Cherub Nationals 1974

Harwich Town SC hosted the Cherub National Championships over the long bank holiday weekend as one of the qualifying events for the worlds in July.

Outright winners in convincing style were Tony and Jill Hows in “Peanuts”, their new Spithead boats built Forman 4d.

The first race of the series was the windiest, but could not be said to be more than Force 4 at the most, and the Hows started as they meant to continue, with a win from Osprey ace Alfie Hawksworth and New Zealander Dave Selby in his home grown boat.

The second race turned out to be a repeat of the first with the Hows again leading home, this time followed by Dave Finch and Pip Lavender in the Hows old boat “Kipper” and David and Sheona Babcock in another home designed boat “Another Amphigouri”

The third race on Sunday afternoon was sailed in a pleasant force 3 but this enabled the Hows to cock a snook at the rest of the fleet — they not only went back to pick up a message in a bottle but went on to win by five minutes. [Message in a bottle? Is this some weird 70s slang I was too young to understand - transcriber] Second again was Dave Finch and third Gordon Williams, champion for the past two years.

Monday morning dawned bright and windless, however, a sea breeze filled in and the fleet started after two general recalls. This time “Kipper” took a commanding lead which she held to the gun and was followed home by Chris Forman and Nick Mason in the new Forman 6 which had managed to hold off the fast closing Hows.

The final race is one that everyone must want to forget. The chop was steep, the wind fitful and fluky, and the race frustrating. Twice Finch seemed to have an unassailable lead but on the last leg a giant wind shift pushed him into third place and the Hows from 4th to another win with the consistent Babcock second.

So there was a clear cut winner and runner up, but third 4th and 5th places had been a close fight throughout the series and at the end there was a single point between them

1 Peanuts Tony Hows Jill Hows Forman 4d Queen Mary SC
2 Kipper Dave Finch Pip Lavender Caisley-Steele 3 Queen Mary SC
3 Tachyon Chris Forman Nick Mason Forman 6 Portsmouth SC
4 Another Amphigouri David Babcock Sheona Babcock
5 Ticketyboo Gordon Williams Royal Victoria YC

This report first appeared in “Yachts and Yachting”

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