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GP14 dinghy sailing
Irish GP14 Dinghy Sailing News and Regatta Results
World Beaters — Ger Owens and Melanie Morris racing Two Belle at the 2026 GP14 World Championships on Belfast Lough, where the Irish pair secured their first GP14 world title after 27 years of sailing together.
Twenty-seven years after Ger Owens and Melanie Morris first began sailing together, the Irish pair have reached the top of the GP14 class, winning the 2026 World Championship on Belfast Lough — a victory Owens admits has made him feel…
GP14 World Championship podium with Ger Owens and Mel Morris, Sam Street and Josh Lloyd, and Oli Hale and Harry Shaw
Wicklow Sailing Club's Ger Owens and Mel Morris have been crowned 2026 GP14 World Champions after Ireland completed a remarkable one-two at the 90-boat championship on Belfast Lough. Owens and Morris finished the eight-race series at the Royal North of…
Traditional boats and modern fabrics mixing it in telephoto style at Kinvara with, from left, Star of the West, Colmcille and Norah.
We all know that drink was invented to stop the Irish ruling the world. But on the same theme, the Irish sailing community has always quietly nurtured the thought that if our usual weather could just be somehow modified to…
GP14 World Championship fleet racing in light conditions on Belfast Lough
Ireland's Ger Owens and Mel Morris take a commanding 24-point lead into the final day of the GP14 World Championships on Belfast Lough after Thursday's light and patchy conditions produced some major changes among the leading contenders. The Wicklow Sailing…
GP14 World Championship fleet racing on Belfast Lough
Irish double Olympian Robert Dickson has won redress at the GP14 World Championship on Belfast Lough after an International Jury found his Race 5 score had been made significantly worse through no fault of his own by an improper action…
Colourful Contest: The GP14 fleet streams downwind under a vivid spread of spinnakers as crews tackle the light and shifting conditions at the 2026 GP14 World Championship on Belfast Lough.
Ger Owens and Mel Morris have strengthened their grip on the 2026 GP14 World Championship at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, holding a two-point advantage after five races as a difficult, shifting breeze tested the 90-boat fleet. Owens and…
GP14 World Championship fleet racing under spinnaker on Belfast Lough
Blessington Sailing Club's Sam Street and Josh Lloyd have taken the lead at the GP14 World Championships on Belfast Lough after scoring back-to-back victories in Monday's two races. Reigning Irish champions Ger Owens and Mel Morris of Wicklow Sailing Club…
Marking Time: GP14 crews converge at a race mark on Belfast Lough during the weather-hit opening day of the 2026 World Championships, where only one championship race was completed.
Irish sailors made an encouraging start to the 2026 GP14 World Championships despite a weather-disrupted opening day on Belfast Lough. After an abandoned first championship race and hours of delays caused by shifting winds, Jon and Seb Nagle claimed victory…
Colour Rush — GP14 crews set colourful spinnakers on Belfast Lough during championship racing, where a world-class fleet will contest the 2026 GP14 World Championships at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club.
The countdown is on to the 2026 GP14 World Championships, with one of the strongest fleets in recent years preparing to race on Belfast Lough. Hosted by the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club from 8-14 August, the championship has…
Back-to-Back — Ger Owens and Melanie Morris retained the GP14 Championship of Ireland title at Carrickfergus Sailing Club ahead of the GP14 World Championship.
Defending champions Ger Owens and Melanie Morris retained the GP14 Championship of Ireland title after a thrilling six-race series hosted by Carrickfergus Sailing Club, edging home by a single point in a 37-boat fleet on Belfast Lough. Representing Wicklow Sailing…
Crew's Touch – Stephen Boyle of Sutton Dinghy Club, (left) Afloat.ie’s July Sailor of the Month (Crewing), has excelled across multiple classes, underlining his reputation as one of Ireland’s top racing crews.
GP14 sailor Peter Boyle of Sutton Dinghy Club has a real problem. His father Stephen who regularly crews with him is also one of the most sought-after crews in all Irish sailing. Thus if Boyle Jnr is unable to take…
Final Countdown: GP14s stand rigged at the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club before crews head to Carrickfergus for the Irish Championship, the final regatta ahead of the GP14 World Championship on Belfast Lough.
The build-up to the 2026 GP14 World Championship steps up this weekend with the Irish National Championship at Carrickfergus Sailing Club, the final competitive test before the world's best crews assemble across Belfast Lough. Many of the Irish and international…
Title Triumph — Peter and Stephen Boyle of Sutton Dinghy Club sail to overall victory at the 2026 GP14 Leinster Championship in Howth, where consistency across six races secured the provincial title.
As Afloat reported previously, Peter and Stephen Boyle of Sutton Dinghy Club claimed the 2026 GP14 Leinster Championship after a closely contested six-race series at Howth Yacht Club a week ago, where six different crews shared the race wins. Thirty-two GP14s competed…
Spinnaker Surge: A tightly packed group of GP14s powers downwind under colourful spinnakers during the 2026 Leinster Championships at Howth Yacht Club. Photo: Andy Johnston.
A father-and-son partnership from Sutton Dinghy Club claimed the 2026 GP14 Leinster Championship after six races at Howth Yacht Club. Peter and Stephen Boyle won the 32-boat championship aboard Further, finishing with a nett score of 15 points after counting…
Seventh Heaven — Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle sailed to seventh overall at the GP14 UK National Championship in Llandudno, recording the leading Irish finish in the 38-boat fleet.
Irish sailors Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle secured a top-ten finish at the UK GP14 National Championship in Llandudno, Wales last weekend. Representing Royal St George Yacht Club and Sutton Dinghy Club, the Dublin Bay pairing finished seventh overall in…
Countback Champions: Howth Yacht Club's Connor Twohig and Matthew Cotter receive the 2026 GP14 Ulster Championship trophy after a dramatic three-way tie was decided on countback at County Antrim Yacht Club.
The 2026 GP14 Ulster Championship was decided on countback after a dramatic weekend of racing at County Antrim Yacht Club in Whitehead. Twenty-five boats travelled to the Co Antrim venue for the two-day championship, which delivered challenging conditions both ashore…

