Weston Open 2007

Six Cherubs made the now familiar journey to Weston SC near Southampton for an Open Meeting shared with Internaional Moths and International 14s.

On Saturday the sun was out but the breeze was minimal, fitful and highly variable in direction. The first race had Shiny Beast leading off the line followed by Atum Bom and then Subtle Knife, in very light airs. There was a large right shift just before the start so it appeared that everyone could lay the mark. A little zephyr arrived and Atum Bom slipped ahead, but the wind went back a little way for them so a tack for the mark was required even though the rest of the fleet could lay it. It was close at the top but Atum Bom rounded first. This race was complicated by the many Moths it was necessary to dodge. Finishing positions were Atum Bom followed by Shiny Beast.

After this the Race Officer took the tough decision to abandon racing for the rest of the day, leaving competitors to enjoy the sunshine and to try out a little boat swapping and taking the four potential new Cherubbists out for sails in the patchy breeze.

Saturday evening was spent at the highly recommended Weston SC curry night, where Cherubbists present and future sat and discussed Cherubby news like how people have been getting on with their new Velocitek units, as well as the latest T-foil developments (everyone is building one!).

On Sunday morning it was quite clear that there was some wind about from the northwest and by the time the racing began a little after 12, there were even a couple of white caps to be seen too. The first race was lead off the line by Ant and Ed Chapman who showed they meant business in Slug 2673 Dangerous Beans. They powered away uphill and were not seen again. In second place was Atum Bom, followed by Shiny Beast.

The next race was sailed in a stiffening breeze and the Chapmans nailed the start again at the pin end on port, but this time when they headed left, the Lee's aboard Atum Bom headed more to the right and just crossed Dangerous Beans before the windward mark. It wasn't over as the Chapmans were brave enough to hoist before the spacer mark and overtook the Lees to leeward. The next step in this saga was a late gybe-hoist into a favourable shift and gust by the Lees and a successful transition to lightspeed. For the rest of the race the Chapmans aboard Dangerous Beans kept the Lees honest and chipped away at their lead but didn't quite catch them by the end. Chasing hard were Stu Hopson and Simon Jones in Subtle Knife.

The third race of the day saw even more breeze. The Lees and Chapmans (it was getting quite personal by now) psyched each other out by sitting on the line for ages before the start. With about 30 seconds to go the Chapmans dived out to perform a neat gybe and hit the line at speed. The Lees bollocksed it up and missed the pin, so needed to gybe round AFTER the starting gun. Rolling the dice the Lees hit the right - needing this race to sew up the series. By the top they were back in touch with the fleet and by the end of the next lap they were lying second. At the second windward mark the Chapmans were ahead but the Lees hoisted first and set off down the rather tight reach to the bottom. Having had to soak to get round the committee boat, the Lees were vulnerable to the Chapmans coming in fast from the right. The series was still wide open: If the Chapmans won this race and the next it belonged to them. Sadly a rare boat handling error tipped the Chapmans in as they gybed to cross the Lees. The Lees exploited this event by choosing a very early drop and a wobbly approach to the mark.

The final race started after a short pause while the excellent race committee moved the marks around to match the breeze which was now backed south of west. Predictably the Chapmans nailed the start but this time elected to stay with the Lees to reduce the chances of them slipping through. It was close at the top - and by this, the fourth race of the day, everyone was thoroughly knackered - but a tacking error allowed the Lees through. As if that wasn't enough, a problem with the spinnaker hoist saw them finish the race under two sails.

Altogether a very exciting weekend for Cherubbists new and old. Our next unofficial open meeting is the Whit Regatta at Bala, and the next traveller is the Weymouth Town Regatta. See you there! Results

1. Atum Bom Slug 2688 Will Lee Lucy Lee
2. Dangerous Beans 2673 Ant Chapman and Ed Chapman
3. Shiny Beast 2676 Dave Ching and Lara Gonzalez-Ruiz

Many thanks to Weston SC for another fantastically well organised event.

GPS tracks and photos coming.