YACHTING : Grand Illusion Wins in a Breeze

Ed McDowell’s patched-up Grand Illusion trailed Mitch Rouse’s Taxi Dancer around the course without a need to win the heat during Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club’s Summer Sled Regatta for ultralight 70s at San Pedro Sunday. Taxi Dancer had lost a chance at the overall title Saturday when she was disqualified for colliding with Grand Illusion in the second race, so it didn’t matter that Rouse won Sunday by 2 minutes 25 seconds.

Rouse could easily have absolved the foul in Saturday’s race--in which he was second--by performing a 720-degree penalty, two full circles. Even with the penalty, he would have placed high enough for the overall win.

Sunday’s race was sailed in winds to 17 knots on a 23-mile course to Pt. Fermin and around the outer harbor. After overnight repairs to her hull, Grand Illusion, with Billy Peterson at the helm, had only to beat Bob McNulty’s Chance and Peter Tong’s Blondie.