time and money making them conform to the new rules wanted to have their say. Everything from capacity and placement of water tanks, engine weight and placement, equipment carried, size and design of racing sails and specific weights of every part of their boats and rigging were covered. Bill Miller retired as Chairman of the Stewart Association after the 1981 Citizen. In a letter to the members dated 8 June he said“I am happy to hand over the chair,knowing that the Class is still exciting and that there are many amongst you willing and able to keep it that way. During my lifetime I have never been in an organisation where all and sundry continually try 100% to defeat their fellow member on the track,in the Protest Room and at the Bar by fair means or (do I say,foul?) and yet at meetings and functions are prepared to sink their own feelings for the betterment of the Class. It is tremendous!! It has not always been easy, but when you look today at other classes, it is great to see how sensible we all were when we bought a Stewart 34. I only wish I had the ability to design such a yacht and to Bob Stewart we should be eternally grateful. I have never enjoyed myself more. I close by hoping I will be able to beat as many of you as I can for many years to come.” In the third year of involvement, Niall Cotton, the incoming Chairman of the Stewart Association, warned in his Annual Report that although the competition has “matured into a real success story” and that “from the public’s point of view, Stewart 34’s are the yachts used in the television Match Racing and this additional interest has helped keep the class alive. . .improvements in the boats and our organisation are still necessary and will follow, provided we stick at it-all amateurs running a professional show.” The StewartAssociation’s suggestion to hold New Zealand national trials as well as Stewart ClassTrials was adopted for future contests, but surprisingly not without considerable opposition. Up until that point, New Zealanders that sailed in the Citizen were there by invitation of the Squadron. Certainly those invited were some of the top sailors in the country, but one can only wonder who else with similar or better skills missed out on the opportunity to demonstrate their ability. From then onwards, the two-trial system was used for the selection of New Zealand’s participants in the Citizen. The top three finishers in the Stewart trials went into the national trials, and the top three of the National Trials went to the Citizen. Cudmore gets the inside edge on Deaver to win the 1981 Citizen Stewart Association Collection