Bonfire Blast 5/6 November 2011

On 5 November most people let off fireworks for fun. Cherub sailors do that too, but this year they also went blasting.

Atum, EJ, Zuffle, Loco, the newly refurbed Badgers and the SK4 (an honorary cherub for the weekend) got together at Netley Sailing Club for a bit of fun.

Saturday was a pleasant, leisurely day with a nice breeze allowing crews to stretch their legs and get in the groove. Team Atum were out early sustained by their strength in the picnic department. Maff took his novice crew for a trip in Zuffle - Edwina had never sailed before but it turned out she was comfortable on the wire and happiest speeding along with the kite up – perfect! Some boat swappage ensued with Tim and Kate in Zuffle, Hayley and Roland enjoying a spin in Atum, Andrew and Will in Loco, and Davro, John and Stu taking turns in the SK4. Visitors Clive Everest and his 10 year old son Alex took the Zuffle and Atum for a test drive. We look forward to seeing more of them in the future, although there may have to be some strategic feeding up of Alex - there's being light and then there's just plain cheating!!

The evening saw some DIY cocktail making and rocket launching, followed by a much more impressive display of fireworks provided by the next door country park (after a friendly chat with security who let us in for free, we decided the view was better from the car park anyway). By this time we were pretty ravenous and the King and Queen in Hamble provided welcome food and a good rum selection (37 varieties in fact).

Sunday showed us what happens when the wind comes from the North at Netley. 2 knot lulls became gusts of 30 knots in a freakishly different direction and back again. Just to keep us on our toes. Once the other side of the channel however the wind was pretty strong but steadier. Andrew and new crew Dan had some fun in Loco. Ben, Sam and Charlie were getting to grips with Atum with some help from John, and finding out just how fast she can go. Zuffle came into her own, flying along with Maff at the helm and first John then Hayley crewing. On taking a look inside Davro’s specialised command centre, both John and Hayley were heard to exclaim “what do you mean I can't take the main sheet? - I have to trust you that much?!” Maff offered to let them hold the jib instead, just to make them feel better. The Badger after a 14month sabbatical, with gleaming new paint job and particularly smart new kite sock, got her paws well and truly wet – re-launched straight into Sotonmet confirmed 24-28knot gusts with Tim and Stu on board. The Badger loved every minute of it, and Stu quickly found out that the back foot loop has a purpose. Meanwhile Roland took Sam for an EJ tutorial and some screaming downhill action. Man of the Match goes to John for sailing pretty constantly on both days and sleeping under the stars in between.

Netley is a wonderful cherub venue. Friendly and welcoming, a superb rigging and launching beach, and lots of camping space, not to mention a great stretch of water and a bacon and egg butty good enough to cure most hangovers.

Photos courtesy of Ben at https://picasaweb.google.com/102610591257993365576/BonfireBlast?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK-TtKep0_L0fQ&feat=directlink

All told, a fantastic weekend of cherubbing. Thanks to Tim and Kate for organising and thanks to the club for having us. We'd love to come back.