Illusion Inland Championship at Middle Nene Sailing Club
by Wilf Kunze 10 Sep 2019 09:15 NZST
7-8 September 2019
Last weekend (7th/8th September) saw the second Inland Championship for the Illusion class with very competitive racing held at Middle Nene SC in Thrapston, East Midlands.
The weather conditions were good on Saturday (15-17mph wind) and only very light wind forecast for Sunday. So the racing team decided to cancel the Sunday a.m. plans and instead run five races on Saturday, with 2x2 back-to-back races and a final sprint race in a different location on the lake. This gave varied and sometimes challenging courses which added to the close, competitive racing of these one-design boats.
A leading group established itself right from the start, with Matt Yallop (GBR138) taking first place in races 1 to 4; an equally consistent second place was defended by Simon Childs (GBR163) over all five races. Third was Mark Greer (who is usually known for his very successful racing in the Classic Flying 15 class), sailing GBR4.
The glass trophy for the Inland Champion was duly awarded to Matt Yallop, with the Silver Spoon Trophy for the first lady home won by Kato Greer, who had come 6th overall in GBR89.
Middle Nene SC are planning to hold the 3rd Inland Championship in early September 2020. The club is conveniently located just off the A14 (junction 12) and the 140 acre lake is very well suited for mini keelboat sailing. Currently the club has nine Illusions racing regularly and the fleet is hoping to expand further. For any enquiries please contact or visit www.middlenenesc.co.uk
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Helm | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | 138 | Matt Yallop | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (RET) | 4 |
| 2nd | 163 | Simon Childs | ‑2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| 3rd | 4 | Mark Greer | ‑4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 4th | 7 | Tony Wright | 3 | 3 | 5 | ‑6 | 6 | 17 |
| 5th | 3 | Warwick Jones | ‑7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| 6th | 89 | Kato Greer | 5 | ‑6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 20 |
| 7th | 108 | Wilf Kunze | 6 | 5 | 7 | ‑8 | 3 | 21 |
| 8th | 16 | John Crooks | ‑8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 30 |