WINTER SAILING: ILLUSIONS
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The Illusion Class is a scaled version of the British 12 Meter Class yacht Lionheart designed by Olympic bronze medallist Jo Richards and Neil Graham. These performance single-handed boats scale the America’s Cup 12 meter rule down to 12 feet and offer superb racing in nearly any condition, by sailors of all weights and ages – with tested racing performance up to Beaufort Force 6!
Boats are equipped with a standard main, roller furling genoa and spinnaker, plus running rigging. In the United Kingdom, there are active fleets at Bembridge Sailing Club, West Kirby Sailing Club (Wirral) and Aldenham Sailing Club (Herts).
The Illusions can also be found in Scotland, Canada and the United States.
With 350lbs of lead to keep the boats upright, Illusions are sufficiently robust to be sailed through the winter months inside and outside Bembridge Harbour.
Following their initial design in 1981, the first open meeting was held in January 1983 for the Bembridge Icebreaker – a beautiful painting of the Class by Cavendish Morton. Racing is invariably extremely close and competitive.
Regattas normally consist of six races over the two days; the courses are generally upwind/downwind legs with each race lasting for about 25 mins (normally 3 rounds). Entry is open to all and the largest entry to date was for the 2012 Stratton Memorial Regatta when there were over 45 starters on the line.
Click here for the Illusion Racing Programme 2024 -2025
Click here for the Illusions webpage
Click here for the Illusion Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
