Boss National Championships at Highcliffe Sailing Club

by Julian Cramp 1 Aug 2002 09:14 BST

Photo © Julian Cramp Boss National Champions Dan Dixon & Gareth Davies

In contrast to last year's nationals when it was wet and windy, this year was hot and lacking in breeze. The light winds tested the race officer's nerves resulting in a slightly confused start for the first race but the racing soon settled down to very close battles between the crews. The first race saw Chris Gandy showing a turn of speed giving him a comfortable lead over Dan Dixon and Stuart Jones, which he held to the finish. For the second race the wind had increased a little but was very shifty as the sea breeze started to build. These conditions suited Baza Bradford enabling him to take first with Peter Bennett coming a close second and Dixon holding third. In the last race of the day the wind had stabilised further and Peter Bennett led a closely packed fleet where positions changed right up to the finish line. Jones was second and Bradford third. The evenings entertainment was provided by the club with it's impromptu re-enactment of Oliver Twist.

The second day the start was delayed while the race officer waited for the wind to fill in and although there was some wind it stayed light and illusive all day. Race 4 started to set a pattern for the day's racing with the fleet splitting at the windward mark and either banging the right or the left. It then depended which side the wind filled in from as to who had the edge at the leeward mark. Places changed on a regular basis and kept the crews on edge. Race 4 was won by Bennett, with Dixon second and Julian Cramp in third. Race 5 was won by Dixon, with Bradford second and Cramp in third. The last race of the day was sailed in a dying wind and was won by Bradford with Jones second and Dixon third. This meant that at the end of the second day and with 2 races to go, the top three places were just 3 points apart, so it was all to play for. The evenings entertainment was again provided by the club with a very novel version of the age old eating and drinking game - enough said.

The final day the weather was again very light. Eventually a small breeze started to appear and the penultimate race got under way. In contrast to the previous days close racing the fleet was more spread out and positions tended to be more stable. In the end Dixon pulled it out the bag and took two firsts to secure the championships with Bradford taking second and Bennett third. Our thanks to all the competitors and especially to James and Fraser all the way from Scotland we hope you made it back home in the battle wagon.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Pts
1	812	Dan Dixon	Gareth Davies	13
2	778	Baza Bradford	Davie Allen	19
3	762	Peter Bennett	John Shelton	21
4	740	Julian Cramp	Patrick Carter	29
5	744	Stuart Jones	Terry Driscol	29
6	748	Andy Gibbs	Gordon Hughes	34
7	809	Fraser Sturgeon	James Bowler	53
8	755	Robin Hyde	Simon Smith	54
9	780	Chris Gandy	Richard Davison	54
10	757	Colin Clark	Rob Clark	60