Illusion Valentine Trophy at Bembridge Sailing Club
by Rudy Jurg 18 Feb 2014 07:26 GMT
15-16 February 2014
Illusion Valentine Trophy © Rudy Jurg
This season the Illusion class has struggled to fit all racing in due to vicious storms which have wrecked havoc across much of the UK. Last Saturday racing was again cancelled – Force 8-9 meant it was best to stay home and enjoy a lay-in.
However on Sunday it was near tropical, blue skies, a mild and gentle breeze, unreal after weeks of storms. It was so nice the fleet moved outside Bembridge Harbour sailing just off Silver Beach on a long up wind downwind course. Beside a long course also 5 races where held instead of normal 3 per day to make up for the lost Saturday. This required perseverance and concentration. Each race lasts between 25-30min, so a long day one water.
Graham Bailey took the lead right from the start in most races winning 4 out 5. Mark Downer tried to very hard but could not keep up with Graham Bailey and finished 2nd overall. The normally very fast Graham Sunderland struggled with boat speed and a few tactical errors saw him finish up and down the score board in the 5 races and finishing 3rd overall.
No doubt adjustments will be made to his sails and rig set-up for the next event. Best lady was Julia Bailey who scored a series of top places in the last two races spotting a few rare wind shifts and thereby putting herself in 4th place overall.
Next 2/3 March Illusion Match Race Championship.
Start of Race 1 (General Recall)
Start of Race 4
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Graham Bailey | 132 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Mark Downer | 124 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| 3 | Graham Sunderland | 80 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
| 4 | Julia Bailey | 157 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| 5 | James Meaning | 31 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 16 |
| 6 | Rudy Jurg | 158 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 17 |
| 7 | Jo Downer | 123 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 26 |
| 8 | Matthew Muhlenkamp | 152 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 30 |
| 9 | Philip Bown | 130 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 31 |
| 10 | Robin Ebsworth | 12 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 38 |