UK Cherub - news:2014

RYA Dinghy Show 2014

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:42 +0000

RYA Dinghy Show 2014

Another successful Dinghy show has come and gone. This years one saw high foot fall past our stand and the visitors were very impressed at the boat we had on the stand.

We would like to thank Paul for getting his boat looking so good and all those that did time promoting the class on the stand.

Hopefully we will have some new faces waiting for a ride on the beach at Draycote on Saturday 15 March at our Post Dinghy Show Blast.

Please have a look on the forum HERE for more details about this event.

Draycote Blast - Worth the trip

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:42 +0000

Draycote Blast - Worth the trip

Venimus, beati, et percussæ uredine oriebantur ((We came, we're sore, we blasted))

Great weekend at Draycote. Nice to see so many faces form the halls of Ali Pali in sailing kit. I think most left agreeing that cherubs are even better on the water than on a stand.

The video tells the tale of the day. Born Slippy hit the water first and there was some wind. Dave Ching masterfully guided her through a succession of crew changes, training each in the virtues of flat and fast, sometimes verging on very fast. Cheese followed. After a shakey start and some coaching from Jamie Pearson, she proceed to take of like a rocket. Sweet Dreamz and Loco tore about and Poppy joined the frey in the afternoon.

Men of the match award to Nigel and Sam. Sailed probably the windiest part of the day and “nailed it” in Loco. Draycote really put on a good show for the fleet, rib, training room (for people to watch the rugby in) and generally as excellent as ever. Thanks to all who turned up.

See what others are saying about the event here and here

Paul Clements - Obituary

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:42 +0000

Paul Clements - Obituary

Paul Clements was a sailor of exemplary skill gained from a lifetime of yacht and dinghy racing which he undertook with boundless energy and passion. His enthusiasm was infectious, and combined with his generous “she’s rigged, so take her out” approach meant that he was regarded as a mentor by many, so lengthy debriefs in the bar and by email would follow any sailing outing.

Born on 25th April 1955, Paul gained his sea legs before he could walk by being lashed to his father’s yacht on trips out of Poole harbour. He sailed at Parkstone Yacht Club in Cadets and 420s, and later Merlin Rockets. As a youth sailor he became the 420 National champion twice as a crew and went to two world championships as part of the Youth squad, in a class that he would return to many years later when married to Liza. The young crews who they sailed against were greatly perplexed when this much older couple turned up and finished consistently in the top ten.

Paul’s yachting experience included a few years as a yacht bum that only ended when his father force-marched him back to university to complete his engineering degree which led to a career in aeronautical engineering at Rolls Royce in Bristol.

As a young man Paul sailed in the infamous 1979 Fastnet Yacht Race and his jaw-dropping account of it is an incredible story of seamanship and survival. His yacht was rolled twice, swamped, all its navigation equipment was destroyed and the majority of the crew laid-low with seasickness, hypothermia and injury. Paul too was injured when the yacht was rolled whilst he was attached by his lifeline to the backstay. When the yacht came upright he found himself at the top of the mast and he then fell to the deck below.

Paul owned and raced “Super Nova” for a number of years in the competitive quarter-ton class where he won many trophies.

For 20 years Paul sailed with Liza at Portishead SC in 420s, and later in the Buzz and the Spice (winning the nationals a number of times in both classes) until the arrival of children meant that Liza stopped sailing. And it’s here that he also became one of the first proponents of the Musto Performance Skiff. Conditions at Portishead were not suitable for the Musto so they moved to Chew. Paul’s mastery of the Musto (he was the Grand Master National Champion in 2009) meant that Paul was then well placed to coach others from Chew including Graham Crandford Smith and Chris Goldhawk who followed in his footsteps. Teenagers would marvel wide-eyed at his antics, and then be amazed when he would get back to shore and insist they have a go.

Paul swapped the Musto for an RS800 which he and I sailed together for a number of years. Our many memorable moments include the most thrilling sailing I have ever done: sailing in the Europeans at Lake Garda.

