There were no Cherubs at Kielder this year, but there were a number of ex-Cherub sailors. As usual we had a fantastic welcome from the club committee and general members, and they laid on a great weekend's racing. The club has had a really tough time in the last 12 months, so I was pleased we were able to support them. Their hospitality remains second to none. Mike Scott laid on some excellent windward-leeward races in rather testing conditions. He quite rightly abandoned the start of one of the races about 10 seconds before the start gun when an 80 degree windshift hit the start line! There was a great social in the clubhouse on Saturday night. One of the members has a brother who owns a local brewery, so the beer was unbelievably cheap, and everybody was taking full advantage! This was followed by a very welcome cooked breakfast on Sunday morning. The Monday Dam to Dam race (held over the entire 9-mile length of the lake) was a mixture of heavy breeeze and massive holes, but with plenty of twin-stringing action. All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend, and certainly some of the best sailing that I've had in the last year or two. I'd recommend a big Cherub posse make the trip next year, as I believe it is going to be on the Scottish Skiff Racing circuit, and a lot of the club members were quizzing us about what the Cherubs are doing, both in sailing and boat design terms. Hope to see you there.
