Chapman and Warner win Cherub Australian National Championship
by Rolf Lunsmann on 8 Jan 2009
Cherub Australian National Championship on Lake Macquarie, NSW Dallas Blatchford
Twenty two year old Sydney sailmaker Andrew Chapman, sailing with crew Kurt Warner, won the 46th Cherub Australian National Championships held at Lake Macquarie Yacht Club over the Christmas period.
Chapman and Warner took the title in a nail bighting final race in which they needed to beat their closest rivals Andrew Triggell and Chris Anderson from Brisbane and the defending National Champions, Trevor Fay and Simon Young from Belmont. The final race held in a 17-20 kt sea breeze saw the lead change several times before Chapman and Warner finally prevailed.
The winning boat The Black Pearl is one of the 'Mathews' designs, built and fitted out by Chapman and Warner over winter with this series specifically in mind.
Forty seven Cherubs contested the series which showcased some of the rising talent in the class with twenty three of the entries being in the Junior category, for skippers aged 18 to21, or the Cadet category, for skippers under 18 years of age.
Chapman’s sister Allison, sailing with her brother Will, finished fourth overall taking the Junior Championship and the trophy for first female skipper. A broken rudder early in the series which led to two DNFs robbed them of a chance for overall victory.
The Cadet Championship went to Brennan Stead and Josh Leslie from Perth Dinghy Sailing Club.
http://www.cherub.org.au/
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/52607
