The 14-boat fleet included eight newcomers, four of them from Paul Whiting and three from Bruce Farr.

There were top names like Helmer Pedersen, Olympic gold medal winner in Dutchman at Tokyo, Ian Gibbs, who represented New Zealand at the world Half Ton Cup series in France (1974), the United States (1975) and Italy (1976), and Gil Hedges, former top One Ton skipper, as well as some leading smallboat men like Neville Paul.

But none of them could match the skill and consistency of the world Quarter Ton champions Murray Ross and Paul Whiting in Newspaper Taxi.

The Taxi (the name was taken from the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky) was a development of Whiting's thinking in Magic Bus which retained the world Quarter Ton title for New Zealand in Corpus Christi (Texas).

Like the Bus, she was superbly functional with a lot of time and thought evident in everything about her.

And, again like the Bus, she was a quick machine immaculately handled.

The Taxi served notice on the fleet when she won the first race on the Olympic course by nearly four minutes from the Farr designed Cotton Blossom skippered by Pedersen. The margin in the 30-mile race two was nearly two minutes and the Taxi went on to string together a 1/1/1/2/1 series to win the Pacific title by nearly 20 points.

The conditions didn't matter. In near calms or 25 knots, Ross had the Taxi quickly into the lead and dictated from the front.

Newspaper Taxi - winner 1977 Sth Pacific Half Ton Cup

There obviously is something in the pub gossip that Ross and his crew could win in practically any competitive design. The teams that the Dutchman for'ard hand puts together are inevitably talented and always dedicated. The success they achieve is a measure of the preparation and effort they put in. But this should not be allowed to detract from the ability of the Taxi. The competition at this level is now always cut-throat with other crews going at it the professional way. But the pattern seems to be that they are always half a step behind Ross and the boats he sails. The Taxi emerged from the 125-mile drifter of a short ocean race, the third heat of the series, with a 34 minute margin on the Holland design Golden Kiwi, the light airs flyer skippered by Gil Hedges, for her third win in as many starts and now going for the perfect score of five straight.

But one moment's relaxation in race four prevented that.

The Taxi led into the last beat of the Olympic course with what should have been, to a skipper of Ross' talents, an easily defended lead. But Ross let the cover off Pedersen, in Cotton Blossom, just once, and briefly at that. Pedersen grabbed his chance and took the Farr boat in for her only win in the contest.

The 258-mile long race of the series provided the full range of conditions. Taxi went to the front soon after the start and eased away to win by 27 minutes from Candu II, skippered by Ian Gibbs, which was the prototype of the Taxi lines.

In this race Taxi dispelled any doubts about her ability in fresher airs. She covered the 258 miles in 42½ hours. On her way in from Channel Island to the finish at Orakei, she tore along to cover 38 miles in 4½ hours with no real handling vices in 25 knots of wind and big, awkward beam sea.

Newspaper Taxi

Gibbs did well to bring Candu II home third overall with a 4/4/9/4/2 series, suffering more than Pedersen in the troublesome race three.

Candu II, Mama Cass, Tohe Candu (Titus Canby) are now all Wellington boats, moored on D pier at Chaffers Marina. For a while all 3 were tied up next to each other

The differences between the two Whiting boats were interesting . . and illustrate the constant development that goes in in the hot racing Ton classes.

Candu II was the first development of the Magic Bus theme, built on a crash schedule for the world Half Ton series in Italy last year.

Taxi was designed and built in the light of experience with Candu II, after the Magic Bus venture in Texas, and with the November 1976 rule changes in mind.

The obvious difference was that Taxi was a centreboarder. Resolute Salmon had illustrated the gains to be made in this area when she won the One Ton Cup in Marseille and the Laurie Davidson design Fun provided more evidence in Corpus Christi.

Candu II

The centreboard provides a small rating plus along with some big performance gains. a board can be the most efficient shape possible with the designer not having to compromise between efficiency and having to hang ballast under the boat. So upwind performance should be better, while downwind, with the board up, there is the obvious reduction of wetted surface.

Taxi's board was 229mm (9in) deeper than the keel on Candu II and approximately 15% larger in area.

The aft sections of Taxi were modified to overcome the penalties incurred in this area in the rule changes. LBG (length between girths) was shortened by 150mm (6in) and the bow knuckle lifted higher. The end product was a shorter rated L measurement which, converted into rating plus, meant a 10% sail increase over Candu II.

A little bit here, a little bit there . . . and, all-round, the Taxi was a markedly better boat than Candu II.

Newspaper Taxi drawings

The rig and deck layout showed the same careful attention to detail which Ross employed so successfully on the Bus.

The mast was a 92mm Baverstock tube which was lighter than the norm. This spar was stayed with back capstay and runners, cap shrouds and aft lowers. The wire luff headsails of the Bus had to give was to a Gemini foil because compression increases, and the Taxi had hydraulics on the forestay to increase mast control.

The mainboom was the same jumbo section as used on the Bus and incorporated the Ross inspired injection spinnaker pole system which permitted the pole to be hoisted into position from the cockpit then retrieved with shock cord and stowed along the main boom. The only time a man is needed forward is to clip the brace on.

The rest of the Ross bag of tricks included spinnaker launchers, with trays incorporated in the hatches to stop water pouring below in a seaway, most gear controlled from the windward deck, all sail controls led aft to the cockpit, and the winch for controlling the 92kg centreboard (20kg of lead on the bottom) located at the for'ard end of the cockpit.

The similarities between the Bus and the Taxi were obvious, even down to their identical records in the Pacific championships — a 1/1/1/2/1 series. The shame of it is that Taxi was sold to Australia while Whiting and Ross concentrated on a new One Tonner.