Sunshine, south westerly sea breezes and neap tides combined to provide ideal conditions in Southampton Water over the weekend of 24/25 July when this year's Nationals were hosted by the Army Sailing Association at Netley SC. Deployments in Kosova, Bosnia and elsewhere around the world restricted numbers slightly; but dinghy sailors from the three services, civilian clubs and private owners travelled from all parts of the UK to battle for the various trophies on offer and the 31 entries provided some highly competitive and enjoyable racing.

Initially light sea breezes filled in quickly and remained steady through the racing and the variable ebb tide required tactical decision making on the upwind sections. Matt Sergeant's early lead was soon challenged and the second and third races saw Keith McQuillan, the eventual championship winner, jousting with Allan Pitt; both displaying their considerable light weather skills. The leaders were closely followed by a tightly packed main bunch and, here, judicious positioning at the marks and good tide work was essential with positions changing up and down by several places throughout the races.

By the second day McQuillan was established as the leading contender and confirmed his tactical and downwind skills in an exciting duel with Derrick Page only settled close to the finish line. The strengthening tide pushing down on the start line for the last race had resulted in two general recalls before a successful start. Page, who led for most of the race, failed to cover his inside on the last run and paid the price as McQuillan nudged ahead for line and championship honours; but Page's performance in this last race enabled him to move up two places to third overall.

Overall Results:

 Many thanks to Richard Jenkins, Chairman of the Bosun Class Association for the report.

Copyright of Derrick Page - First produced July 1999. Updated 12th Mar 2011