After the strong NE breeze earlier in the week, the forecast for the first weekend of the Bembridge Illusion fleet’s 2021-2022 winter season looked much more promising with a steady F2/3 NE’erly and bright sunshine. Well we certainly had the sunshine on Saturday, but the breeze was fickle and never got over 5 knots which was a bit disappointing as there were an amazing 21 boats out racing. The original plan was to have four races for a one day Picnic Hamper with more races on Sunday for the separate Invitational Day.
After a half hour postponement to allow all the boats to reach the start area off Silver Beach, the sequence for the first race eventually got underway, however with a 10 degree wind shift in the last minute and a mix up between the RO and the Mark Layer over re-setting the pin, it was decided to go for a General Recall.
Start 1 of Race 1 Saturday – https://youtu.be/O4WgldPTCfQ
For more on this weekend and photos (courtesy of Mike Samuelson), please go to Y&Y.