Always looking for the next challenge, Paul moved from RS800 to the Cherub, buying the notorious “Shiny Beast” and then joining the Cherub fleet in their antics around the country. At the Pwllheli Nationals his stand–out performance was entering the wellie throwing competition with a throw that also resulted in him dislocating his shoulder – Paul would always push everything to the extreme and often beyond.

Chew also provided the perfect environment for Paul to introduce his son Ian to sailing in the Access 303. Of course they had to sail competitively and they went on to win the Nationals.

Paul was a great mate and I feel privileged to have sailed with him. Paul will be missed by Liza and their sons Simon, Mark and Ian. Details of the memorial service on 1st May are here.

Richard Hole Subtle knife

Sheppy Open

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:42 +0000

Sheppy Open

Nine teams of battered and bruised Cherub sailors made the trip to the Isle of Sheppey after the tempestuous melee that was Rutland 3 weekends previously.

You may think that you are going to hear about the winners Paul and Peter Jenkins in Cool Beans and their masterful 4 wins out of 6 and a moral victory in the last race after thinking the shortened course signal was them being tooted for a finish, or Dean Ralph and Simon Jones in Eleanor taking a great win in race 5, managing to find wind where others didn't, but no, this story is the second part in the tale of one particular boat. 8 years old, regular crew absent, helm unsure as to whether his stand in crew would be able to fill the big boots left behind by Tim Noyce. Once again, the odds were stacked against Atum Bom. Andy Whappshot (crew for the day) had a stinking cold, and the prospect of sailing with Ben Rushton, a helm who had shared a boat with him for minutes at most prior to this regatta, was filling him with dread.

Now as many of us may know, the key to a successful day's sailing is to start with the right sustenance. However, while distracted by the phallic course set by the RO at IOSSC, our heroes Andy and Ben had forgotten to eat any breakfast. This was realized soon after launching leaving them to race the whole day on empty stomachs getting ever and ever hungrier and having to dig deeper and deeper. The wind was a promising 15kts with some fruiter gusts thrown in for good measure. The added interest today was a tide coupled with the flow of the Thames, which took some by surprise when they missed the lay-lines up the first beat. This was not an issue for Atum who seemed unable to get it wrong, meaning a slight disadvantage in boat speed was made up in most races by tacking only once up the beat. The course for race 1 had been huge and within the fleet there were plenty of 1-on-1's going on. Poppy showed good pace but fortunately for our heroes, they managed to put in their best tack of the weekend at just the right time to take 4th place in front by 3 seconds.

In contrast to race 1, race 2 saw the phallus shrunk to shorten the time out on the course, half the fleet missed this and sailed off into the distance trying to emulate the Atumists 1 tack tactic. A+E went so far before they realized where they were heading, they contemplated hoisting the kite to get back to the windward mark, unfortunately a broken foot loop resulted in a helm, crew, shroud convocation leading to early retirement for the day. Elsewhere on the course, the capsize recovery practice Tim and Ben had put in at Rutland really paid off and while some may see capsizing with the kite up at the leeward mark as a disadvantage, for the Atumists it probably made the drop faster and the round up even sharper than it might have been if they had tried to do it with the mast pointing skyward. A costly capsize by Eleanor on the gybe in this race gave Atum the gap she needed to nip into second place and cross the line seconds before them. After this, energy levels were low and the Atumists were getting desperate. Someone up there was smiling on them though when an ancient Boost bar was found in the depths of a buoyancy aid pocket.

Filled with new energy they took race 3 head on. The newest crew to the fleet, Robin and Steve in Banshee Ambulance, a boat that has not been seen at a Cherub open for a year or so, showed some great potential. They found themselves second round the top mark but a capsize on the downwind leg cost them dear and Eleanor and Atum slipped through to take second and third respectively.

