Page 8 - Mike Samuelson News Today

Bembridge Sailing Club Weekend Keelboat Racing by Mike Samuelson 24 May 05:26 BST 22-23 May 2021 After two weekends of N over A flying from the Clubs sailing Flag Pole, it was good to see three Redwings and three One-Designs out racing very early on Saturday morning and two Redwings out early on Sunday morning! With the tides dictating an early start of Saturday, it was even more noteworthy that the three Redwings actually started their first (of two) races at 07:45 with the thr...

Although the One-Designs started racing after Easter, the early May Bank Holiday is always the first weekend for the Redwings. The forecast for Saturday afternoon was for a light cyclonic breeze and rain at times; and this is exactly what happened! Not much fun for either the six Redwings and five One-Designs or the race officers as they chased the breeze around the compass. However, they did eventually get both fleets away on a beat to Tara but then the breeze died and what turned out to be in...

Bembridge Illusion St Georges Day, Woodford Long Distance Race and Bills Barrel by Mike Samuelson 3 May 07:08 BST 1-2 May 2021 Saturday, the penultimate day of racing of the 2020-2021 Illusion season was a frustrating one! The forecast was for light cyclonic conditions and that was exactly what was delivered! Having made the decision to remain in the harbour to reduce interference with BHYCs racing, the race officers then spent the best part of an hour chasing the breeze as it w...

Bembridge Illusion Easter Egg Cup 2021 by Mike Samuelson 5 Apr 13:32 BST 2-3 April 2021 Although entry was restricted to Island sailors only and we used a RIB as the Committee boat rather than Sea Breeze, it was great to be able to get back on the water again. On Saturday 18 local boats took advantage of the almost perfect conditions - a cloudless sky and a steady F3/4 ENEerly. With quite lumpy conditions outside the harbour, it was wisely decided to keep inside and enjoy the sm...

Last year there were 10 entries for the Christmas Cracker, this year there were 19 racing on Saturday and 18 on Sunday, which, given current circumstances, again shows the strength and resilience of the fleet. Mind you, an Illusion is the ideal boat to self isolate when afloat! On Saturday, the SSWerly F5 gusting F6 breeze allowed a reasonably long course and with Class Captain Mark, who had loaned his boat to his son Alex, doing the mark laying, there were no complaints! A clean start for the ...