Velocitek Cherub Nationals Report

Click here for full results from WPNSA's own website

cherub.jpg Suicide Blonde showing her stuff.

2688-20070721a.jpg Atum Bom soaking between races.

Primal Scream showing that last years rock-attack can't keep a boat down.

Monkey Magic looking great. Best restoration.

Strangely Brown with extraordinary pace in breeze.

Strangely Brown again.

social-20070722a.jpg Debrief. Thanks to our sponsors Velocitek, we were able to spend the evenings taunting each other over the days activity on the water.

social-20070722b.jpg More debrief activity.

Day 1

A record-breaking turnout of 27 Cherubs pointed their bonnets at the National Sailing Academy at Weymouth and Portland for the Velocitek Sponsored 2007 UK Cherub Nationals. Teams came from as far north as Aberdeen and as far south as Paris, boats were aged from a few months to an impressive 45 years, and sailors were aged from 9 to a really vintage «CENSORED» years. All gathered for this annual festival of Cherub sailing - and to enjoy some races too.

Friday the 20th of July was spent finishing off the measurement. Many people aimed to be down early for this, but the extreme weather caused late arrivals for many as the roads became slower and slower.

On saturday morning the skies were clear and a good breeze was forecast, so Cherub sailors set about rigging for the race, due to start at 1 pm. Then the rain started again: Down it poured like pints down Stu Tinner’s throat, and it was wetsuits-before-rigging for many sailors.

At 12 noon the sky cleared and a steady southwesterly wind filled the bay and off the cherubs set in the sunshine to enjoy a terrific afternoon of sparkling, champagne (or lager I suppose) sailing.

An even line got the fleet away cleanly. Dave Chisholm in the Bieker designed B1C ‘Ronin’ arrived at the top and hit the right down the run. They were closely followed by the Simon Roberts designed Slug ‘Atum Bom’ sailed by Will and Lucy Lee, who gybed left. At the bottom Atum Bom was ahead by about 50m and stretched away to win. Further down the fleet Dave Ching and Lara Gonzales in Shiny Beast put in a solid race to come third, with Tom and Matthew Kiddle seeing off the French contenders to take fourth. Special congratulations also go to Laurence Trim sailing with his daughter Harriet in their vintage boat ‘Huckle The Mauri Hunter’ who managed to beat his brother, Roland Trim sailing with his wife Hayley!

Velocitek GPS track

(Change the settings on it until you get a view you like)

The wind had started to build properly by now and this favoured the teams who had been sailing together for some time. Atum Bom got straight into the groove after one of their now legendary terrible starts, and took the lead from the first mark. Tom and Maf in Dangerous Beans hit the knots and gave chase, fighting off Iain Christie and Tom Vians in the heavy-wind flyer Suicide Blonde. Robert ‘Turkey’ Main and Simon ‘Little T’ Turnbull got on the case and powered through to fourth when Dave Chisholm and Andrew Penham in ‘Ronin’ took a dip.

Velocitek GPS track

(Change the settings on it until you get a view you like)

The wind was still pretty pokey, which suited Atum Bom down to the ground. Back on the race course after a swift change of rudder were Paul Croote and Chris Crabb in ‘Cheese before Bedtime’, well known for their ‘duracell bunny’ approach to sailing and special heavy weather skills. Taking no prisoners they powered the throught the occasionally upsidedown opposition to take second. Dave and Andrew in ‘Ronin’ took third, with Tom and Maf in ‘Beans’ proving again that it isn’t only lard that counts in the windy stuff by nailing ‘Suicide Blonde’. By this time it was a war of attrittion and complete newcomers Phil Kirk and Sarah Gregson showed they are made of stern stuff to romp home seventh behind the Welsh boys. Roland and Hayley Trim proved that sheer grit and determination is an excellent strategy by hanging on to the bitter end, finishing the final race in eight depite a long swim in race 2 to sort some minor boat problems.

In the evening the fleet enjoyed FREE BEER provided by our fabulous sponsors Velocitek and a short de-brief looking at the GPS tracks from those boats carrying Velocitek units.

Velocitek GPS track

(Change the settings on it until you get a view you like)

Day 2

The day dawned sunny and breezy, which got everyone out on the water in good order.

'Ronin', driven by Dave Chisholm took the lead up the first beat, rounding first with Atum Bom in hot persuit. Lucy and Will in 'Atum' managed to engage their down wind turbocharger to pull ahead by the bottom mark. 'Ronin' were in close persuit for the rest of the race, putting the pressure on 'Atum' and hoping for a mistake to let them sneak through. The fresher conditions suited Ianin and Tom in 'Suicide' who kept Ghislain and Christophe in 'Natual Born Skiffeurs' in fourth.Stuart Hopson and Steve Hackett in 'Subtle Knife' were starting to get into their stride by this stage and gave Tom and Maf in 'Beans' some trouble.

