Yacht stalwart sells boat

Press, 23 June 1978, Page 24

Yacht stalwart sells boat

By

JOHN COFFEY

A familiar figure will be missing from the R class yachting fleet in Canterbury next summer — Tony Shields has sold his boat, Salty Dog.

Shields confirmed this week that he would no longer be sailing competitively in the class in which he has competed for so long, but he will retain the secretaryship of the New Zealand R Class Association. “The yacht has been sitting on the roof of the shed for most of the last 12 months,” Shields said. It was bought by Stewart Watson, who has previously crewed for lan Le Page. It is 26 years since Shields first took the helm of an R class, in a borrowed boat at a national championship at Charteris Bay. He had previously joined forces with Peter Mander to win New Zealand titles in the Frostbite and Silver Fern divisions and Shields was three times a runner-up in Cornwall Cup contests.

In 1960 Shields had a brief spell in a Finn before turning his attention back to the R class. He raced Vision for two years, built Radiant — in which he was twice

runner-up in Leander Trophy series, with Bruce Marriott and then Brian Taylor as his for’ard hands — and more recently sailed Frenzy and Salty Dog. If he did not achieve overall victory in a New Zealand championship, Shields was a dominant performer in the south, claiming three island titles and “seven or eight” provincial championships. His work as a market gardener often restricted his appearances in major events because of clashes of commitments.

During the last few years Shields has competed more for pleasure than for prizes, and has assisted many less experienced yachtsmen to develop their basic talents. Shields has been the secretary of the national R class association since its formation in 1967, has had a long term as treasurer of the Canterbury Yacht Club and held various offices within the provincial R class administration. “This will not be the end of my association with the class. I’m quite prepared to carry on as national secretary to give back to the sport something of what I have got out of it,” Shields said.