Illusion Open at West Kirby Sailing Club

22 Illusions for the West Kirby open © Peter Jones

WKSC were delighted to welcome seven visitors for their inaugural Illusion Open Meeting on 22nd and 23rd April. The event was held on the marine lake that is very much better known for the Wilson Trophy scheduled for two weeks later. The weather was ideal for some very competitive racing in marked contrast to the Nationals held at Bembridge in early 2005 and 2006 when the main message was surviving around the course. This time the wind was less than Force 6 and it didn’t snow.

The windward/leeward course treated spectators on the promenade and the lake wall to the spectacle of 22 small boats tacking almost within touching distance and then running the length of the lake with brightly coloured spinnakers. Setting a good course on this long but narrow water does give some problems when the breeze comes straight across the Dee but it’s hard to visualise a better venue for the serious and casual observer.

One might be tempted to say that the standard of sailing of these intrepid sailors was on a par with the best you’ll see in other single-handed classes. The perception that these “toy” boats are the last resting-place of over-the-hill dinghy sailors was unequivocally seen off and is likely to result in additional numbers to the home fleet.

The home-side were optimistic that with local knowledge they might be able to get near to the Bembridge mafia. They were soon to be put to the sword. The four races on Saturday revealed that they needed to go up a gear to get on the podium. James (Jockey) Wilson produced 3 straight wins followed by a 7th that was later discarded. Mark Downer, winner of this year’s Nationals, won the fourth race but had a 10th place in Race 3 to go with a 2nd and 3rd. Martin Whittingham-Jones, who had a memorable 2005 Nationals, almost followed by a repeat in 2006, had resolved forgo any further “Titanic” impersonations and sailed consistently to be in 2nd place at the end of the first day with two 2nds and two 3rds. Overnight, Richard Cornah, also from the host club, was in contention with a 3rd, 4th and two 6ths. Richard’s daughter Julia, one of the very keen West Kirby Firefly helms and youngest competitor by some margin, sailed a borrowed boat to ensure that all the home boats were on the water. In Race 2 she made a very bold port tack start and comfortably crossed the fleet but could ultimately only manage a 5th place.

Sunday dawned with a fair breeze along the length of the lake having veered 1800 overnight. Although in some races no more than 3-4 seconds separated the first 3 boats, Mark Downer matched his performance in the Nationals with some rock-solid sailing and turned in 3 1st places to put the overall result beyond doubt. Martin Whittingham- Jones was always a serious contender with the lead changing hands a number of times in the final races. He sailed very consistently and, after a discard his worst result was a 3rd place to make him the worthy runner-up. James Wilson was not able to maintain his superb first day’s performance finishing just behind in 3rd place.

Mark presented his hosts with a beautiful trophy, a half-model of the Illusion, matching the National Championship First-prize that he won convincingly early this year. It’s only fitting his name appears first on the award he leaves behind in the North West.

Overall Results:

1st Mark Downer (Bembridge SC) 9pts
2nd Martin Whittingham-Jones (WKSC) 14 pts
3rd James Wilson (Bala SC) 16 pts
4th Richard Cornah (WKSC) 22 pts
5th Julia Cornah (WKSC) 33 pts