U.K. Cherub 1993 National Championships

Babbacombe Corinthian SC, Devon

The 1993 Nationals were held under the relaxed and friendly burgee of Babbacombe Corinthian SC, and enjoyed a variety of courses and conditions.

Thursday

Variable gusts off the cliffs saw much place changing in race 1, but Dave Roe and Helen Marsh soon established a safe lead, finding a private puff while much of the fleet struggled. A solid Force 4 arrived during the second round of the windward-leeward course with boats flying through the downhill gate at speed. The stronger breeze benefited the heavier crews of Guy Lewington & Stuart Coles, and John Lobb & Martin Harrison, who secured the next two places ahead of Andy Kinchin, and Andy Horton.

Friday

Two races were held on the second day on windward-leeward courses in quieter conditions that favoured the lightweights.
In the first Dave was soon in the lead but with Guy and Simon Roberts also in contention. The downwind legs proved ugly for the heavies with the whole fleet queued up to pass Guy! Graham Dickenson took third in spite of a swim at the last kite drop. Astern a tight 3 way battle was resolved on the line as Duncan Barr in his new home built and designed boat crossed ahead of Nick Spens and Andy Kinchin with only seconds to spare.
The Afternoon race saw Dave take a commanding lead early on with Simon again securing a safe second. Behind these two the battle for third was between Guy Andy K and Graham. The latter found some good angles on the last run to start the beat in third place, but could not hold off Andy, who beat him to the line. Guy went off to one side to look for a way round, but was disappointed and stayed in 5th.

Saturday

John and Guy were delighted to see fresher conditions on the following day. Andy Horton & Simon Roberts pulled off port tack flyers at the start, but Dave Roe was soon back in the lead. Some crews found quite big holes to sit in during the first lap. Simon and Andy benefited from their starts to hold on to third and fifth and there was enough wind for John Lobb and Guy to finish second and fourth.
The breeze freshened to a tough force 5 in the afternoon with big enough waves to put in some useful airtime. The start was a disaster for Dave, who was fouled on the line by a windward boat and blown across the port end mark. Helen spent some time in the rescue boat nursing a large bruise, and they were eventually adjudged non-starters. Guy and John L hit the front, with Guy leading until he shed a rudder pintle and Simon Roberts sailed well to take second. Graham Dickenson was third ahead of Robin Russell and Andy Coombs, with the rest of the fleet retiring in the conditions. Most popular reasons were rudder damage, but Matt pulled the spinnaker block and a large chunk of deck off the Aircraft Carrier, and Duncan Barr's foam cored daggerboard snapped.

Sunday

There were lighter conditions on the final day, and Olympic-style courses for the first time. A hard squall at the start made the first beat one sided - so much so that starboard end starters fetched the mark! Dave, Andy Horton and Simon were the first of these, Guy and John failed to take advantage of the breeze by falling over shortly after the off. Nick Spens and Robin Russell were at the head of the second bunch, on the first reach, but Graham found a private puff on the broader second reach to come through to 4th.Dave finished first, though considerably caught up by Andy. Graham just took 3rd after a lot of place swapping with Simon. Nick Spens was 5th and Guy 6th.
A stronger breeze for the final race caused much place changing on the first reach as crews chanced spinnakers in the gusts under the cliffs. After a tight battle between Guy, Dave, Simon and John, Guy came good on the last beat to win from Dave - effectively the only person to beat him fair and square on the water all week. John L and Simon R were 3rd and 4th, with Graham a distant fifth.

Top Placed Crews

Although Dave Roe continued to dominate in the original Bistro, the Dog and Platypus designs of Simon Roberts, and John Lobb's Trifle all showed well in the absence of some of the established Bistro teams. Dave Roe is currently building his new Pasta Frenzy, which is derived from the Bistro and incorporates the hollowed chines pioneered in the Dog design. Duncan Barr attended the nationals with a new home designed and built boat, which showed some promise for when teething troubles are over. His championship was cut short when the daggerboard failed in the heavy weather race.

Results

1	2637	Norwegian Blue	Dave Roe	Helen Marsh	Lee on Solent SC	Bistro
2	2645	Cheese before bedtime	Simon Roberts	Jo Barker	Oxford SC	Dog
3	2652	Flying Trifle	John Lobb	Martin Harrison	Royal Victoria YC	Trifle
4	2647	Fubar	Graham Dickenson	Sarah Tyndal	Llangorse SC	Bistro
5	2626	Madge Alsop	Guy Lewington	Stuart Coles	Frensham Pond SC	Bistro
6	2656	Domino	Andy Horton	Kate Horton	Northampton SC	Platypus
7	2642	Little Fluffy Clouds	Nick Spens	Claire Spens	Weir wood SC	Bistro
8	2658	Cellulite	Duncan Barr	Danny Johnson		Barr
9	2512	Aircraft Carrier	Mike Chalmers	Matt Stobbart	Ripon SC	Ellway 3
10	2607	Ventricular Stimulation	Alistair Coombes	Simon Clifton		Forman 8
11	2643	Taking Liberties	Robin Russell	Joe Prebble	Lee on Solent	Bistro
12	2651	Strangely Brown	Andy Kinchin	Mark Bridgwater		Dog
13	2425	Billy Two Ears	Dave Culver	Donald Burns	Stewartby SC	Botting
14	2705	Flat Stanley	Adrian Scott	Sandy Colclough	BMW Trackstar	Murray mod Snow

Graham Dickenson
(assembled from Yachts and Yachting and Class Magazine versions).