The first time I heard of the Illusion Mini 12 was when
following the video blog* of Dylan Winter, ‘Keep Turning Left’. This describes
and illustrates his protracted anti-clockwise circumnavigation of Great Britain,
as yet to be completed. When he called into Bembridge he made two videos of
Illusion Mini 12s racing. (See links below: Illusion Class Sailing – Parts 1
and 2.) These are amazing one-design keelboats for single-handed racing; they
resemble 12 metre yachts, but they are a fraction of their size. They are
competitively raced at three sailing clubs in the UK: Aldenham SC at Elstree,
Herts; Bembridge SC., Isle of Wight; and West Kirby SC, at the Wirral.
Bags of information can be had about them by visiting websites
in the Links section.
I have included a few links to sites featuring 2.4 metre
micro-yachts which were developed from the Illusion Mini 12 by Peter Norlin.
The 2.4R meets the International Metre Rule and is well established in
Scandinavia. Unlike the mini 12, the 2.4R is not a one design class.
*Keep Turning Left http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/
Links
Illusion Keelboat
Illusion Mini 12 Mk 2
Illusion Mini 12 Sailing
Illusion Class Sailing – Part 1
Illusion Class Sailing – Part 2
Illusions at 50 Knots
1991 Min 12 ad expired
Illusion Mini 12 Sailplan
Illusion Mini 12 Start
The International 2.4
Metre Class
Yahoo Groups Illusion (Keelboats)
downwind 2.4mr ned 11,12
2.4 Metre
Aldenham Sailing Club
Bembridge Sailing Club
West Kirby Sailing Club
3 comments:
I think these are great little boats. No doubt sometime in the future someone will try and sail one across the Atlantic!!
Hi,
Just a little update on the Illusion fleets in the UK:
The boats from Aldenham SC have now moved to Broxbourne SC due to the lake being closed for sailing by a developer.
And (since 2017) there is a fourth club with an Illusion fleet in the UK - Middle Nene SC in Thrapston, Kettering, Northants (www.middlenenesc.co.uk). Currently MNSC has nine boats in all (one under refurbishment) and the class enjoys good, very competitive racing.
Cheers!
Wilf
Hi Wilf,
Thank you for your valuable update on the situation with the Illusion fleets in the UK. They are a whole lot fun.
Cheers,
Bill.
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