Boss Open at Weston Sailing Club

The Boss circus arrived at Weston for the Gala event on 13th September. The usual suspects were joined by one local boat and the weather gods produced a perfect Force 3 in sunshine.

The first race saw European Champions Peter Bennett and John Shelton leading from start to finish, followed by Chris Gandy and Rich Davison, with Steve and Mick Murray bringing up the rear. Bennett again led in the second race, but as the wind freshened, Gandy found it more to his liking and wore down the leaders to take over on the final beat, holding the lead to the end.

The third race looked like being a repeat of the first, but on the last downwind leg, the spinnaker sheet on 812 stripped down to the core, making it impossible for Shelton to play the kite. This allowed Gandy to make up the gap, and in a spectacular manoeuvre cutting in at the last mark, they started to round ahead, only to forget to take the kite down, resulting in a swim. This left Bennett to take the gun, with Gandy recovering to take second from the Murrays.

The wind on Sunday was slightly fresher, again giving perfect Boss sailing conditions. Bennett & Shelton led out of the start, but again Gandy & Davison got through on the seond beat, and held on to the gun, followed by Bennett. The second race proved more eventful, with Gandy taking an extended swim after a gybe, while following Bennett who then went on to win, followed this time by Murray.

The last race was a cliffhanger, with Gandy holding on the slimmest of leads all the way round, with Bennett finally settling for second as the course was shortened.

With both Gandy and Bennett having three firsts and two seconds, Gandy took the series, despite having a worse discard, by having a better result in the final race, under new ISAF rules introduced last year.

Overall an excellent weekend's sailing, typically well run by Weston SC, and the Bosses now look forward to the Inland Championships at Datchet on 18th/19th October.

Overall Results: