Cherub Inland Championship at Queen Mary Sailing Club

With the season drawing to a close, ten UK Cherubs took the opportunity to take to the water for the Cherub Inlands at Queen Mary Sailing Club for two days of racing in sunshine and light and variable winds.

Along with the usual suspects were a few more 97 rules boats than we have become used to in the last few events and with around 5-10 knots of wind, close racing was on the agenda.

From the start it was clear Eddie and Sam, sailing Riot van, were here for business, pulling a port flyer off the line on the first race to take a comfortable lead up the first leg as the fleet chased, Conditions proved tricky, with a few ladders and plenty of snakes to be found on the course. Wriggling your way through the elusive lifts paid in a big way and it was the local favourites Andy and Jill Peters on board Usagi that made the most of local knowledge to win the first race with Riot Van second and Ronin third. Special mention to Jamie and Rosie who tore through the field on board The Shiny Beast after being late to the start to finish in a solid fourth. By race three momentum had shifted and it as Riot Van that went into the overnight break with two wins from three races and the event lead.

Just as interesting was the battling for position in the 97 rules boats with three boats challenging for position. Saturdays racing for the 97 rules was tighter than the leaders and certainly closer than it looked on the score boards at the end of the day. After the days racing it was Greg and Stephen sailing Madge that headed the 97 field, but with crew Stephen unable to make Sundays racing that was all to change.

After the now seemingly mandatory Saturday night Curry and road cone foolery along with some well-earned rest, Sunday initially brought twin wiring conditions for the 05 rules boats, with wind gradually reducing throughout the day.

As race four started the leading trio once again found their feet and team Riot Van continued to stretch their legs and pulled another two wins to confirm the series win. With Ronin struggling to get off the line in race five, Usagi was all but confirmed to finish second and Ronin to be third. This had the interesting effect of two boats finishing the travellers trophy on equal points forcing the results to be decided on count back. Meanwhile Elanor and Jimmy managed to sail a consistent regatta to wind up with honours in the 97 rules Category.

With another season of cherub sailing coming to a close, in terms of open meetings, it would be easy to try and look back and try and establish things we have learned over the year, this can sometimes get too thorough for my liking so I'll keep it simple:

Firstly foiling is clearly faster once there is enough wind. Second, and most importantly, Cherubs in whichever configuration you have, are still a huge amount of fun to sail. I would like to congratulate Eddie Bridle and Sam Curtis on winning the 2016 Cherub Inlands and Andy and Jill Peters on taking the 2016 Travellers trophy. Also, I would like to thank Queen Mary Sailing club for hosting the event and getting races managed so well, the Rs700 class for sharing the event, as well as all the competitors who came along. I hope to be seeing you all again next year.

Overall Results: