Please select your home edition
Edition
Zhik 2024 December

Bembridge Illusion Match Racing Championship 2019

by Mike Samuelson 11 Feb 2019 06:25 GMT 9-10 February 2019

The big question throughout most of last week was whether the strong winds were going to abate enough over the weekend to allow this year's Illusion Match Racing to be run. No easy decision, particularly as not only are there no spare weekends in the rest of the winter programme that would allow the event to be re-scheduled, but trying to reorganise the considerable on-water support required for the event to be run is just not practical.

The result was that it was decided to leave everything as planned and delay the go, no-go decision, for Saturday anyway, until the very last moment. So the mid-morning briefing went ahead as planned and the plug was only pulled at 12:30 when it became clear that the wind strength was still too strong for sensible & safe racing to go ahead. Plan B then kicked in with the Chief Umpire, Steve Proctor, leading a really useful workshop on the basic match racing rules and tactics.

Sunday started off pretty benign but as the morning progressed the wind speed started to pick up. However the decision was made to try to get as much of the previous day's round robin completed along with a final & and a plate final. Although there were a few concerns as the breeze increased to 19-20 knots under the clouds, it was definitely the right decision and although it was cold, conditions were certainly sailable - indeed really quite enjoyable when the sun came out!

The format was as normal with the 16 competitors seeded and split into two leagues. The top seeds in the red league were Mark Downer and Colin Simonds and Bruce Huber and Raymond Simonds in the black league. Although there were no upsets in the first of the seven flights, Mike Toogood's jib got ripped at the start of match 3 after he was hit by David Peerless entering at the blue side in match 4. Had there been time his race against Hugh Doherty would have been re-run but in the event it was unnecessary. The second Flight saw Owen Pay retiring in his match against David having taken in rather a lot of water. Rupert Holmes almost beat Jo Downer in one of the closest matches of the day but just missed out in the final dash for the line.

Jo v Rupert (finish)

In the third flight Philip and Colin were never far apart and although it could have gone either way, Philip held his nerve and finished in front. In the black league Rupert nearly upset the seedings in what turned out to be a very close match against Raymond. In the fourth flight Rupert gave Bruce a slight fright but as in his previous match, close was just not close enough. Visitor Simon Childs enjoyed his race against Mike Issaias to take his first win of the day. Although he finished ahead of Mike Toogood, Colin Simonds was penalised in the fifth flight when he failed to take a penalty before crossing the line; however in the event it did not effect the results as Colin had to head back to the Illusion Quay with a problem with his boom. Jo and Raymond had a very close tussle which Jo won by a couple of boat lengths. In what turned out to be the sixth and final flight, Mike Toogood nearly caught Mark and Hugh at last claimed a scalp (Philip) and Simon beat Rupert.

With the time ticking away and the tide dropping fast, the decision was made to bin the final flight and press on with the finals between to top helm in each league (Mark & Bruce) and a plate final for the runners up (Jo & Philip) in each league. In the first race of the final Bruce won the pre-start and held Mark off for the first half of the course, however by the time they reached the second windward mark, Mark had got ahead and held his lead to the finish line.

Mark v Bruce Race 1 pre-start

In the second race, Mark started slightly ahead but as it turned out there was little in it until the final beat when Mark was able to extend his lead and take the Championship with two straight wins.

Mark v Bruce Race 2 pre-start

Mark v Bruce Race 2 start & Jo v Philip Race 2 pre-start

In the meantime, Jo took the first of the races for the plate, only to have Philip get his own back by taking the second. However as the began the sequence for the deciding race, both went aground in the middle of the harbour and they sensibly decided to call it a tie! Very brotherly and sisterly!

Fifty two starts in pretty challenging conditions reflects yet again the quality and sportsmanship of the Illusion Class. As always a huge thank you to everyone involved in making the event so successful. It would not be possible with the amazing support of the race officers, umpires and assistant umpires.

The next Regatta is the weekend of 23rd & 24th February - the Stratton Memorial Trophy.

More photos on flickr here.

Related Articles

Where to purchase adaptive sailing equipment
Seats, hoists, etc for sailors with a disability Several organisations have contributed their knowledge regarding where to purchase adaptive sailing equipment such as seats for dinghies and hoists for wheelchair users to get into boats. Posted on 1 Jun
Bembridge Illusion season concludes
St George's Day Trophy and Woodford Long Distance Trophy weekend The last weekend of the Illusion season is always reserved for the St George's Day Trophy on the Saturday and the Woodford Long Distance race on the Sunday. This year was no exception. Posted on 28 Apr
Bembridge Illusion Vernon's Easter Egg Cup
Good Friday was pretty miserable, especially for the Race Officers After the best part of a week's sunny weather, sadly the first day (Good Friday) was pretty miserable (especially for the Race Officer's who were in an open launch & a RIB) as it was wet and the F4 SE'erly meant that racing had to be in the harbour. Posted on 20 Apr
Bembridge Illusion Designer Trophy 2025
Another superb weekend of sailing for the fleet At the end of the 40th Anniversary dinner in December 2022, Jo Richards, the designer of the Illusion generously presented the Class with a drawing of his original concept for an enlarged single handed model yacht. Posted on 14 Apr
Illusion and 2.4m joint open at Middle Nene
Postponed event finally runs, and the two classes meet for the first time The first joint Open Meeting of the two mini-keelboat classes Illusion and 2.4mR, originally planned for November, had to be postponed due to lack of wind. And with the winter pause at Middle Nene, the first opening in the calendar was 5th April. Posted on 9 Apr
Illusion Nationals at Bembridge
Mark Downer keeps visitor Jack Grogan at bay The weather forecast for this year's Illusion Nationals held over the weekend of 29 - 30 March looked very promising with light but potentially favourable SW'erly breezes and bright sunshine. Posted on 31 Mar
Bembridge Illusion Spring Plate 2025
Could Mark Downer win the trophy for the 15th time? As evident from its name, the 'Spring Plate' celebrates the arrival of Spring! First raced for in 1996, the big question was whether fourteen time winner Mark Downer, was going to win for the fifteenth time! Posted on 16 Mar
Bembridge Illusion Stratton Memorial Trophy 2025
Bright sunshine and a gentle breeze makes for a glorious weekend on the water Bright sunshine and a gentle 8-9 knot NNEasterly breeze greeted the 15 Illusionists who despite Embankment Road being closed made it to the Club mid-morning Saturday to race for the Stratton Memorial Trophy. Posted on 3 Mar
Bembridge Illusion Valentine Trophy
Luckily, the tides were perfect for the weekend nearest 14th February Unsurprisingly the annual Illusion weekend for the Valentine's Trophy is programmed for the weekend closest to Valentine Day that the tides will allow. Fortunately this year, the tides where perfect for the weekend. Posted on 16 Feb
Bembridge Illusion Team Racing 2024-2025
Almost perfect condition on Sunday in the harbour Having had this season's first team racing event programmed in early December 2024 cancelled because of the high wind forecast, all fingers were crossed that the second weekend of team racing in early February would not suffer the same fate. Posted on 3 Feb