They say that first impressions count, and it's true not just about people but about other things, like learning a new sport, like sailing. There are some boats that I think if they had been my first introduction to sailing, would have also been my last. The Optimist is one of them, as I think it's unfair to newcomers to put them in a boat where they can't even tell which end is meant to go at the front, and which at the back. But then I'm clearly in a minority, as 378 entrants at this year's Nationals suggests the Optimist fan club is in very good health.

What about the Bosun dinghy though? Could anyone possibly offer up a defence for the unloved Bosun? I used to race these in the national Navy Cadets championships, and wasn't too bothered that I was never particularly good at it. It wasn't a boat that held much appeal. As I recall, the brothers Simon and Jo Payne won in one of the years that I competed at Weymouth. This was back in the days when Navy helicopters used to be based on the site of the new Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy. So it gives you an idea of how long ago this was. Simon Payne has just achieved fame for being the first to beat Rohan Veal at his own high-flying antics in the International Moth, having just won the European Championships at Lake Garda. In fact Rohan didn't seem to come close to Simon or Adam May, who made it a British 1,2 in very dominant fashion.

Two more different dinghies than the Bosun and the International Moth it would be hard to imagine, and yet Simon Payne has proven the master at both of them. When the Royal Naval Sailing Association commissioned the Bosun to be designed, the brief was that it must be built in such a way that it could be dropped from 6 feet above concrete and to survive the impact undamaged. If you've ever tried wheeling a Bosun up a slipway, then you'd know that it was the concrete that had more to fear than the boat.

However, the Bosun does have its enthusiasts, and one of the more notable members of its fan club is marine explorer Dom Mee. "I learned how to sail in Bosuns, so I've got a sentimental affection for them," says the former Royal Marine. So a boat that would have turned me off sailing for life, can take credit for providing the spark of inspiration for one of the most extraordinary individuals in the adventure world.

Dom has done some nutty things in his time. He has kayaked solo into the Arctic, and he has rowed doublehanded across the Pacific Ocean, a 5,000 mile journey that took 137 days. His latest venture, however, must be his nuttiest to date - kitesailing across the Atlantic in a....wait for it....Bosun dinghy! That seems to be taking sentimental affection too far, in my mind, but Dom explains there were financial reasons for choosing the Bosun too, because he was donated the boat by his old colleagues at the Royal Marines.

The other thing is that this is a heavily modified Bosun, almost to the point of being unrecognisable. It almost looks cool. A lot of big names from the dinghy world have helped Dom out with the boat. Phil Morrison has had a hand in designing the yellow boat with the shark-bite bow. Phil Rowsell and Justin Atkin did the conversion job on "Little Murka", using their expertise from building race-winning dinghies and also ocean-going rowing boats to transform the Bosun into a vessel capable of delivering Dom safely across the Atlantic.

"Little Murka" will also be a self-righting boat, thanks to the attachment of an 80kg keel. As for propelling her along, Dom is using an OutLeader kite. These kites are designed primarily for use in emergencies, for when a yacht breaks its mast and wants to continue to make good progress towards land. A classic application would be in a Volvo Ocean Race or Vendée Globe where, say a boat broke its rig in the depths of the Southern Ocean, it could fly the kite rather than the crew have to cobble together a jury rig made from shattered pieces of carbon and torn sails.

Dom sees this form of propulsion as the ideal way to transport him the 2,000 miles from St Johns in Canada across to the journey's end in his home town of Exmouth. Why, you might ask, doesn't he just use a conventional mast and sail? Dom explains: "While this is a big expedition in its own right, we are actually using this crossing as an R&D project. The bigger goal comes in 2007, when the plan is to sail around the world via the North and South Poles."

Dom is planning a 28-foot boat to be built specially for this up-and-over circumnavigation of the globe, something that has never before been attempted. He expects this voyage of discovery to take up to 400 days, what with being jammed in by ice for days or weeks on end. He sees a kite as an essential form of propulsion for this journey, and is using the Bosun voyage as a testing ground for the technology.

"I could have done the Atlantic crossing with a conventional sailing rig, but there wouldn't be any point for me," says Dom. "The whole point is to pioneer new ideas and for the furtherance of new knowledge. Aside from what I'm doing, I'm keen on seeing kites being used in commercial applications. But there are certainly disadvantages to kites. They can't go upwind, and so they will never replace a sailing rig, but power-for-pound, kites are the most efficient form of propulsion around. You get none of the heeling forces that you have with a mast and sails, and these kites are instantly depowered. We can just throw a line and the power is dumped straight away."

