Despite British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declaring “peace for our time” in September 1938, the German army invaded Poland on September 1 and Britain and France declared war on September 3, 1939.
Bill still had some commercial orders to get out of his Sulphur Beach, Northcote yard. Once he had launched the 42ft bridgedecker Manunui on September 30, 1939 and the racing 18-footers Marie Dawn in November and Athena in December, both near-clones of Jeanette, he had a keel yacht on the stocks, the 29ft 6in Tuirangi (C35) he had designed for Jack Allen of Epsom. Wartime shortages of materials and staff meant that Bill did not manage to launch her until a year later in November 1940.
Arch Logan, Bill’s mentor, died on March 27, 1940 at his home at 18 Stanley Point Road across Shoal Bay,
