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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
76 in the Citizen. Sixth place on count-back with 4 points. Brad Butterworth, NZ* Sailed Pua-wai. Won the NZ Trials. Seventh place on count-back with 4 points. Harold Cudmore, IRL Sailed on Phlyer. His seventh Citizen series. Had been runner-up on four occasions and won once. Eighth place on count-back with 3 points. Russell Coutts, NZ Sailed on Psyche II. Was an Olympic Gold Medallist in 1984. Ninth place on count-back with 3 points. Gordon Lucas,AUS Sailed on Phantasy. State and national champion in Cherubs, Flying Dutchmen, Fireballs and Hornets. Tenth place with 2 points. *Stewart 34 owner or skipper. The Kiwis came back in 1985 and Chris Dickson had a convincing win. He was the first skipper to win the Citizen twice, as well as every race in the series. American Rod Davis came in second, giving him three podium finishes in five attempts. Peter Montgomery commented after the event that he regarded the Citizen as the best match racing series in the world.!! After the 1985 Citizen the Stewart owners submitted a list of comments and suggestions to the Squadron relating to the event. They thought that since the contest was being raced almost entirely by professionals and had a high standing in the international yachting world, it was time to organise the event along professional lines with sufficient funds to be found, without penny-pinching in “any department.” The owners,as amateurs,felt they were subsidising the various professional interests, on and off the water. The $100 occasionally given each boat in the past had nowhere covered the cost of repairs needed after the event. They wanted more,with the penalty of no invitation to race in future series issued to any helmsman who“has been found negligent in their duties to the owner.” They also suggested to the Squadron that a set of new No. 3 genoas be bought so that the series could still be sailed in 22-26 knots, to the advantage of TV coverage and the Sponsors. Unfortunately, Citizen didn’t have the budget for it. The Squadron agreed to meet some of the owner’s most important requests for the next Citizen, those being an increase in fees charged for use of the boats to cover wear and tear and insurance cover for the boats during the event. Unfortunately, Citizen Watch’s level of sponsorship at the time was not enough to cover these additional expenses, so Warwick Browne requested that each boat be permitted to take on a sub-sponsor. At the first meeting of the 1985/86 Match Racing Committee on 30 July 1985, Richard Endean was nominated and elected Chairman. Endean was quite keen on match racing and began breathing some new life into the event. He realized that more funds were needed to run a top professional event and was determined to get them. He suggested that Citizen Watch not be automatically selected as sponsor each year, but should be given first right of refusal. He also insured that three of four Squadron Flag Officers were in attendance to the Committee meetings, guaranteeing that they could make things happen. He announced that he had arranged to invite the Royal AkaranaYacht Club’s champion sailor to participate in the New Zealand trials. He gave details of proposed match racing event to take place in late September of 1985 in Farr 38’s. Finally, he moved that a budget for $85,000 the 1986 International Match Race Series be approved. With increasing financial requirements required to keep improving the event, Endean also began to think about additional sponsors. At the following meeting on 21 October 1985, Warwick Browne’s offer to increase Citizen Watch’s sponsorship by $20,500 to $85,000 was accepted but he was told that it would again be reviewed before the 1987 Match Race Series. Richard Endean stated that he had received alternate offers, one in particular from UBIX. All of this put Endean firmly at the helm of the The fiercely competitive young Russell Coutts made his debut in the 1985 Citizen Breeze