Illusion Easter Racing at Bembridge Sailing Club

Illusion Easter racing at Bembridge © Mike Samuelson

Illusion Easter racing at Bembridge © Mike Samuelson

Illusion Easter racing at Bembridge © Mike Samuelson

Well the forecast earlier in the week said that it was going to be an Easter of extremes and this was exactly what it turned out to be.

Friday's non-trophy racing got off to an interesting start with three of the ten Illusions called OCS and none returning. However they all made the most of the light and variable conditions with James Axtell finished in first place, followed by John Raymond and Andy Christie. The gentle breeze then promptly died away and looked as if it was not going to return for some considerable time, so with the tide beginning to drop, it was decided to call it a day. Pity, as about three quarters of an hour later the breeze kicked back in.

With the One-Design racing cancelled, it fell to the seventeen Illusions competing for the second oldest trophy of the season (Vernon's Easter Egg Cup - the base of which was apparently the original Finn Gold Cup base) to lead the way in the pretty extreme conditions with average wind speeds around 25 knots for most of the time. In the first race, Justin Biddle showed that he had not forgotten how to make an Illusion go fast however having been in the lead at the first windward mark, was forced to retire with gear failure leaving the way open for Bruce Huber to win just ahead of Mark Downer; Bills Daniels was third and Mike Toogood was fourth. Well done to young Alex Downer who finished fifth, two places ahead of his mother!

In the second race, Bruce & Mark had their usual close race with Bruce managing to take his second win of the day. Third was Jo Downer who finished ahead of Julia Bailey. Having sorted his boat out, Justin Biddle was back for the third & final race of the day and again demonstrated that he was a force to be reckoned with by finishing second just behind Bruce. Julia was third and Mark was fourth.

With the winds threatening to be even stronger on Sunday and a lot of family commitments, it was not surprising that the number of boats launching for the days three races reduced considerably. Indeed it was touch and go whether racing was even going to be possible. However, in the end it was decided to give it a go and nine Illusions took to the water. With the One Design racing cancelled, the ROs were, much to their relief, able to use BSC's new Mitchell 22 Committee boat, Sea Breeze, rather than Gander, the open Nelson 18, that had been used the previous day. Half way through setting up the course in the slightly more sheltered waters opposite Bembridge Outboards, a vicious squall came through with gusts of over 40 knots which took the Illusions into survival mode. One boat beached on Attrill's Point and one filled up close to Fisherman's pontoon and was towed to the quieter waters off Bembridge Boat Storage so it could be bucketed out. But conditions did then improve and even the sun made an appearance, and although half an hour later than planned, the first race of the day got under way with seven boats making a clean start in about 18 knots. Despite making yet another successful port tack flyer, Bill Daniels initially found himself mid-fleet after the first round; although unable to make much of dent in Mark Downer's lead, he did get ahead of Bruce Huber to take second place during the second round. Alex Downer did really well to take fourth ahead of Julia Bailey and Jo Downer who could not be separated and were awarded fifth equal.

Illusion Easter racing at Bembridge - photo © Mike Samuelson

With the sun still shining and the breeze gusting 22 knots, the second race got away to another clean start. As they came back down to the leeward gate, the leader was again Mark, with Julia, Bruce and David Peerless not far behind. Bill Daniels caught a gust wrong and decided to head home, and then three quarters of the way up the second beat, Bruce also found himself in water logged mode. This opened the way for Jo to come in third ahead of her son Alex and David.

With black clouds heralding another squall on the way, it was decided to abandon further racing and get everyone back home before it arrived. As often the way, half an hour later the sun was back out and the wind had dropped off to a mere 18 knots, however no one complained. Although sadly he could not be presented with the Easter Egg Cup as it had not been returned by last year's winner, many congratulations to Bruce Huber who finished in first place overall after a count back with Mark Downer; Julia Bailey was third.

Illusion Easter racing at Bembridge - photo © Mike Samuelson

The next Illusion racing (normal racing) is the weekend of 9th & 10th of April.

Overall Results:

Videos:

Start of the first race on Sunday

Start of the second race on Sunday