Phantom year

Simon Childs looks back at the 2003 season in this singlehanded dinghy class PLUS photos from Jools Abel

2003 proved another great year for the Phantom Class as the modernisation of the hull, spars and sails has reinforced it's position as one of the most popular singlehanders around.

Jeff Vander-Borght remains very busy as the demand for the Epoxy hulls continues, with around 60 built over the last two years and an order book taking delivery dates out to the end of March 2004. Proctor, Superspar and Chipstow continue to be supported with their Carbon rigs. On the sail front Pinnell and Bax, a new North cut, Wavelength and a new entry, Red Eye Racing all proved popular at the front of the fleet, providing a choice of Kevlar or conventional cloths.

The racing throughout the year proved very close. Lawrence Crispin ended up with the National and Inland Titles in his first full season in the class but was pushed so close by the more established regulars, especially at the Nationals where four helms entered the final races in with a shout, in a fleet of 65 entries. The fleet probably contains up to 10 people capable of winning races regularly on their day, with competitive race weights of 13-17 stone all featuring across the wind range.

The class travellers trophy had a total of over 100 helms entering at least one event, and was eventually won by Andy Elliot, showing the strength of the Club racing fleets in the UK. The message is spreading of the friendliness and quality of the racing, as new fleets are developing and new 'quality' recruits are joining the class.

Looking forward to 2004 the Nationals will be held at Stone SC.

More photos on the following pages...