With racing done for the day, all boats and crews then retired to the club where some of the hardier members decided that rum was the order of the day. These people obviously hadn't witnessed the drop in performance of the Atumists at Rutland 3 Sundays back after having tried to keep the local brewery in business the night before. Curries were had by most (if they weren't too distracted by the phallic course diagram and remembered to order them at the briefing) and while some preferred beds, the cold hard floor of the clubhouse suited.

For one Atumist at least, Sunday dawned fuzzily. Far too much red wine and the world's largest measure of whisky had been administered by the competition in an effort to take edge of their performance. Fortunately many others had been out in Sheerness, levelling the playing field.

With the wind down from Saturday, racing promised to be closer and mistakes costlier, Eleanor capsizing on the downwind leg of race two to let Atum through again to take 3rd from Cool Beans and A+E. Elsewhere on the course, Jamie and Digby in Born Slippy (in 05 mode) made a stop off on the beach at Sheerness for ice cream after Digby was unable to pull hard enough for Jamie's pole to come out the front. With that sorted, they joined back for a 2nd race in dying breeze and growing tide. Whilst far from epic, this race was hotly contested and with Cool Beans on 4 bullets everyone was waiting for them to make a mistake. Fortunately for Eleanor, they sailed into a massive hole, which cost them the lead for the first time in this open meeting.

Today's sailing was all about who found the wind. The one tack wonder tactics Atum had so successfully used on Saturday had gone out the window, missing the top mark on almost every lap. The wind came through in waves on the last race but seemed to die completely at times, marginal conditions is not where Atum excels being pushed down into fourth by A+E with substitute crew, Eleanor took another win and Cool Beans who were leading until they decided to head in on the shortened course signal with a lap to go.

A great event from IOSSC where lessons about mid-event drinking need to be learned.

If you are tired of hearing about the antics of the mighty Atumists then you had better up your game and knock us off the podium at Weir Wood on the 17th/18th May.

Credit Chas Bedford for the photo's

Weirwood Open

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:42 +0000

Weirwood Open

Saturday brought sunshine an outside broadcast team from local radio(meridian FM) and five Cherubs to the first Weir Wood Sprint Cup Challenge. Sadly no wind. The bad news for those who paid attention to wind guru and stayed at home is you have just missed the nationals. The radio team said it was the Cherub nationals. It was on the radio so must be true.

The 2 races on Saturday showed the way things would be for the weekend with tight racing and everyone getting a turn at the front. Dean and Simon in Eleanor had the edge with a first and second while Phil and Dave stole their first place from the much more deserving Banshee Ambulance who lost it at the last bottom mark.

The Cherub fleet were well looked after by the Jenkins Family in the evening with accommodation, BBQ a drying room and some space to build some new carbon bits.

Sundays racing had more wind. We managed to fit in 6 short 25 minute races and if we listed every place change or interesting moment you would still be reading this next week, so here is a summary of each teams weekend from first to fifth. Eleanor deserving winners with great consistency in the light breeze(even after much complaining how they hate light wind). Cool Beans took an all or nothing approach and achieved both (sometimes in the same race) to finish second overall. E numbers showed potential before running out of steam towards the end of the day. Banshee Ambulance probably spent more time at the front than the others, just not across the finish line (learning that timing is everything). Atom Bom required more wind but never too far out of the hunt.

The message from the weekend is sometimes you’re in front, sometimes your behind, so whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either, your choices are half chance, so are everybody elses. Oh and wear sunscreen. Best open in years, thanks Paul

Weston Cherub Open

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:43 +0000

Weston Cherub Open

Saturday June 14th saw 7 Cherubs make the trip to Weston for the 4th round of the travellers trophy. (or maybe a little pre nationals practise) Also a welcome return to the scene for Fuzzy Logic after some major TLC by new owners Ade and Joe. Wind guru had a northerly wind at 6 knots gusting 13 and was surprisingly accurate. Race one had the start up by the shipping channel with a beat towards the shore, where the already challenging conditions were made worse by some serious direction changes just prior to a gust hitting. At one point Eleanor managed to tack twice without changing direction. Clive and Alex set the pace for the weekend with a race win followed by Dean and Simon then Andy and Jill.

Race two saw much of the same with an abandonment as the Cherubs were twin wiring at the windward mark and the 4000's were becalmed on their start. When the race was restarted Andy and Jill showed why they are the current national champions with a win relegating Clive and Alex to 2nd. Dean and Simon had what could only be described as swimming lessons and were indeed very lucky to end up 3rd.

Race three saw Clive and Alex back on top, Andy and Jill 2nd and Dean and Simon again 3rd although somewhat drier this time

The evenings entertainment was provided by the B14 fleet and a large amount of alcohol. The games involved limbo on space hoppers then spinning round and round a B14 pole before throwing a hoop over a man with a rubber unicorn mask on and downing a drink of your choice. (non alcoholic for the youngsters of course) this was run as a relay with teams from the Cherubs and B14's

Sunday dawned with slightly more breeze although it was still a gusty northerly. Clive and Alex carried on where they left off in race 4 with Dean and Simon in 2nd and The hobbits in 3rd. Race 5 saw a return to the top 3 for Andy and Jill and although it was clear that Clive and Alex had this open won it was down to the last race for 2nd place with Andy and Jill sneaking it by 1 point from Dean and Simon.

UK Cherub Nationals - Days away

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:43 +0000

UK Cherub Nationals - Days away

With the 2014 UK Cherub Nationals only a few days away, excitement and Cherubs are building up in the boat park at Weston. This year looks set for a very close Nationals;

Marmite is looking good driven by Paul Croote, Ed and a ludicrously large T-foil. Father and son combo Clive and Alex Everest’s A&E is also looking like tough competition. However, lurking in the wings are the experienced pair of Dean and Simon in Eleanor. And you can’t forget the defending champions Andy and Jill Peters in Usagi – fresh from their win in the RS200 Europeans in Garda. All through the fleet there will be close racing and there will be no surprise if none of these walk off with the coveted Simpson cup.

The manufacturers will also be battling it out at the nationals, With over 10 foil manufacturers, 7 sail makers and 4 masts builders represented in the predicted top 10, there is also some interest in who will be the supplier/builder of the fastest boat.

But the Cherub Nationals aren’t just about the fantastic diversity of well designed boats, or the stiff competition on the race course, or even the grin worthy sails Cherubs are so famous for. The off the water social is just as important to the Cherub Class and we look forward to Weston’s legendary hospitality and well stocked bar. Come down and join the fun.

Event - Cherub National Championships 2014

Dates - Saturday 23rd until Tuesday 26th August 2014

Location - Weston Sailing Club, Abbey Hill, Netley Abbey, Southampton, SO31 5FB

Start time - 11:00 Sat, Sun, Mon, Tue

Cost - £170 entry, includes camping at the club

Schedule - 3 races per day, 12 races total

Cherub Nationals Report

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:43 +0000

Cherub Nationals Report

Eighteen Cherubs lined up over the bank holiday weekend for some close tactical racing and off the water fun.

Day 1 proved to be a game of snakes and ladders with some distinct holes in the wind creating some place changes. Race 1 started with last year's champions Jill and Andy Peters in Usagi leading but father son team of Clive and Alex Everest in A&E were soon up to speed and took the lead and the race win. Race two started with a pin end tangle slowing three boats. A&E capitalised to lead Paul and Peter Jenkins in Cool Beans at the first mark. After recovering from the tangle Paul Croote and Ed Higham in Marmite engaged warp drive and recovered to second place at the finish. In race three the fleet got away with a cleaner start but Clive dropped the main and capsized allowing Usagi to take the win from Marmite. Further down the fleet the wind shifts and holes were causing some place changes allowing e places to be lost or gained on the beats however the day was remembered for bright sunshine and otherwise champagne sailing conditions.

Day 2 started with light winds and a shore postponement. Once on the water Marmite made a good start in race 4 and led at the windward mark. A&E regained the lead on the downwind leg and built a lead to finish ahead of Usagi. Race 5 saw Marmite and Cool Beans bang the left hand side and get away from the fleet only to get stuck in a hole on the downwind and watch A&E and Usagi storm past them. These 2 went on to take 1st and second ahead of Cool Beans in 3rd.

Day 3 was expected to be remembered as windy Monday but by race time the wind had dropped to a light breeze and the bank holiday rain had stubbornly set in. The fleet stayed close together in race 6 exchanging places in the light winds. Behind the top 4 Tom Hole and Andrew Whapshott in The Subtle Knife sailed a good race showing devastating speed. The wind picked up for race 7 testing the skills and crew work and allowing the fleet to show what true cherub thrills are made from. A&E won from Cool beans and Marmite. The rain eased with the wind and race 8 started with crews forward and marginal trapeezing for the helms. A&E led from Phil Kirk and Dave Ching in E-Numbers at the windward mark with these two splitting down-wind to avoid the wind shadow of a large container ship. This created a hole which affected all but A&E. Johnny and Alex Harris in Ronnin had their best race trading places with E-numbers and Marmite for the rest of the race but doing enough to clinch second ahead of Marmite.

That evening the usual friendly Weston SC hospitality entertained the fleet with good food and a lively band.

On the final day the now soggy fleet were met by more rain and no wind. After 2 hours postponement and no forecast for anything better remaining races were abandoned.

Clive and Alex Everest in A&E were the undisputed champions counting 7 first places. Nick Pratt and Jo Hutchinson in Madge won the 97 rules trophy.

Weston SC were thanked for running an efficient championships in some difficult conditions. It is notable that the standard of the fleet has improved and the racing is getting closer year on year. At the prize giving the top three enjoyed some of Magic Marine's generous sponsorship of the event gave the top three prize winners a choice of some exciting kit.

Photo credit WSC.

Overall Results:

Pos	Boat Name	Sail No	Helm	Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	A&E	3215	Clive Everest	Alex Everest	1	1	4	1	1	1	1	1	7
2	Usagi Jiumbo	3202	Andrew Peters	Jill Peters	2	4	1	2	2	3	4	8	18
3	Marmite	3212	Paul Croote	Ed Higham	7	2	2	3	4	4	3	3	21
4	Cool Beans	3214	Paul Jenkins	Peter Jenkins	5	3	5	4	3	2	2	7	24
5	Elenor	3208	Dean Ralph	Simon Jones	3	6	3	5	7	8	5	5	34
6	Ronnin	2698	Johnny Harris	Alex Harris	6	7	6	7	5	7	6	2	39
7	The Subtle Knife	2693	Tom Hole	Andrew Whapshott	4	5	DNC	10	6	5	7	6	43
8	E‑Numbers	3203	Phil Kirk	Dave Ching	8	8	7	6	9	6	DNC	4	48
9	Poppy	3216	Roland Trim	Polly Jarman	9	9	8	9	10	11	9	14	65
10	Atum Bom	2688	Ben Rushton	Diana McCosh	10	14	9	12	12	9	8	9	69
11	Madge	2646	Nick Pratt	Joanna Hutchinson	11	11	10	15	15	13	10	12	82
12	The Spanish Inquisition	2664	Alex Slatter	Marc Slatter	12	13	11	14	14	14	11	11	86
13	Banshee Ambulance	3201	Stephen Carver	Jamie Pearson	DNC	10	DNC	11	8	DNC	DNC	DNC	105
14	Antidephobia	3209	John Hamilton	Dan	DNC	DNC	DNC	8	11	10	DNC	DNC	105
15	Loco Perro	2685	Nigel Modern	Sam Modern	13	12	DNC	DNC	13	12	DNC	DNC	107
16	Chease Before Bedtime	2645	Tom Baker	Joe White	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	15	DNC	10	120
17	Shinny Beast	2676	Emma Person	Abi Riley	DNC	DNC	DNC	13	DNC	DNC	DNC	13	121
18	Born Slippy	2674	Mike Cunningham		DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	133

3 is a magic number

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:43 +0000

3 is a magic number

As the winter draws in there is a surprisingly large amount of Cherub sailing going on. Both Draycote and Chew are starting to see see 3 boats at a time on the lake. All over the country other pockets of the fleet have taken advantage of the good winds and mild weather, long may this last!

Whilst down South Clive is trying to fly.

Pop to the FORUM forum and say hello - we can probably find you a joy ride…

2014 UK Cherub Inland Championships - Rutland Water SC

anonymous@undisclosed.example.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:01:43 +0000

2014 UK Cherub Inland Championships - Rutland Water SC

13 Cherubs made the trip to Rutland Water SC for the Inland Championships but only 1 came away showered in glory. No, I'm not talking about Paul Croote and Ed Higham in Marmite who took the win. Nor Andy and Jill Peters in Usagi Yojimbowho came second. I am talking about two intrepid warriors who battled against the odds in an 8 year old boat to take 3rd place. Yes, it's Ben Rushton and Tim Noyce in Atum Bom.

After a swift kite run to the start at the far end of the pond the first race took them by surprise as the start sequence was 3-2-1 not the 5-4-1 they were accustomed to (Lesson 1 - Read the SI's as they don't always announce changes to normal sailing in the briefing). Behind at the start they found a lane and using the extra righting moment they possessed proceeded to overhaul most of the fleet on this gusty Saturday lunchtime. A slow tack gave Marmite and Eleanor a way back into the race for the top mark which they both rounded after Usagi. Fourth round the top mark Tim put all of his considerable speed and strength into hoisting the kite while Ben did his best to keep the boat upright with the correct ratio of people on the windward side, and sails on the other and not goose winged. Marmite failed to handle the pressure and went in at the gybe, and Eleanor cracked at the drop giving our weekends heroes a glimmer of a way through. Not ones to capitalise on other peoples misfortune, they decided that the right and proper thing to do was to also throw in a sympathy capsize after rounding upwind at the bottom mark. Previous swimming experience had taught them well and they were up before you could say “holymolyitswindyouthere”. The upwind leg proved fast again reeling in Andy and Jill in Usagi with Eleanor, Marmite and the rest of the fleet left long behind. Just as Atum was about to catch Usagi a second swim at the leeward mark on lap 2 allowed the hunted a brief respite and enough of a lead to close out the first race with the Atumists hot on their heels despite 2 capsizes. Did this show the promise of things to come? I hope you didn't think this tale of toil and strife was going to be that easy.

After this very little is remembered by anyone..brain freeze set in about half way up the first beat of the second race swiftly followed by frost bite. Looking back at the results it looks like after their sights being out on the first race, Paul and Ed in Marmite fired a rapid fire clip of bullets to round out the day, with Andy and Jill showing a remarkable increase in boat speed with their big sails despite the high winds. In the quest of extra speed, Jill decided to do some on the water sail modification with her feet… (Lesson 2 - Despite the name, speed holes do not provide additional speed) The wind increased gradually, with some gusts so large that local cows became airborne. In fact, before the start of race 3 despite not being seen by anyone else, Atum Bom had to capsize in order to dodge a flying Heifer (no, not the one that Tinner met in Largo Bay '06) So traumatised by the aforementioned incident, they decided to quit whilst they were at least not too far behind allowing them time to regroup on shore to warm up in the newly redecorated showers… and then sample the quality of the galley food in the interests of a rounded review of the club facilities. (Lesson 3 - Showers, Chips, Beer… all excellent)

