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ePaper created 2014-06-11, 13:05:34 | version 1.30.01
94 5 - After the Citizen Sunday 16 April 1989 marked the final day of International Match Racing on Stewart 34’s. It is interesting to note that Roy Dickson,with his son Chris won the very first series in 1979 on Pahi. Chris won the very last event raced on Stewarts on Psychic, and his father Roy was defeated by Russell Coutts in the semi-finals. At the prize giving ceremony after the racing, all the usual kind words were proffered and the Stewart owners were briefly thanked for the use of their boats. Although is was by then common knowledge among the yachting community, not a word was mentioned indicating that this was the last Match Race Series to be raced in Stewart 34’s, who’s Owner’s Association actually innovated this successful event ten years earlier. What made the bitter pill even more difficult to swallow was the fact that those who were more or less in control of the event, the Squadron’s flag officers,were ALL former Stewart 34 owners themselves. They were Don Brooke,Commodore and former owner of Promise; Evan Kerr-Taylor, Vice Commodore and former owner of Progress and Richard Endean, Rear Commodore, Chairman of the Match Race Committee and former owner of Prion. In the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Annual Report, published a few weeks later, the Commodore made no mention whatsoever about the Stewart 34 situation. In the Rear Commodore/Match Racing Committee Report, Richard Endean concluded his 520 word report with“Stewart owners are thanked for lending their boats.” Just eight words of appreciation for the group who inaugurated the Match Racing Series, supported it wholeheartedly for eleven years, and lent the Squadron, free of charge, approximately $1 million worth of boats each year for the big event. The minutes of the Squadron Match Race committee dated 5 October 1988 show that Richard Endean stated that Citizen Watch’s Warwick Browne’s attitude was that“Citizen was doing the Stewart 34’s a big favour and without him they would die a natural death.” Endean agreed, but was later quoted in Sea Spray as saying“there is a big future in Match Racing. We also hope we can find a fairy godmother who can give us the luxury of ten match racing yachts.” Over the years, the Stewart owners were coerced into taking the existing deal over the veiled threat to take it to the 1020’s or Farr 11.6’s. They clearly enjoyed the racing and the chance to sail and learn from the top international skippers. But when the Stewart owners finally stood up to the Squadron’s unreasonable conditions, it was the Squadron that capitulated. Perhaps as a result of their difficulties in dealing withtheStewartowners,theSquadronflagofficers as mentioned elsewhere appeared to have adopted anti-Stewart sentiments. They also seemed to have forgotten that the “fairy godmother” had already come knocking on the Squadron’s door.Stewarts still regularly line up for competitive racing. Stewart Association Collection Year Skipper Yacht 1979 Roy Dickson Pahi 1980 Dick Deaver Paprika 1981 Harold Cudmore Panacea 1982 Chris Dickson Princess 1983 Rod Davis Premier 1984 Terry McLaughlin Pendragon Year Skipper Yacht 1985 Chris Dickson Psychic 1986 Peter Isler Prism 1987 Rod Davis Psychic 1988 John Kolius Pionnier 1989 Chris Dickson Psychic Citizen Watch Match Racing Series-First Place Skippers and Yachts