Dart 18 Grand Prix at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

Alan & Fiona Kernick win the Stokes Bay Dart 18 Grand Prix © Eddie Mays

Matt Ambrose and Sarah Wren at the Stokes Bay Dart 18 Grand Prix © Eddie Mays

40 teams attend the Stokes Bay Dart 18 Grand Prix © Eddie Mays

Despite a clash of dates with a small matter of some World Cup football match, nearly 40 Dart 18s entered the Stokes Bay GP event and enjoyed great sailing with winds in the 10 – 15 knot range, temperatures of 30’C and faultless race management – and most of the fleet also managed to endure the penalty shootout in the club bar after the racing.

Three races were held on the first day. In the first race the leaders all chose the offshore route on the first beat with the tide behind the fleet and slightly more breeze. Stuart Snell and Catherine Farthin from Felixstowe were first home, followed by Gareth Owen and Jo Jo Pierce from Dee with Lawrie Draper and Sarah Knott leading the challenge from the host club. In the next race, the tide was changing but the leading group still went out to sea to catch the extra breeze in a fairly slack tide. Local sailors Alan and Fiona Kernick eventually overhauled Matt Ambrose and Sarah Wren from Felixstowe after a they had a spectacular port flying start. Chris Moore and Jess Walton of Stokes Bay also eventually overhauled Ambrose/Wren. By the time the third race started, the foul tide offshore was running very strongly tempting many to choose the inshore option. However, the extra breeze offshore gave those who took that route a massive lead – again Kernick/Kernick held a comfortable lead ahead of Will Thompson and Johnson from Dee with Stokes Bay sailors David and Sam Lloyd in 3rd.

A further three races were held on the Sunday in slightly more breeze, using upwind/downwind courses and a leeward gate to maximise tactical options. With a tide under the fleet, the race officer set excellent start lines and then made aggressive use of the black flag to ensure that there were as few General Recalls as possible. The first race of the day was held in fairly light winds and Kernick/Kernick led throughout ahead of Dave and Louise Roberts from Stokes bay with Ambrose/Wren taking 3rd slot again. In the second race, the breeze had built to around 12 knots and Roberts/Roberts took a comfortable lead ahead of Moore/Walton and Owen/Pierce Jones. That result secured the event for Kernick/Kernick. In the final race, there was a lot of place changing between Kernick/Kernick and Roberts/Roberts with Roberts/Roberts taking the race after getting water at the final mark. This scramble for positios also allowed Draper/Wren to pull through to second and Moore/Walton to clinch third with Kernick/Kernick just behind.

Overall Results: