The pleasure of 3rd place........the report - or at least a start. If someone can add a bit for Sunday I will send of to Y&Y tomorrow eve with some photos.
Despite a forecast that looked distinctly unpromising for Sunday sailing 13 Cherubs turned up Saturday morning at Queen Mary for their Inland Championships. A number of white horses across the lake and a forecast of increasing gusts had a number of cherubists rigging up their smaller sails, a move some would come to regret. The wind allowed a good length course to be set on the smaller side of the reservoir and after a short postponement to allow all boats to launch racing began.
Interest among those in the know was high. With wind sufficient for foiling would the one cherub that was forging the high road leave all the others trailing or would the fable of the tortoise and the hare literally hold water? The three races on the day were dominated by two teams who mastered the gusty conditions Alex and Clive Everest winning the first two races after a close battle with Paul Croote and Ed Higham. The third race was held in the eye of the storm with those on small sails left regretting their choice. To give others a chance Clive fell in whilst keeping a firm grip on his quickly broken tiller extension. The light winds suited Paul and Peter Jenkins who took the bullet. As to the foiler there were some impressive bursts of speed and some good photo opportunities but the gusty wind made for some command and control difficulties.
After a good workout on the water and some impressive speeds reached on the QMSC TracTrack system the fleet headed to a riverside watering hole to replenish energy and liquid stores and wonder if Sunday would bring suitable sailing conditions.
Sunday morning dawned windy, to the extent that Team Peters took one look and went off to a nearby RS200 open. One race though was held and a select band of brave sailors launched to test themselves and their equipment to the limit. To be continued by someone there on Sunday........
Overall results:
1st Cherub 3215 Clive Everest Alex Everest
2nd Cherub 3212 Paul Croote Ed Higham
3rd Cherub 3202 Andrew Peters Jill Peters
4th Cherub 3214 Paul Jenkins Peter Jenkins
5th Cherub 3204 Graham Bridle Eddie Bridle
6th Cherub 2646 Nick Pratt Joanna Hutchinson
7th Cherub 2674 Roland Trim Hayley Trim
8th Cherub 2644 Jonny Harris Alex Harris
9th Cherub 2685 Nigel Moderm Sam Moderm
10th Cherub 3208 Dean Ralph Simon Jones
11th Cherub 2645 Jamie Pearson Polly Jarman
