U.K. Cherub Nationals 1999
New Quay, Ceredigion, Wales
Lobster for supper anyone?
There was an above average turnout even though a couple of
likely contenders, Graham Dickenson and Mike Chalmers, were sidelined,
one with family commitments and the other with an injured crew.
Amongst the obvious favourites were Dave Roe and Andy Paterson,
although Dave had a new never-been sailed double spreader mast,
and Andy had a brand new boat that had only been launched once.
Day 1
Race 1.
Sunny, reasonably warm and a roughly Northerly wind around
the bottom end of Force 4, and some serious waves. Yes, decent
sailing conditions for the first time since the 95 Nationals!
Everyone bounced out onto the course, and Dave Roe celebrated
his early arrival (actually got there the night before) by going
for a serious warm up blast. Serious enough to be late for the
start. The more things change.. the more they remain the same!
The course was a windward leeward plus gate, with lots of place
changing and even the occasional swim. By the finish Robin Russell
& Matt Searle were leading, Andrew Kinchin & Simon Roberts
second, and Andy & Alex Paterson 3rd, with Dave & Claire
Spens having worked their way up to 4th. All this was to change
however, as virtually no-one had read the race instructions properly,
and lots of people had managed to sail between the gate buoy and
the outer distance instead of gate and committee boat. Amongst
them, to his shame, was your editor, who having prepared the race
instructions for the web had no excuse!
Pos | No | Crew | Design |
1 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
2 | 2669 | Simon Clifton & Maddy James | Hardon |
3 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una-May Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
Race 2
A little more wind for this one at times, maybe middle of F4,
plenty of waves and Dolphins! The tide was also pretty significant
in this race, with some sort of tidal eddy favouring the left,
but more wind on the right. Robin Russell took an early lead,
followed by the Patersons, Dave Roe & Claire Spens, and then
for a while, much to his surprise, your editor. Robin broke a
tiller extension and sailed back to the beach, giving the lead
to Andy, with Andrew K.& Simon R. coming up fast through the
fleet. Andy P. capsized on the last kite hoist, letting Andrew
K. inherit the lead, which he kept to the finish, with Dave Roe
second and the Patersons recovering to 3rd. Best incident of the
race happened to Gavin Sims & Gareth Turnbull in Dangerous
Strawberry. There were a fair few lobster pots round the course,
and they came to a crashing halt on one of them. Lifted the daggerboard
- no change. Lifted the rudder - no change. They looked forward
and saw a couple of little buoys, one each side of the stem, and
they didn't want to drift free. On further investigation it turned
out they'd hit the rope so hard that it had cut straight through
the laminate on Gavin's bow extension and sawn a slot right back
to the true stem. It was so firmly stuck that one of them had
to get to the front of the boat and heave the ropes out with a
foot.. At the prizegiving they were presented with the Lobster
trophy for this achievement.
1 | "247" | Andrew Kinchin & Simon Roberts | Dog |
2 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
3 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
4 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una-May Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
5 | 2669 | Simon Clifton & Maddy James | Hardon |
6 | "2643" | Will Lea & Phil Anderson | Bistro Mod. |
Race 3
The wind dropped off quite a lot for this one, dropping down
to Force 2-3. Gavin & Gareth made an excellent Port tack start
and took an early lead, which they held until nearly at the leeward
mark, where Andy P. & Alex were able to slip through sailing
much lower on the gybes. They kept this lead through to the finish,
with Dave & Claire second, and Robin & Matt 3rd, Robin
scoring a reasonable result at last after spending most of the
day round the front of the fleet.
1 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
2 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
3 | 2673 | Robin Russell & Matt Searle | Slug |
4 | "247" | Andrew Kinchin & Simon Roberts | Dog |
5 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una-May Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
6 | 2669 | Simon Clifton & Maddy James | Hardon. |
Day 2
Race 4
An easterly wind off the land, and Force 3 going out to the
start. Basically pretty flat water although there was a long shallow
swell coming down from the north. A typical Cherub early morning
start, with more than a few people late for the start gun. There
was a massive rain squall on the first run/second beat, which
laid many of the fleet flat, and was probably nearer 30 knots
than 25, but thereafter it reverted to force 3/4. Simon &
Maddy were going very well, but went the wrong way round a leeward
mark and lost a lot of places re-rounding. The wind, coming off
the land, was very gusty and very shifty, with no apparent pattern.
After a lot of place changing Gavin & Gareth were first, whilst
Robin & Matt just pipped Andrew K. & Simon R. for second.
1 | 2649 | Gavin Sims & Gareth Turnbull | Bistro |
2 | 2673 | Robin Russell & Matt Searle | Slug |
3 | "247" | Simon Roberts & Andrew Kinchin | Dog |
4 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
5 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
6 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una Mary Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
Race 5
Gavin & Gareth pulled off another of their hot starts/first
beats, judging the starboard end nicely and catching the shifts
just right to lead round the windward mark. However later on they
were unlucky enough to find a particularly big hole in the wind.
There was a lot of place changing in very shifty conditions
1 | 2660 | Dave Roe &Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
2 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
3 | 2673 | Robin Russell & Matt Searle | Slug |
4 | 247 | Simon Roberts & Andrew Kinchin | Dog |
5 | 2649 | Gavin Sims & Gareth Turnbull | Bistro |
6 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una Mary Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
Race 6
The wind went round to the South over lunchtime. The forecast
was for it to build, but this didn't happen. This time the big
gust timed itself for just as a number of boats were leaving the
harbour. Rather embarrassingly Andy Paterson's new super lightweight
rudder gave up the struggle in the gust, sending them into a spectacular
semi-pitchpole right in front of the tourists on the end of the
breakwater. Much oohs and aahs followed as recovery took some
time due to the need to adjust the rudder so that the good part
of the foil was in the stock. Thank goodness for daggerboard rudders!
At the start Tim & Una and Gavin & Gareth showed first,
but Dave Roe came up very fast at the end of the leg to take the
lead round the windward mark. Robin & Matt came storming down
the right hand side of the run, and took the lead temporarily
at the beat. Dave & Claire took the lead just before the next
windward, with 3 boats overlapped for second place. At the end
of the run Robin broke his daggerboard, which ended his series.
The weather then dropped to about Force 2, which suited Andy P.
& Alex, sailing with about 60% of normal rudder area, because
they were just able to keep the boat under control thanks to the
flat water.
It was notable, from the end of the breakwater, that quite a number
of the general public were taking a lot of notice of the racing,
with people actually picking out and following individual boats.
Of course the spectacular colour schemes favoured by Cherubs helps
considerably with this, as does our preference for holding races
close to the shore.
1 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
2 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
3 | 2649 | Gavin Sims & Gareth Turnbull | Bistro |
4 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una Mary Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
5 | "247" | Simon Roberts & Andrew Kinchin | Dog |
6 | 2659 | Richard Butler & Andrew Chick | Dog |
Race 7
Continuing with a rather Doggy Force 2 to 3, still gusty and
still very shifty. Dave & Claire led from start to finish
- however it was no means as simple as that, with enormous changes
as gusts and shifts came through - for instance on one leg Dave
rounded the windward mark 200yards ahead and caught a superb gust
that saw him practically to the leeward mark as the next few struggled
in a hole at the top mark. Then up the next beat Andy P. &
Alex got the shifts exactly right and gained all that and more
as he closed up to within 20 yards of Dave. At that point, however,
their spinnaker gained a giant rip and had to be kept in the bag
for the remaining two laps. This saw Andrew K. & Simon R.
overtake them for second, but they did succeed in holding off
Simon & Maddy and Tim & Una, who were hurtling up. That
must have been a very welcome shorten course signal!
1 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
2 | "247" | Simon Roberts & Andrew Kinchin | Dog |
3 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
4 | 2669 | Simon Clifton & Maddy James | Hardon |
5 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una Mary Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
6 | 2649 | Gavin Sims & Gareth Turnbull | Bistro |
Day 3
Racing Abandoned - 40 knot winds.
Day 4
Race 8
Ah, sunshine! Not especially windy in fact, but nice and warm.
A good Force 3 for the start, with the wind from the east off
the land. Not much in the way of waves, but with a low but very
long swell coming in from the west that was especially helpful
on starboard tack up the beats. Today was the peak day for dolphins
- I saw 6 or 8 I think, often very close to the boats. The wind
wasn't as shifty and gusty as it had been on Friday. Dave &
Claire took an early lead, with Andrew Paterson stuck in the pack
thanks partly to Dave's start line tactics. Andrew K. & Simon
R. took the lead on the second lap, but then struck a particularly
long and wayward lobster pot line going at full speed down the
reach and came to a shattering halt. They dropped down to third,
behind both Dave & Claire and Tim & Una, but managed to
get one place back at the finish.
1 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
2 | "247" | Simon Roberts & Andrew Kinchin | Dog |
3 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una Mary Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
4 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
5 | 2649 | Gavin Sims & Gareth Turnbull | Bistro |
6 | 2669 | Simon Clifton & Maddy James | Hardon |
Race 9
A little quieter than race 6, with some trapezing upwind. Dave
& Claire led at the start, with Andrew K. & Simon R. taking
the lead on lap two as Dave succeeded in finding all the holes
in the wind down the runs and dropped several places. The wind
dropped slightly during this race, and as it stopped the Patersons
seemed to be able to sail lower and faster (or at least less slowly)
than everyone else on the runs. They were about to take the lead
on the last run when a snaggle taking the kite down lost them
the win. This left Dave & Claire secure for first place with
more wins than Andy P. & Alex.
