Illusion Guy Fawkes Trophy at Bembridge Sailing Club
by Mike Samuelson 10 Nov 2014 09:32 GMT
8-9 November 2014
Saturday's racing for this year's Illusion Guy Fawkes Trophy at Bembridge was almost 'ridiculous' in the F5-6 gusting F7 Southerly winds, and on Sunday conditions were almost 'sublime' with a F1-3 South/South Westerly!
With racing very definitely restricted to the harbour, eight boats braved the very breezy conditions on Saturday. In the first race Mark Downer was OCS and had to return as did last year's winner Graham Sunderland & Andy Christie who were playing it safe. The left side of the course paid off and the initial leaders were Raymond Simonds & Julia Bailey however Mark & Graham caught up as the wind increased; Graham took the lead on the last round after Mark retired at the leeward gate with a rigging problem. The second race went Mark's way with his wife Jo having a great race coming in second and Julia Bailey third ahead of Graham who had at one time been almost at the back of the fleet. In the final race of the day, with both Graham & Raymond deciding enough was enough & retiring, the way was left for Mark to notch up his second win of the day; Julia survived and came in second and Jo was third. After retiring in the two earlier races, it was good to see Alastair Speare-Cole finishing in fourth.
A flat RIB battery, a stuck crane, two minutes silence at 11:00 and no wind lead to Sunday's start being postponed for just over half an hour. However, patience paid off for the increased fleet of twelve Illusions and although never above about 8 knots and very shifty, there was some close racing in the calm conditions off Silver Beach. Although initially ahead after a port tack flyer at the pin end of the line, Graham Sunderland was overtaken by Raymond Simonds, James Meaning & Bruce Huber in the first race of the day. Unusually Mark Downer found himself stuck in a windless hole for a bit and had to settle with tenth place. Another clean start for the second race saw Graham develop a commanding lead over Mark, Raymond & Bruce. In the final race and with the breeze backing southerly as it progressed, it was James Meaning's turn to show everyone a clean pair of heels. Bruce & Mark were a very close second and third with Andy Christie in a very creditable fourth.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Graham Sunderland | 80 | 1 | 4 | R | 4 | 1 | 5 | 15 |
| 2 | Mark Downer | 124 | R | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| 3 | Raymond Simonds | 23 | 2 | 6 | R | 1 | 3 | 8 | 20 |
| 4 | Julia Bailey | 157 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 21 |
| 5 | Andy Christie | 149 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 26 |
| 6 | Jo Downer | 123 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 27 |
| 7 | James Meaning | 31 | S | S | S | 2 | 5 | 1 | 36 |
| 8 | Bruce Huber | 101 | S | S | S | 3 | 4 | 2 | 37 |
| 9 | Alastair Speare‑Cole | 135 | R | R | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 42 |
| 10 | Robin Ebsworth | 12 | 5 | 5 | 6 | S | S | S | 44 |
| 11 | Xander Shaw | 15 | S | S | S | 7 | 9 | 7 | 51 |
| 12 | Mike Toogood | 73 | S | S | S | 11 | 11 | 12 | 62 |
| 13 | Mike Till | 155 | S | S | S | 12 | 12 | 11 | 63 |
Next Regatta - Bailey Bowl 22nd & 23rd November"
Start of Race 1
Start of Race 2
Start of Race 4
Start of Race 5