In fact, Dom is even anticipating flying the kite while he is sleeping. When he's awake and operating the kite, it will fly at a higher level to pick up the stronger winds, but he is hoping to be able to reel in the kite and fly it closer to the boat while he rests, so that he can make progress even when he's asleep.

Seeing as no one has ever done anything like this before, Dom has found it very hard to predict a crossing time. "The North Atlantic doesn't mess about. It's a hard core piece of ocean. It's a very unknown quantity, trying to work out how long this might take. We have to go through the learning curve." So Dom is not prepared to be any more precise than saying it will take between 35 and 75 days, although he has provisioned for food for 60 days. "If we go over 60 days, we can ration down," he explains simply. "I'll be taking squid lures with me, and it's quite easy to catch tuna along the way." He'll also be taking 100 litres of fresh water, but a hand-cranked watermaker should ensure he doesn't go thirsty.

Of course, another possible hazard could be commercial shipping. Dom will have to keep a weather eye out for big tankers and container ships thundering across the Atlantic. You can begin to see why a Bosun might not be such a bad choice of vessel after all. Heaven help any ship that gets in the way of Little Murka. You can find out more about Dom's Atlantic crossing, which begins at the end of August, on his website: www.dommee.co.uk

Amateur Olympians

Another of Dom's supporters is Purple Marine, the expanding chandlery business based in the West Midlands. One of Purple's proprietors is Jim Hunt, who has won most national championships worth winning. He seems to be able to win whatever he turns his hand to, including becoming the first Briton to win the OK World Championships last year, and this achieved at his first attempt.

Over the past two decades his name has appeared regularly at the top of scoreboards in the Enterprise, RS400, Fireball, Solo and a few other fleets that I can't recall. He hasn't been so prominent of late, however, because now he is racing a Finn. At the age of 38, it seems a little late to be taking up one of the most physical challenges in the sport, but Jim doesn't see it that way. "I bought the Finn to sail in big fleets and to race in the middle of a big fleet again." Race in the middle of a big fleet? What's all that about? "Well, not to aspire to race in the middle of fleet, I suppose, but to get in amongst it and learn new things, and see if I can get further up the fleet," he explains.

Jim says the prospect of defending his OK world title didn't excite him as much as getting in amongst the Finn fleet and battling his way round the course against the best singlehanded sailors in the world. With a growing business to manage, a wife and three kids to feed, and with time not exactly on his side, Jim says he is realistic about his aspirations. The main thing is to set goals and to improve his sailing, in ways that he doesn't think would be possible in the national fleets. "I don't get to sail that much, probably only 15 or 16 days since March, but the aim is to see if we can reel in any of the guys in the RYA squad." The "we" refers to himself and his good friend Nick Craig, who recently became the second Brit ever to win the OK Worlds. "Nick deserves that," says Jim. "He has worked hard for it, and this year I just couldn't see anyone getting near him in the OKs." And so it proved, with Nick dominating the event after many years trying.

Jim and Nick are already recording mid-fleet positions in international Finn regattas, and they are keen to keep on chipping away and see what they can achieve on limited time. "Neil Marsden was an inspiration," says Jim, talking about the talented Fireball and Enterprise sailor who has pursued a similar path in the 470 with crew Graham Nelson. Again, these two compete in the 470 on very limited time but achieve very respectable results despite this handicap.

Jim would recommend a year in an Olympic class to anyone looking to improve their sailing skills, even if you harbour no Olympic ambitions. He reckons that you would come back a stronger sailor as a result. "If you're struggling to improve in your national fleet, then if you went off and raced an Olympic class for a year, then applied what you'd learned to your national class you would be a much better sailor than if you had just stayed where you were," he says.

One of the things that Jim admits he has learned from the Olympic scene is a little more abstinence. "If you've had a bit too much to drink the night before, and you try to race the Finn the next day, your life will be hell. It's not like a doublehanded boat or a lighter boat - in the Finn, there is nowhere to hide. Sailing on a hangover is not fun, it's just painful." As to whether it would change his approach to say, Enterprise sailing, Jim claims it would. But sometimes it's pretty difficult to stay on the lime juice and soda when everyone is getting stuck into the booze.

John Merricks and Ian Walker were always the life and soul of the party in the 470 fleet. Somehow they managed to win more than anyone else on the water by day, and by night they seemed to drink more than anyone else in the bar. But many years later I heard the secret of their success, which was to tip half their drink in a flowerpot or on the ground when their increasingly inebriated rivals weren't watching. And you thought Olympic sailing was about fair play...