Velocitek GPS track

(Change the settings on it until you get a view you like)

'Shiny Beast' got stuck straight in with a storming beat, rounding in second just behind 'Suicide Blonde'. 'Ronin' rounded next and gybed off right to avoid 'Suicide'. 'Atum' opted for the higher risk strategy of rolling 'Suicide' to stay left and were just ahead of 'Ronin' at the first leeward mark. 'Ronin' sailed 'Atum' off to the right, preventing them from tacking for the line and then moving into first place up the second beat. Sadly, they were ambushed by a viscous lull and tipped it in to windward just by the mark, allowing 'Atum' to nip through to take first. Further back Tom and Maf in 'Beans' settled into the groove to nail third and Dave Ching and Lara Gonzales in 'Shiny Beast' continued to stretch their lighter wind legs as the breeze tailed off in the centre of the course. Amongst the Cherub newcomers Mat and Paula Burrows in 'Catananche' pushed Phil and Sarah in 'Slippery when Wet' into tenth. Special note goes to Robert and Tim Myers in the fabulous 'Aggro', one of the growing fleet of vintage 'Woodies' who are coming back into fashion as a way for speed-freak Dads to introduce their little ones to the joys of salty water!

Velocitek GPS track

(Change the settings on it until you get a view you like)

Between the races the wind had clocked round, leaving a nice seam down the right hand side of the course, and a corresponding lack on the left. 'Atum' managed a port end start, but 'Ronin' hit the right first up the beat, pulling out into the pressure. 'Ronin' rounded first and hit the right with conviction, leaving 'Atum' with the low pressure left side of the run. 'Ronin' were still ahead at the leeward mark, and made skilled use of the local meterology to maintain their lead to the finish. Elsewhere in the fleet Alex Cramp and Tim Noyce in 'Badger's Nadgers' had a dissapointing first beat, rounding significantly behind 'Beans', 'Subtle Knife' and 'NBS' at the first mark. They then engaged the warp drive, finding an amazing seam of breeze and some special t-foil power to charge through the gap, catching 'Beans'. They gybed on top of 'NBS' at the bottom mark and nailed them on the drop. 'Subtle Knife' got through and got away up the next leg to finish in third with Ghislain and Christophe (NBS) in fourth.

In the evening there was more FREE BEER from Velocitek, and a really interesting debrief with Dave Chisholm and Will Lee re-living the on-the-water action for the assembled hoards, and Tim Noyce drawing our attention to his storming run.

Velocitek GPS track

(Change the settings on it until you get a view you like)

Day 3

The weather could not have been worse: pouring rain, howling wind and near zero visibility. All sensible sailors retired to the cafe for bacon butties and obsessive checking of the Portland Harbour anemometer http://www.weather-file.com/portland/ which was looking less than promising.

Our sensible race office Laurie held us on shore until he could see the harbour wall appearing out of the gloom before sending us out into the rain to rig. For several of the newly restored boats discretion was the order of the day, and several crews elected to stay dry and not risk damaging themselves.

In actual fact, by the time the racing started the breeze had fallen right off and it was hardly even twin-wire capable.

With 'Ronin' tucked up on shore with a broken crew, 'Atum' delivered another dreadful start, but somehow managed to find enough pressure to engage the turbo boost in shifty, lumpy conditions. Phil and Carol Alderson in'Primal Scream' had arrived late the previous night from a wedding in Scotland, and hit the water in fine form to romp home second. The breeze was strong enough in the first race to give Iain and Tom in 'Suicide' the edge over their arch rivals 'Beans, 'Subtle Knife' and 'NBS', with Tim Unerman and Ed Higham in 'Pocket Rocket' showing the 2005 rules boats who was boss and storming home fourth. Loco Perro bravely finished despite spinnaker issues, before heading to the slip for a quick sort-out.

Velocitek GPS track

Lots of argy-bargy on the start this time with the seasoned club racers in 'Strangly Brown' quietly holding their position and making the rest of us work hard for space. The sloppy chop was starting to favour the t-foil boats, and Tom and Maf in 'Beans' didn't manage to hold off Stuart Hopson and Steve Hackett in'Subtle Knife' who had started to settle in to last year's race winning form and chased 'Atum' hard all round the course. Paul Croote and Chris Crabb found a new gear on 'Cheese' and pulled back about five places thanks to special soaking power downwind to finish third.

Velocitek GPS track

Mark and Matt Grant in 'Therapy' were out in force today, after a long weekend of partying. Building on eleventh in the first race and eight in the second they got a bit too keen and were OCS along with 'Atum Bom' and 'Badger's Nadgers'. Fearing the worst 'Atum' went back, which then allowed them to find a nice lane of clean breeze up the favoured left side of the course. Right behind them at the top there was a battle royal going on between 'Beans', 'NBS' and 'Subtle Knife'. These three boats were short tacking each other up every leg, with 'Subtle' and 'NBS' making full use of their t-foils while Tom and Maf used every trick in the book to get the most unbelievable pointing ability out of 'Beans'. By the final beat Stu Hopson in 'Subtle' had snuck into the lead, and 'NBS' had suffered from a couple of tricky kite drops allowing 'Beans' into third. Ross Burkin and Dan Kemble in 'Loco Perro' delivered a shocking start and found themselves chasing Roland and Hayley Trim in 'Oops' all the way round the first lap. On the second beat 'Loco' finally managed to RTFM and steadily pulled back to pip 'Oops' at the post. 'Oops' is clearly showing that time on the water pays huge dividends, climbing steadily in the results: 15th, 14th, 13th and 12th in the last four races. In the mid fleet there was close racing with the three 1997 rules boats 'Strangely Brown', 'Pocket Rocket' and 'Slippery when Wet' swapping places and mixing it up.

Velocitek GPS track

The GPS de-brief made for fascinating watching: the boats carrying Velocitek units could be seen fighting it our at the front, middle and back of the fleet. We were even able to verify that Oops had done her truns after pranging the windward mark, and marvel at the amazing pointing versus footing battles between 'Subtle knife' and 'Dangerous Beans'.

Day 4 is a lay day for the Cherub fleet, and a good thing too given that most competitors went huge last night on the 'Dress for a Tenner' Charity shop pub crawl

social-20070730a.jpg social-20070730b.jpg social-20070730c.jpg social-20070730d.jpg

It is all to play for when the breeze kicks back in tomorrow.

Day 5

Another unpromising start with big gusts, torrents of rain and dreadful visibility. Our race officer held us ashore again until the wind on the course was below 25 knots and then hit the 'Go' button.

Atum Bom, Cheese Before Bedtime, Strangely Brown, Beans and Subtle Knife all took a big dose of 'man-up' and left the slip. They were followed by Suicide Blonde, Therapy, Slippery When Wet and Pocket Rocket. The Moths opted to send Adam May off on a reccie before launching in earnest. Sensible Moths!

The Cherubs headed for the starting area at Mach 12 under white sails, apart from Cheese who had clearly had more than their fair share of 'Man-up' and flew a kite for the approx 30 seconds it took to get from one side of the bay to the other. This was a great plan till it came time to gybe….

Strangely Brown were in their element with their 1990 sails, and were seen waiting expectantly in the start area. The wind then picked up a few notches, and everyone went swimming, before deciding it was clearly time to try to get home with the crew in one piece. Everyone made it.

Racing was abandoned for the day.

Day 6

If possible, it was even breezier. The Cherubs opted to wait optimistically until midday before finally admitting defeat and opting for an early prize giving.

A top class event at a top class venue, with a record breaking turnout. This included new boats, boats from France, many vintage boats and new and old faces.

Many thanks to WPSNA, Laurie our Race Officer and the rescue crews who looked after us on the water.

The Velocitek 2007 UK Cherub National Championships

1st Simpsom Cup William and Lucy Lee 2688 Atum Bom 2nd Rose Bowl Tom and Matthew Kiddle 2673 Dangerous Beans 3rd LOSSC Plaque Iain Christie and Tom Vian 2644 Suicide Blonde 1st 1997 Rules Boat Robert Main and Simon Turnbull 2651 Strangely Brown 1st Vintage Boat Robert and Tim Myers 2603 Aggro 2603-20050707b.jpg 1st Female Helm / Crew The Silver Teapot Sarah Gregson

Velocitek Best Newcomer Paul Croote and Chris Crabb 2645 Cheese Before Bedtime Velocitek Best Improver 'The Mason Trophy' Dave Chisholm and Andrew Penham 2698 Ronin Prix D'Elegance Ewan Harris 2655 Monkey Magic 'The Phoenix' Best restoration Paul Croote 2645 Cheese Before Bedtime

The Didgeridon't for the crew who promised so much but failed to deliver Tim Noyce and Alex Cramp 2694 Badger's Nadgers

The Ashes for the mightiest piece of boat destruction Tim Noyce and Alex Cramp 2694 Badger's Nadgers

The Davey for the most spectacular capsize; not awarded as, despite much provication, there were no really legendary, witnesed capsizes.

The Marlow Rope Reel for the furthest travelled: Ghislain Devouthon and Christophe Brigaudeau from Paris.