1 | "247" | Simon Roberts & Andrew Kinchin | Dog |
2 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
3 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
4 | 2669 | Simon Clifton & Maddy James | Hardon |
5 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una Mary Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
6 | 2649 | Gavin Sims & Gareth Turnbull | Bistro |
Race 10
The wind had continued to get lighter for the final race. Andy
P. & Alex led the race from start to finish, with a ferocious
battle going on behind between Dave & Claire, Andrew &
Simon, Simon & Maddy and Tim & Una. They were swapping
places all the way round, and on the last run Simon & Maddy
went left away from the others, and found a nice little gust which
had them storming up to the line.. until it died about 50yards
short. Dave & Claire took second and the Championship.
1 | 2676 | Andy & Alex Paterson | Paterson 7 |
2 | "247" | Simon Roberts & Andrew Kinchin | Dog |
3 | 2660 | Dave Roe & Claire Spens | Pasta Frenzy |
4 | 2669 | Simon Clifton & Maddy James | Hardon |
5 | 2662 | Tim Dean & Una Mary Colclough | Pasta Frenzy |
6 | 2674 | Neal Cardno & Ken Scott-Brown | Slug |
Nationals Summary
A good Nationals, best for a few years. Many thanks to the
club for hospitality, friendliness, getting all the racing running
smoothly and a great supper on Friday Night!
An especial thank you goes to the Race Officer, George Legg, and
his good lady, for not only respectively organising the racing
and results respectively, but also for allowing the webmaster
to trample into their house first thing every morning bearing
a floppy disk with the latest updates.
Another win for Dave Roe, but not an easy one. Its always easy
to come up with "what-ifs", but one suspects if Andy
Paterson had had a couple less teething troubles with the new
boat, or three or four weeks to sail it beforehand then it would
have been right down to the wire on the last race.
The Patersons seem to have very good moderate wind speed, especially
downwind, but there's no doubt that Dave has an ability to put
in a blistering lap or two when it really counts. Andrew &
Simon were always thereabouts, but not quite consistently up with
the other two. Robin was fast, but desperately needs to sort out
reliability.
The second group consisted of Tim & Una, Simon & Maddy
and Gavin & Gareth. All of them seem to have good speed and
had all improved considerably from last year, had a great week
of not only battling amongst themselves, but also challenging
the leaders from time to time. They should be going home well
satisfied with their Nationals.
Final Results
No | Helm | Crew | Name | Design | Home Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | R9 | R10 | ||
1 | 2660 | Dave Roe | Claire Spens | The Pasta Frenzy | Pasta Frenzy mod | Lee on Solent SC | DSQ | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
2 | 2676 | Andy Paterson | Alex Paterson | Shiny Beast | Paterson 7 | Gurnard SC | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
3 | 2645 | Andy Kinchin | Simon Roberts | Strangely Brown | Dog mod. | DSQ | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 20 | |
4 | 2662 | Tim Dean | Una-Mary Colclough | Fizzy Shark | Pasta Frenzy | Lee on Solent SC | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 34 |
5 | 2669 | Simon Clifton | Maddie James | Catenanche | Hardon | Datchet Water SC | 2 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | DSQ | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 38 |
6 | 2649 | Gavin Sims | Gareth Turnbull | Dangerous Strawberry | Bistro | Neyland SC | DSQ | 7 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | DNF | 40 |
7 | 2659 | Richard Butler | Andrew Chick | Flying Kipper | Dog | Rutland SC | DNC | 9 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 66 |
8 | 2673 | Robin Russell | Matt Searle | Green Slug | Slug | Hill Head SC | DSQ | 10 | 3 | 2 | 3 | DNF | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 82 |
9 | 2642 | Will Lea | Phil Alderson | Little Fluffy Clouds | Bistro mod. | Peterhead SC | DSQ | 6 | DNC | 7 | DNC | 8 | 7 | 7 | DNF | DNC | 83 |
10 | 2654 | Billy Wood | David Wood | Dog | DNF | DNF | 10 | 11 | DNF | DNC | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 86 | ||
11 | 2674 | Neil Cardno | Ken Scott-Brown | Born Slippy | Slug | Tynemouth SC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 9 | 8 | DNC | DNC | DNF | 7 | 6 | 94 |
12 | 2661 | Ken Appleby | Bob Bradshaw | Bistro | RSYC | DNF | DNF | 9 | DNC | 10 | 7 | DNC | DNF | DNC | DNC | 106 | |
13 | 2641 | Patrick Cunningham | Jim Champ | Halo Jones | Bistro | Island Barn SC | DSQ | 8 | DNC | DNF | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNF | 9 | DNC | 113 |
14 | 2648 | Gary Butland | Robert Man | Bistro | Neyland SC | DSQ | DNF | DNC | 10 | DNF | DNF | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNC | 122 | |
15 | 2675 | Sebastian Blake | Jonathon Garfitt | Fuzzy Logic | Velocipede | Tynemouth SC | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNF | DNC | DNC | DNC | DNF | DNC | DNC | 128 |
Note - Simon and Maddy's DSQ in Race 6 is something of a mystery, because they are sure they sailed the correct course, and the race officer couldn't recall what the problem might have been. Fortunately it wouldn't have affected the final results. Jim Champ