A record turnout of 28 Illusion mini 12 metres fought for the national championship title over the weekend of 27-28 October at Bembridge SC.

The BSC fleet welcomed visitors including former America’s Cup skipper and Admiral’s Cup winner, Harold Cudmore and Frenchman Bernard Gallay, a veteran of two Vendée Globe races. The weather provided plenty of challenges, with the racing on the first day taking place outside Bembridge harbour in winds varying from 9-22 knots

Bruce Huber won the first race, with Raymond Simmonds second, Piers Thomas third and Colin Simmonds fourth. The second race, however, saw Bruce pushed down to fifth, with Raymond, Rudy Jurg and Edmund Peel taking the podium positions. The final race of the day saw Bruce taking another win, with Harold second and Edmund showing consistent form with another third.

His two first places earned Bruce the Trafalgar Trophy, awarded for the first day’s racing, with Raymond second, having also scored seven points.

Sunday was properly windy, with much racing elsewhere in the Solent area canned, but the Illusionists carried on valiantly, combating gusts of up to 29 knots in Bembridge harbour.

Justin Biddle won the first race of the day, but the second and third races saw Bruce re-establish his dominance over the fleet. Rudy counted two seconds, with Raymond taking the other runner’s up position and third places going to Bruce, Raymond and Justin. A second disqualification dashed Edmund’s chances of a good result, and Harold was finding the windy conditions less to his liking, scoring 6, 7 and 9.

Bruce emerged the overall winner, counting an impressively low score of seven points, with Raymond second and Rudy third. Sue Farquhar was first lady, Harold the first visitor, and Philip Bown the first veteran. The racing was consistently close throughout the fleet, with a single point separating places 10, 11, and 12, and a single imperfect mark rounding having the potential to cost several places in the overall standings.

Overall Results
1st Bruce Huber (7 points)
2nd Raymond Simmonds (15 pts)
3rd Rudy Jurg (22 pts)
4th Justin Biddle (25 pts)
5th Harold Cudmore (27 pts)
6th Piers Thomas (34 pts)