A promise kept — under full sail
Paul asked Angie what she'd do with the boat. "Sail with a bunch of crazy ladies," she said. He loved it. So did Cherub.
No winches. All wenches.
The promise
When Paul Johnson passed in 2021 he left Angie a boat — and a responsibility. Not a gift. A test.
Five years of refits, setbacks, a hurricane, and more setbacks later — Cherub is sailing again, racing again, and crewed entirely by women. Now it's time to take her back out into the ocean, back to the waters she was built for.
The route
The Venus Voyage takes Cherub back in time — retracing the waters she has crossed before, under a new crew and a new purpose.
- Mar–Apr Sail to Antigua for the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta
- Apr West Indies Regatta, St Barths
- May Passage north to Bermuda — the island where Cherub was built
- May–Jun Cross the North Atlantic Ocean to the Azores
- 2027–28 European and UK waters
What we stand for
Cherub carries no winches. The sails are set by block and tackle, the course held by tiller, the position found by sextant. When the wind changes, adjust the sails. No engine until absolutely necessary. This is traditional seamanship — not nostalgia, but a way of connecting with the sea that modern boats have designed away.
The crew is all-female: women of different ages, nationalities, and experience levels, reclaiming a world that has long told them they don't belong. Some have sailed for decades. Some step aboard for the first time. What matters is showing up.
And the boat herself is a lesson in sustainability — rebuilt from salvage, repurposed timber, secondhand hardware. Cherub runs on a low footprint because that's all she has ever known. Reuse, repurpose, keep going.
What we do
We do the little things which seem meaningless in our world of exploitation and overconsumption. Walk the beach with a garbage bag. Keep your eyes open for junk with potential. Salvage what you can, upcycle and nurture your creativity through salvage art. Repurpose and reuse.
Many Caribbean anchorages are littered with abandoned boats. Hurricane Beryl left many behind. Giving a dead boat a new life is a project — trying to rehome and repurpose some of them, as recycling facilities are sparse and transport very costly.
Our mission on the Venus Voyage is to advertise our values to a wider audience by taking part in classic boat regattas, day sailing, salvage art events, and screenings of The Sailor documentary. When Cherub is in port, she can become a platform for artists, musicians, and scientists — sail with a purpose.
Sail with a purpose
Our environmental emphasis will be on the sargassum seaweed. For years, growing amounts of sargassum have washed up on beaches all over the Caribbean. So far it remains a big challenge, and numerous projects are underway. As Cherub sails through the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt on her way to Antigua and through part of the Sargasso Sea on her passage to Bermuda, monitoring, sampling, and documenting sargassum seaweed, wildlife and pollution will be our mission. From Grenadian beaches all the way to Bermuda, our documentation can contribute to a broader understanding of the sargassum drift, heavy‑metal contamination, plastic pollution, and current projects underway on different islands.
Join us
Come aboard
Come aboard for a day sail, a race, an event, or simply to meet the boat and us. If you want to be part of it or make Cherub your stage, reach out on Instagram.
← Back to Cherub