Bembridge Illusion Picnic Hamper 2026
by Mike Samuelson 19 Oct 06:12 BST
17-18 October 2026
It was certainly a bit chillier than we have grown accustomed to, however lots of sunshine and a F4 Northerly which ensured some close racing on Saturday afternoon.
With the new crane operating procedures resulting in a slightly slower launch times, inevitably the RO's were forced to postpone the start of the first race by 20 minutes. Sadly for her, Caroline Simonds injured one of her thumbs just after launching so was unable to join the other 14 boats. After a clean start which saw a few boats trapped at the Committee Boat end of the line and having to circle round before they could start, most stayed on starboard tack before hitting the port lay line.
Start of Race 1 Saturday
Without either Bruce Huber or Jockey Wilson sailing, it was not long before Mark Downer established himself as the boat to beat. Trailing a bit behind were Raymond Simonds, David Peerless, Xander Shaw, Paul Newell and Robin Ebsworth. Raymond caught up on the run to the leeward mark, however he was unable to restrain Mark who by the end of the fourth round had established a very comfortable lead. Raymond was second and David was third.
The first start of the second race saw too many boats over the line and a General Recall being called. The re-start under Flag U was much better.
Start of Race 2 Saturday (General Recall)
Re-start of Race 2 Saturday under Flag U
Uncharacteristically Mark started mid-fleet, however after a couple of good tacks and sailing fast he had reeled David, who lead round the windward marks, in and was first by the time they reached the leeward mark. Raymond and David were nip and tuck until the end of the third round when David had a senior moment and thought he had finished second so furled his jib and then much to his dismay realised there was a fourth round. This left Raymond secure in second and David finishing only inches ahead of Jo Downer.
With a number of boats wanting to complete their buoyancy checks after racing but before it got dark, the final race of the day was slightly shorter than the first two with the finish at the windward mark after three rounds. Starting under Flag U in the hopes of getting away first time, the majority of the fleet were well back from the line save for Olly Laughton-Scott who had forgotten it was a Flag U start and was well over and Colin Simonds who was inches from also being DSQ.
Start of Race 3 Saturday under Flag U
David rounded the windward mark ahead of Paul, Raymond and Mark. Paul then took over the lead on the second round and Mark on the third round, thereby securing his third win of the day. Paul held onto second with David in third. The two Simonds' brothers had a very close battle for fourth with Raymond crossing the finish line only a couple of inches ahead of Colin. All in all, an excellent afternoon.
Sunday's racing was programmed for an hour later than the previous day, however the tides were very neap and a first race start at 15:30 was always looking optimistic. In the event, it was half an hour late and even that postponement was arguably not long enough for the last two boats (Colin Simonds and Olly L-S) who had been helping launch the last few boats to get prepared particularly with the breeze beginning to increase. As time was short it had been decided to start all three races under Flag U. Not that that seemed to worry most, especially Mike Toogood who was inches off being DSQ for crossing the start line too early.
Start of Race 4 on Sunday
Not long after the start a 30 knot squall came through which made for some very challenging racing. Jo Downer was first to round the windward marks; initially chased by Oliver Morgan who sadly was involved an incident with Xander Shaw as they were crossing the line to start the second round. Both ended up retiring and wisely heading back to the Illusion Quay.
Race 4 Sunday - run
As can be seen from the video, most wisely decided against using their spinnakers in the testing conditions. But save for Oliver, Xander and Colin, who also retired, the rest completed the three round race in good shape. Jo was first, Paul was second and Mark and David P tied for third; the last four boats all finished within seconds of each other.
Fortunately the breeze abated to 18 knots for the start of the second race of the day.
Start of Race 5 on Sunday
Mike T had a great first leg and rounded the windward marks well ahead of Mark and Jo. On the second round Mike went up the right hand side of the course and Mark went left which turned out to be the better decision and put him in the lead. Despite best efforts, Mike had to be satisfied with second ahead of Jo. Of note lower down the fleet was Will Lowe who finished in sixth.
Another good start to the final race of the day; initially planned to be two and a half rounds, it was changed to one and a half after reports from the Illusion Quay that Ollie L-S who had retired with a malfunctioning rudder had found himself aground under the cranes. 164 (Mark) was again the boat to beat and with five wins, was the winner (again) of the Picnic Hamper. David and Mike T finished very close together which put David into third place overall. Raymond was fourth, good enough to finish second overall.
As feared, the very neap tides and late start (largely because of the tide!) meant that recovery of the Illusions was quite difficult and required a lot of heaving to get boats under the cranes. However, all in all an excellent days racing which showed yet again that the Illusion is pretty special boat that can survive and still be racing in 30 knot squalls!
Early starts next weekend for the Trafalgar Trophy!
Overall Results:
| Pos | Helm | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Mark Downer | 164 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | David Peerless | 140 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Raymond Simonds | 165 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| 4 | Jo Downer | 166 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 18 |
| 5 | Paul Newell | 22 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 28 |
| 6 | Mike Issiais | 152 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 31 |
| 7 | Mike Toogood | 142 | S | S | S | 7 | 2 | 3 | 44 |
| 8 | Simon Birchenough | 136 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 44 |
| 9 | Oliver Morgan | 169 | 6 | 4 | 8 | R | S | S | 50 |
| 10 | Xander Shaw | 122 | 5 | 6 | 9 | R | S | S | 52 |
| 11 | Will Lowe | 150 | 13 | R | S | 10 | 6 | 9 | 54 |
| 12 | Olly Laughton‑Scott | 80 | 8 | 8 | D | 8 | R | S | 56 |
| 13 | John Birchenough | 37 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 56 |
| 14 | Colin Simonds | 170 | 10 | 10 | 5 | R | S | S | 57 |
| 15 | Robin Ebsworth | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | S | S | S | 64 |