The evenings entertainment was based in the local pub, the Wheatsheaf. Trying to fit 20+ Cherub sailors around the only available 6 seater table was just another problem which was dispatched with ease. A bystander may have thought that the only thing on the menu was Steak or ribs, (or in some cases, Steak AND ribs) due to the high protein intake of the plucky few who survived the day. Tim and Ben, polite to the core, let the others sit and eat whilst taking one for the team and completed a full EU Standard Beer Quality test, consuming 1.75 UK Gallons of Rutlands finest local Brew. They then hung on till last orders to keep the bar staff company, and also ensure that no class members were left without having heard of their days bravery and sheer awesomeness potential. On arriving back at the sailing club, they undertook 3 laps of the building completing a thorough security test (this was not requested by the Club, but I am sure they will be happy to read that Rutland SC is an impenetrable fortress if ever under attack from inebriated sailing heroes). 5 locked doors, 3 keypads and numerous potential locking codes later they through in the towel and woke up Dean and Simon who had kindly offered them a room for the night.

Sunday dawned bright, breezy and once again, chuffing freezing. The teams who had gone to bed early were looking cheerful and enthusiastic… Tim especially was looking and feeling like the back end of a Badger. (Lesson 4 - Big wind Cherub sailing is much like a big night on the beer. You can't just expect to turn up having not practised for months without looking and feeling like a dick).

After much deliberation on shore regarding how many layers of clothing would be adequate (no one wrote it down, but I'm pretty sure that a ratio was devised with X being how warm you ideally want to be, Y was the peak warmth providable by all of the clothing in your sailing bag, and Z was the amount of movement required to sail a Cherub in gusts of 25knots… The ratio wasn't foolproof though, as on reflection most were either toasty warm and waddling about like pregnant penguins, or agile like young panthers… until the frostbite set in.

Wind had veered Northerly which gave everyone the opportunity to test their long distance 2 sail beam reaching skills on the way too and from the starting area and a gaggle of Cherubs gathered waiting for their starting sequence after the Musto's and B14's had set off. Croote and Higham carried on where they had left off the day before and despite trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by very nearly sinking the committee boat with a hugely ambitious gybe on the line, they drifted over the line inverted in a modern day take on the Cherub Salute amid a fanfare of applause from admiring fans (*this may or may not be true) whilst Nick Pratt and Johnny Harris in Madge put in a sterling performance to take 2nd proving that in big winds that 97 Rules! Atum were still working to their Dave Brailsford inspired marginal gains strategy which required additional focus on some lesser known capsizing techniques, bearing away in 25 knot gusts whilst avoiding a seemingly moving water tower and also strength testing some of the boats structure using limbs, skulls etc. Some on the water maths told the intrepid few that the podium places were now confirmed and all decided to head back in to save the local authorities having to launch the ice breaker if they had stayed out for the final race. (Lesson 5: Ensure that the improvement curve of the Brailsford inspired training plan correlates with that of the (2014 National Championships)

So, to summarise, a near flawless performance by Croote and Higham in Marmite gave them a convincing win to the opening round of the 2014 Cherub Travellers Series and made them deserving 2014 UK Cherub Inland Champions. Andy and Jill Peters in Usagi showed a stellar high wind performance showing that practise really pays off when handling these high performance craft to add to their already well renowned light wind performances. Ben Rushton and Tim Noyce in Atum Bom rounded out the podium with some glimmers of extraordinary awesomeness which in a bid to stay under the radar so early in a long campaign they mixed in some questionable boat handling and potentially life changing off the water beer related decisions. Nick Pratt and a crew combination of Jo Hutch and Johnny Harris in Madge finished equal on points and 4th overall, picking up the highly coveted title of UK Cherub 97 Rules Inland Champions.

Many thanks to Paul Jenkins for organising the event and everyone at Rutland Water Sailing Club for organising an excellent weekend of sailing despite the potentially difficult conditions and making us feeling very welcome as a class.

See you all at the Isle of Sheppey Open meeting in a few weeks time!

Results can be viewed Here - On the Rutland Result page