N.Z.’s One Ton Cup hopes delayed by seamen’s dispute

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34156, 18 May 1976, Page 30

N.Z.’s One Ton Cup hopes delayed by seamen’s dispute

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron will start looking at alternative ways of getting 45 South II and Jiminy Cricket to Timaru if the seamen’s dispute holding up loading of the Coastal Trader is not settled todav.

The two One Ton Cup challengers will be sent south by truck to rendezvous with the New Zealand Lines vessel Aorangi as a last resort.

45 South and Cricket were yesterday still all dressed up with nowhere to go while a manning dispute involving the Union South Pacific kept the Coastal Trader out of the roll-on roll-off berth.

The Coastal Trader, with the One Tonners as part of its cargo, should have left for me South Island on Saturday. But yesterday she was stil! held up by the Union South Pacific dispute. Contingency plans The One Ton team manager (Mr P. Kingston), said he was not yet very concerned with the situation. If the Union South Pacific dispute was not settled in time the squadron would have to

investigate contingency plans. The crew of the Union South Pacific and Auckland Seamen’s Union officials were meeting behind closed doors yesterday, to try to resolve the manning dispute. Late yesterday morning, no decision had been reached, and the Union South Pacific was still laying idle at the seaway terminal. Name changed The owner, the Union Steam Ship Company Ltd, said yesterday it could do nothing but wait, because it was not involved in the dispute. The dispute was an internal one between the seamen and their union. Meanwhile, the Number is now a minus. Graeme Woodroffe renamed his Farr yacht 45 South 11 on the eve of shipping the boat to Europe for the world One Ton Cup series.

The name change was in evidence for the first time

on Thursday as 45 South II and Jiminy Cricket were lifted off their keels and loaded into shipping cradles. Changing a boat’s name is supposedly unlucky, but there is no such sentiment in top ocean racing.

Woodroffe explained his move in one word: “Psychological.’’ He added: “We were pretty successful in 45 South last year (winning the world Quarter Ton championship in France). “Now we’re hoping to repeat the dose in 45 South ll.’’

Woodroffe won the New Zealand One Ton trials in the yacht, which was then named “The Number.”