Stubbs died knowing of his award

By Fiona Barber

Phil Stubbs died knowing he was in line for a New Zealand Order of Merit honour.

He and his partner in transatlantic rowing, Rob Hamill, had discussed the forthcoming accolade before Stubbs' fatal plane crash on December 20.

The pair, who obliterated the rest of the field on the 4800km race from the Canary Islands to Barbados in 1997, were made members of the order for their services to ocean rowing.

"They wrote to say would we accept it [the honour]," Hamill said from his Hamilton home yesterday. "We discussed it and said we might as well - it's a real honour."

Stubbs had been really chuffed, according to Hamill, and had joked about having special letterheads printed with the initials MNZM after his name.

For Hamill, the honour will be tinged with sadness at the loss of Stubbs, whose award must be bestowed posthumously. It was a fitting way to farewell the adventurous police sergeant.

Hamill had teamed with Stubbs for speaking engagements and the pair had been doing a "tag team chit-chat" on the corporate circuit before the tragedy.

"We were never intimate and never best friends - we were so different," said Hamill, a former Olympic rower, "but we had a healthy respect for each other. We were good friends and had a lot of fun together."

The pair had been organising separate craft in the 2001 rowing race traversing the Atlantic, but were discussing the idea of a two-boat challenge, according to Hamill. Once at the starting line, however, it would have been all on. Hamill said he would still forge ahead with his challenge.

Members of Stubbs' family declined to comment yesterday.

The Papakura policeman held many national titles for surfboat racing and rescue and had represented New Zealand in surf lifesaving.

He had also captained the national dragonboat team to third place at the Vancouver world championships in 1996.

Stubbs, aged 36, died when the light plane he was piloting crashed after takeoff on Karekare Beach, west of Auckland.

His American brother-in-law, Mark Gusse, who was seriously injured when the aircraft nosedived into the sand, was yesterday in a satisfactory condition in an Auckland Hospital ward.