Illusion National Championship at Bembridge Sailing Club

Illusion nationals at Bembridge © Mike Samuelson

Alec Downer in the pink Illusion during the Illusion nationals at Bembridge © Mike Samuelson

Bembridge Harbour saw record numbers of Illusions competing in this year's National Championships over the weekend with twenty-three boats on Saturday and twenty on Sunday. Racing was close in all sections of the fleet and at the top end of the fleet the final result hinged on the outcome of the final race with only two points separating the top three.

With a strong wind warning forecast, racing on Saturday was confined to the harbour and with the F4 to F5 breeze from the NNE, the course was shorter than normal, however with the first two races running to three rounds and the third and final one of the day extended to four rounds, racing was tight and certainly challenging. Race 1 had a clean start in 16 knots which dropped to around 12 knots as the race progressed. Rupert Holmes lead the way for the majority of the race and indeed increased his lead ahead of Julia Bailey and James Meaning during the second round, however Julia caught him on the third round and finished just ahead with James third and Mark Downer fourth.

There was a significant windshift in the last few seconds before the start of the second race which resulted in the Race Committee having to go for a General Recall; the re-start, still on the P flag, was clean and it was Mark Downer's turn to show the rest of the fleet the way to go. Julia Bailey, James Meaning & Rupert Holmes were never far away, nor were the Simonds brothers Raymond & Colin. James managed to get ahead of Julia on the final run and took second place and Rupert held off Raymond & Colin.

After another clean start in the final race of the day, it was Rupert who was the initial leader, however Mark managed to overtake him on the second round and always looked secure for his second win of the day. Third place was eagerly contested by James Meaning and Raymond Simonds with James holding off strong challenges during the four round race.

Many thanks to Serena Gosling for organising the well attended & very enjoyable Class dinner on Saturday evening at BSC.

Although it might just have been possible on Sunday morning to race outside the harbour, with the breeze from the ENE allowing a longer course to be set with in the harbour, it was wisely decided to play safe and take advantage of the smoother water. Three boats were called OCS at the start of the first race of the day; Mark Downer went back but James Meaning and Alec Downer did not so paid the penalty. Steve Warren-Smith lead for the majority of the two round race only to be beaten by inches on the final short beat to the finish line by Rupert Holmes. Raymond & Colin Simonds were again in close contention for third place with the former getting the podium place.

In the second race of the day, Steve Warren-Smith, who was obviously keen to repeat his earlier success, just over cooked the start and then had difficulty extracting himself from the fleet to go back, however he eventually managed it and then set off chasing the rest of the fleet. At the front, James Meaning worked up a commanding lead ahead of Julia Bailey & Bill Daniels. The fight for the next five places was extremely close and places were regularly changing right up to the finish line.

Although no one had time to work out points at that stage, it was clear that the final result would hinge on the results of the final race. It was therefore probably inevitable that there was General Recall as there were just too many boats over the line to allow a fair start; but with the breeze beginning to move more easterly and the tide beginning to drop, the Black Flag was brought into play for the second start. Unfortunately Mike Till found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and was the only boat disqualified for being OCS. At the first windward mark, it was great to see young Alec Downer (aged thirteen) rounding in third place in close contention with his father Mark. Although Mark then surged into an unbeatable lead, sadly Alec was unable to keep the momentum up and finished well down the fleet; however what potential! In the meantime Steve Warren-Smith got himself back in the groove and managed to keep ahead of Raymond Simonds & James Meaning.

Although not mentioned by name in this report, the accompanying photographs and Youtube clips attempt to show just how close the racing was throughout the fleet.

As previously mentioned there were only two points separating the top three. Congratulations therefore to this year's champion James Meaning who finished with 13 points, to Rupert Holmes who was second with 14 points and Mark Downer who was third with 14 points. Also to Julia Bailey who retained the 1st Lady Trophy, Raymond Simonds, the 1st over 65, Steve Warren-Smith, who was the most improved from last year, Philip Bown, the 1st over 75 and Alec Downer who won the Newcomer prize.

Next Illusion racing - Good Friday (newcomers) and Easter Saturday & Sunday (Easter Egg Trophy).

(l-r) back; James Meaning (1st), Mark Downer (3rd), Alec Downer (1st Newcomer), Rupert Holmes (2nd), Philip Bown (1st o75) front; Steve Warren-Smith (most Improved), Julia Bailey (1st Lady helm), Raymond Simonds (1st o65) at the Illusion nationals - photo © Mike Samuelson

Overall Results:

Videos:

Start of Race 1

General Recall Start of Race 2

Start of Race 2

Start of Race 3

Start of Race 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX0NjCxNQPw

First Start (General recall) of final race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbAoCThYu24

Black Flag Start of the Final race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXJ2MfNSRUs