Volvo RS Feva Grand Prix at Stokes Bay Sailing Club

by Harvey Martin 10 Jul 2014 10:57 BST 5-6 July 2014

Volvo RS Feva GP at Stokes Bay © Martin Allen Photography

Stokes Bay marked the last Volvo Grand Prix of the 2013/14 series. A total of 48 boats entered, most arriving on Saturday morning to find breezy conditions and big swell.

The fleet launched with a start line just 100 m from the shore, providing spectators with an excellent view of the race course. Some competitors decided it was too breezy to sail and waited on shore for calmer conditions.

Race 1 started cleanly with the fleet splitting up the first beat with Ben Todd and James Hammett leading at the top mark, the rest of the fleet not far behind.

At the leeward gate Ben and James were still leading, but by this time Ed Norbury and Charlie Hutchings were in close 2nd, with Harvey Martin and Bobby Hewitt not far behind. Positions stayed the same, until the final run when Ben and James took the line honours but Harvey and Bobby sneaked past Ed and Charlie to take 2nd.

Race 2 was postponed just before the go and then the black flag was hoisted. The restart was all clear with most of the fleet going left. Ed and Charlie led at the top mark this time, with Harvey and Bobby in 2nd and Ben and James in 3rd. No changes for the rest of the race so the top 3 boats were all on equal points.

In Race 3 the breeze increased to 20 knots. Again the fleet went left. Harvey and Bobby led at the top mark this time, with Ed and Charlie 2nd, and Ben and James 3rd. Positions stayed the same throughout.

Overnight leaders were Harvey and Bobby, with Ed and Charlie in 2nd and Ben and James in 3rd. Sunday dawned with hardly any wind. The fleet started Race 4 on time with a big left hand shift coming in half way up the first beat. Will Taylor and Rupert Jameson led at the first mark, with Henry Jameson and Charlotte Ormerod in second and Harvey and Bobby in third. The race committee shortened the course to only one lap with no changes in positions occurring for the remainder of the race.

Ahead of race 5 the committee relaid the course before getting a clean start. Left was the way to go. 2 laps later Harvey and Bobby took the win, with Fin and Dan Armstrong getting a 2nd, and Piers Nicholls and Freddie Peters in 3rd.

The final race saw a huge line sag with the breeze dropping off further and some boats not making the pin boat. Again left was the way to go up the first beat, but on the second Jack Lewis and Lucas Marshall played the middle in less tide and took the race win, with Harvey and Bobby in 2nd and Ed and Charlie in 3rd.

Harvey Martin & Bobby Hewitt win the Volvo RS Feva GP at Stokes Bay - photo © Martin Allen Photography

Thanks to Stokes Bay Sailing Club for putting on a great event and Sailtek Ltd for their event sponsorship as well as Volvo Cars UK for their continued support of the GP series.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	1389	Harvey Martin	Bobby Hewitt	Ogston SC	2	2	1	‑3	1	2	8
2	4623	Edward Norbury	Charlie Hutchings	Warsash SC	3	1	2	9	‑12	3	18
3	5028	Will Taylor	Rupert Jameson	Stour SC	10	5	6	1	4	‑16	26
4	4740	James Hammett	Ben Todd	Hayling Island SC	1	3	3	12	8	‑14	27
5	4890	Fin Armstrong	Dan Armstrong	Royal Torbay YC	11	‑13	7	4	2	6	30
6	2510	Rory Odell	Josh Bonsey	Northampton SC	4	‑10	8	8	9	5	34
7	5146	Daniel Lewis	Elliott Marshall	Draycote Water SC	6	4	5	‑25	7	15	37
8	5560	Dan Discombe	Dom Lewis	Tonbridge School	9	8	4	‑14	11	10	42
9	4945	Jack Lewis	Lucas Marshall	Draycote Water SC	(DNC)	24	11	5	6	1	47
10	5029	Iain Bird	Jake Hardman	Hayling Island SC	(DNC)	9	12	6	13	8	48
11	5000	Henry Jameson	Charlotte Ormerod	Hayling Island SC	12	12	15	2	‑20	9	50
12	4883	Jessie Main	Poppy Gilks	Warsash SC	8	7	‑24	19	5	11	50
13	3182	William Cunliffe	James Cunliffe	Royal Torbay YC	5	6	13	20	‑32	12	56
14	3362	Ellie Walton	Alicia Campbell‑Bottoms	Hayling Island SC	7	(DNC)	9	16	15	19	66
15	1276	Billy Vennis Ozaane	Vicky Cowan	Hill Head SC	29	11	‑31	7	18	13	78
16	4065	George Tardrew	Freddie Simes	Bewl Valley SC	15	18	10	13	‑27	27	83
17	3999	Josh Haynes	Dom Cotterill	Trent Valley SC	13	14	16	24	‑31	24	91
18	5517	Liam Willis	Arran Mills	Lymington Town SC	14	17	22	‑26	21	17	91
19	4470	Cris Edmonds	Jess Harding	Chew Valley Lake SC	16	15	19	22	29	‑37	101
20	2508	Jess Jobson	Grace Gadd	Royal Torbay YC	22	‑31	26	18	16	22	104
21	5634	Piers Nicholls	Freddie Peters	Hayling Island SC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	10	3	7	108
22	5561	Oscar Wright	John Jones	Tonbridge School	17	25	20	23	24	‑26	109
23	62	Buzz Gilks	Fran Gilks	Queen Mary SC	19	16	18	27	30	‑31	110
24	5564	Jamie Macaulay	Billy Bastide	Tonbridge School	18	22	30	‑40	17	25	112
25	4885	Rebecca Lewis	Luke Bailey	Draycote Water SC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	11	10	4	113
26	1295	Sally Lorimer	Alice Powell	Warsash SC	20	23	‑33	33	14	23	113
27	4984	Anna Zurrmond	Philomena Ala	Mengeham Rythe SC	25	19	17	34	25	‑36	120
28	2609	Dan Shillaker	Simon Shillaker	Hill Head SC	21	30	14	29	‑34	28	122
29	151	Ieuan Harrison	Luke Hartley	Stokes Bay SC	31	21	27	‑36	23	21	123
30	5782	Lucy Pennant	Zoe King	Hayling Island SC	(DNF)	20	29	21	26	35	131
31	2582	Christian Thomas	James Gandar	Stokes Bay SC	23	27	(DNC)	32	19	32	133
32	5631	Ewan Luke	Daisy Lee‑Browne	Llandudno SC	27	28	23	30	28	‑34	136
33	5562	Rory Fulton	Harry Tilling	Tonbridge School	24	29	21	31	37	‑41	142
34	4963	Louis Wright	Jamie Allen	Hayling Island SC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	17	22	18	145
35	5288	Caitlin Webster	Lucy Cotterill	Royal Torbay YC	26	36	(DNC)	38	33	20	153
36	4385	Jude McFarlane Bond	Eric McFarlane Bond	Baltic Wharf SC	28	26	28	35	‑42	42	159
37	5630	Thomas Bale	Amy Bale	South Caernarfonshire YC	30	34	(BFD)	28	40	29	161
38	2184	Tom Holliday	Ollie Dennis	Emsworth SC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	15	35	33	171
39	5563	Ricky Hunter	Oscar Brown	Tonbridge School	(DNC)	32	25	39	41	39	176
40	3638	Alice Edmonds	Liz Widdicombe	Chew Valley Lake SC	(DNF)	33	32	DNC	38	30	177
41	2192	Kate Winter	Zoe Belben	Stokes Bay SC	33	37	34	‑41	36	38	178
42	1671	Amelia Dunn	Imogen Beard	Stokes Bay SC	32	35	(DNC)	37	39	40	183
43	4994	Luke Beuvink	Matthew Clarke	Burnham SC	(DNC)	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	DNC	220