Illusion Inland Championship at Middle Nene Sailing Club

by Wilf Kunze 5 Sep 2018 06:28 BST 1 September 2018

On Saturday, 1st September 2018 an enthusiastic group of sailors competed at the combined Open Meeting and Inland Championship for the Illusion class at MNSC in Thrapston, Northants, East Midlands. The 155 acre water at MNSC is perfect for this type of mini-keelboat and the club fleet has been rapidly expanding over the past three years.

Two previous national champions from other classes (Solo and RS Vareo) and both now keen Illusion sailors, took the lead early on and battled out over four close races as to who was to receive the new crystal glass trophy. Throughout the day the weather was gusty with varying wind directions which turned every leg into a new challenge. Race Officer Mark Greer had to make several alterations to the course to align it with the breezy conditions. In the end there was one single point between the winner Mike Moore (GBR4) and Matt Yallop (GBR89). Ken Ansdell (GBR3) achieved third place and he also won the raffle for a discount voucher from Hyde Sails, who supported the event.

The next event is already being planned for 2019 and the date will again be in early September. With its convenient location just off the A14 (Exit 12) MNSC expects to attract an increasing number of boats from across the country.

Overall Results:

Pos	Boat	Sail No	Helm	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	Pts
1st	Moore or Less	4	Mike Moore		‑2	1	2	1	4
2nd	Midnight Oil	89	Matt Yallop	MNSC	1	2	1	‑3	4
3rd	Illustrious	3	Ken Ansdell		‑6	3	3	2	8
4th		7	Tony Wright	MNSC	3	‑4	4	4	11
5th	Polly	16	John Crooks		‑5	5	5	5	15
6th	Lolo	108	Wilf Kunze	MNSC	4	‑6	6	6	16