The GP14 is a popular sailing dinghy, with well over 14,000 boats built.

The class is active in the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and parts of north-eastern USA, and the GP14 can be used for both racing and cruising. 

Designed by Jack Holt in 1949, with the assistance of the Dovey Yacht Club in Aberdyfi. The idea behind the design was to build a General Purpose (GP) 14-foot dinghy which could be sailed or rowed, capable of also being powered effectively by a small outboard motor, able to be towed behind a small family car and able to be launched and recovered reasonably easily, and stable enough to be able to lie to moorings or anchor when required. Racing soon followed, initially with some degree of opposition from Yachting World, who had commissioned the design, and the boat soon turned out to be an outstanding racing design also.

The boat was initially designed with a main and small jib as a comfortable family dinghy. In a design philosophy that is both practical and highly redolent of social attitudes of the day the intention was that she should accommodate a family comprising parents plus two children, and specifically that the jib should be modest enough for "Mum" or older children to handle, while she should perform well enough to give "Dad" some excitement when not taking the family out. While this rig is still available, and can be useful when using the boat to teach sailing, or for family sailing, and has some popularity for cruising, the boat is more commonly seen with the full modern rig of a mainsail, genoa and spinnaker. Australian boats also routinely use trapezes.

GP14 Ireland Event Dates 2026

  • April 25–26 — O’Tiarnaigh Trophy, Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
  • May 9–10 — Munster Championship, Cullaun Sailing Club
  • June 6–7 — Ulster Championship, County Antrim Boat Club
  • June 11–14 — UK Nationals, Llandudno Sailing Club
  • July 4–5 — Leinster Championship, Howth Yacht Club
  • August 1–2 — Championship of Ireland, Carrickfergus Sailing Club
  • August 8–14 — GP14 World Championships
  • September 19–20 — Autumn Open / Youth Championship, Sligo Yacht Club
  • October 17–18 — Hot Toddy, Mullingar Sailing Club

 

At A Glance – GP14 Dinghy Specifications

Crew 2
Draft 1,200 mm (47 in)
Hull weight 132.9 kg
LOA 4.27 m (14 ft)
Beam 1.54 m
Spinnaker area 8.4 m2
Upwind sail area 12.85 m2

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