The Spanking Paddle for the most disgraceful behaviour: Tom Kiddle.

Sailed: 9, Discards:1, To count:8, Entries:27

Rank Tally SailNo Helm Crew Club R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 Total Nett
1st 31 2688 Will Lee Lucy Lee Bough Beech SC 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 (2.0) 1.0 1.0 1.0 10.0 8.0
2nd 33 2673 Tom Kiddle Matthew Kiddle Covenham SC 4.0 2.0 4.0 7.0 3.0 7.0 (9.0) 4.0 3.0 43.0 34.0
3rd 42 2644 Iain Christie Tom Vian Draycote Water SC 7.0 3.0 5.0 3.0 7.0 (9.0) 3.0 7.0 7.0 51.0 42.0
4th 40 2645 Paul Croote Chris Crabb Chew Valley Lake SC 6.0 10.0 2.0 (15.0 DNF) 5.0 6.0 6.0 3.0 6.0 59.0 44.0
5th 45 2693 Stuart Hopson Steve Hackett Shotwick Lake SC, Sidmouth 11.0 (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 6.0 6.0 3.0 5.0 2.0 2.0 91.0 63.0
6th 43 2651 Robert Main Simon Turnbull Neyland 8.0 4.0 6.0 5.0 (28.0 DSQ) 11.0 8.0 12.0 10.0 92.0 64.0
7th 36 2692 Ghislain Devouthon Christophe Brigaudeau CVML, Amath Kaki Kouka 5.0 8.0 (28.0 DNS) 4.0 28.0 DSQ 4.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 95.0 67.0
8th 38 2698 David Chisholm Andrew Penham Waldringfield SC, Itchenor SC 2.0 5.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 99.0 71.0
9th 32 2657 Phil Kirk Sarah Gregson Frampton-on-Severn SC (12.0) 6.0 7.0 9.0 10.0 10.0 11.0 9.0 9.0 83.0 71.0
10th 47 2683 Tim Unerman Edward Higham Chew Valley SC 9.0 (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 8.0 8.0 12.0 4.0 11.0 8.0 116.0 88.0
11th 52 2676 David Ching Lara Gonzalez Poole Yacht Club 3.0 7.0 9.0 DNF 10.0 4.0 5.0 (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 122.0 94.0
12th 48 2685 Ross Burkin Daniel Kemble King George SC 13.0 9.0 (28.0 DNS) 11.0 11.0 DNF 28.0 DNS 12.0 15.0 DNF 11.0 138.0 110.0
13th 35 2652 Roland Trim Hayley Trim Bough Beech SC 16.0 (28.0 DNS) 8.0 12.0 28.0 DSQ 15.0 14.0 13.0 12.0 146.0 118.0
14th 54 2686 Phil Alderson Carol Alderson Peterhead SC (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 2.0 5.0 4.0 179.0 151.0
15th 46 2669 Matt Burrows Paula Burrows Weston SC 14.0 11.0 (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 9.0 13.0 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 187.0 159.0
16th 39 2694 Alex Cramp Tim Noyce Midlands Marine Academy (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 13.0 28.0 DSQ 8.0 28.0 DNS 10.0 28.0 OCS 199.0 171.0
17th 49 2649 Stu Tinner Rory Moppett Welwyn Garden City SC, Bough Beech SC (28.0 DNS) 12.0 28.0 DNS 15.0 DNF 28.0 DNS 14.0 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 209.0 181.0
18th 57 2656 Matt Grant Mark Grant Castle Cove SC (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 10.0 8.0 28.0 OCS 214.0 186.0
19th 50 2603 Robert Myers Tim Myers Bough Beech SC (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 14.0 11.0 DNF 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 221.0 193.0
20th 34 2642 Malcolm Gardner Alan Gardner RNSA (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 13.0 28.0 DNS 13.0 222.0 194.0
21st 44 2655 Ben Brown Ewan Harris Blackwater SC 10.0 (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 234.0 206.0
22nd 41 2643 Joseph Moore Richard Cunneen Grafham Water SC (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 15.0 DNF 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 239.0 211.0
23rd 37 1494 Laurence Trim Harriet Trim Bough Beech SC 15.0 (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 239.0 211.0
24th 51 2680 Simon Roberts Tim Dean Draycote Water SC (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 252.0 224.0
24th 53 2638 Paul Smith Harry Smith Brightlingsea SC (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 252.0 224.0
24th 55 2648 Ben Howlett George Smith Strathclyde Uni SC, Bough Beech SC (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 252.0 224.0
24th 56 691 Steve Tomlinson Tim Sutton (28.0 DNS) 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 28.0 DNS 252.0 224.0
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  • Last modified: 2023/03/01 18:29
  • by jp233