Boss Inland Championships at Datchet Water Sailing Club

The Boss fleet arrived at Datchet for the final event of the year to realise that autumn had most definitely arrived even though the water hadn’t.

Saturday saw a very gusty 2-3 with plenty of shifts and wind bends due to the effect of sailing in a concrete fish bowl. Race 1 saw a close battle between Bennet/Shelton and Gandy/Davison that was only decided when Bennet tacked to cover so close that they ended up taking Gandy out. The following penalty allowed Gandy to take the gun. Race 2 saw Bennet/Shelton take the lead only to head off down wind to the wrong mark, which they only realised when they looked up to see the rest of the fleet with kites down on the beat, this allowed Gandy to take his second bullet of the day. Race 3 saw local knowledge benefit Steve and Nick Murray to what seemed like an unattainable lead, only to have Gandy/Davison catch and overtake them.

Sunday produced an unpredictable force 3-4 which led to testing conditions. Gandy/Davison snapped the top Gudgeon on their way to the start, which meant they missed the first race whilst lashing the rudder on. Race 4 was won by Bennet, followed by the Murrays. Race 5 was led from start to finish by Bennet/Shelton, with Stuart Jones and Adrian Hullier in second. Race 6 started with a wind shift that left Gandy/Davison swimming, as they had nowhere to go. Bennet/Shelton led from start to finish. This gave them the championship.

Overall Results: