The Boss class arrived at Weymouth over the bank holiday weekend to find bright sunshine and a steady force 3 waiting for them.
The first day was a whitewash for Dixon and Davies, returning to the class to defend their 2002 title of national champions. They looked to be on good form and with three first places looked on target. Racing behind them was close and second and third places were shared between Peter Bennett and Chris Gandy.
Day two dawned and with the hangovers starting to kick in, the class had more close racing to deal with in an increasing breeze. Dixon suffered when a block holding the jib halyard exploded and only quick thinking saved the rig. The two were unfortunate to watch the fleet sail by in race 4, but were back on the course, though late starting for Race 5. Race 4 line honours were taken by Bennett and Shelton, ahead of Gandy followed by the Murrays. The second race of day two was won by class newcomer Ben Miller, showing he has mastered the boat in the windier conditions. With the wind still building to a force 5, race 6 was won by Dixon ahead of Bennett followed by the Murrays. This race was also the best result for the crew of Peckham and Madfield.
After a hard day sailing it was good to relax in the sun with a barbeque.
The final day of the 2003 national championships dawned lighter than the previous days and this led to the tightest racing in the fleet for a long time. There was all to play for and in the first race of the day after the Murrays eeked out what seemed like a decent lead they were pipped on the last upwind leg by Bennett. Dixon took third ahead of Gandy. The final race was probably the most exciting of the championships and with Dixon needing to do well to secure the event things didn’t go to plan. The first four boats round the leeward mark on the last lap were within seconds of each other and places were decided almost on the line. Gandy took the race from Bennett who just pipped the Murrays who had their forestay in front of Dixon as they crossed the line almost simultaneously.
Four points separated the top three boats and so Peter Bennett and John Shelton were crowned the champions of 2003 finishing one point ahead of Dan Dixon and Gareth Davies.
Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy was an excellent and proved fantastic hosts. We very much look forward to returning. Thanks also to everyone who put in so much effort in organising such a well run event.
The Boss class looks forward to the next event at Downs Sailing Club in June and hope that all those that couldn’t make the Nationals will come to challenge the champions!