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Greystones Sailing Club's MacCarthy & Bracken Reign at GP14 Annual Hot Toddy

18th October 2017
The GP14 Annual Hot Toddy event took place fleet at Mullingar Sailing Club The GP14 Annual Hot Toddy event took place fleet at Mullingar Sailing Club

The GP14 Annual Hot Toddy event took place over the weekend of the 14th / 15th October 2017 on Lough Owel hosted by Mullingar Sailing Club.

Racing began on Saturday on flat water and with the wind shifting in force and direction, some large gains were made and lost up wind. At the end of Saturday’s four races Shane

MacCarthy & Damian Bracken had two race wins and Curly Morris & Laura McFarland and John & Donal McGuinness one race win apiece. With Keith Louden & Alan Thompson putting together some very consistent results, this meant that any one of four boats could potentially win the event going into the final day.

Race five began on Sunday morning with individual recalls. The McGuinnesses and Louden/Thompson teams decided to return and start correctly and together with the aid of some large shifts both teams moved through the fleet to finish 2nd and 3rd respectively. Morris & McFarland took the win after MacCarthy & Bracken were judged to have been on course side at the start.

Going into the final race the points were now much tighter. MacCarthy & Bracken still leading, McGuinnesses in second on break of tie with Louden & Thompson and Morris & McFarland in fourth place.

At the first windward mark of the final race MacCarthy & Bracken led with McGuinesses and Louden & Thompson in close proximity. With Morris & Mc Farland back mid fleet Louden & Thompson choose this time to attack, taking McGuinnesses to windward on the broad reach. MacCarthy & Bracken decided not to get involved but ran the risk of being run over, however held a slim lead at the gybe mark. MacCarthy & Bracken broke clear after the gybe mark and would not be caught leaving McGuinnesses and Louden & Thompson to battle it out for second and third place, a battle which the McGuinnesses eventually won.

Silver and bronze flees were won by Gareth & Richard Gallagher and James Ogg & Steven Nelson respectively.

Download results below

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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 2023

  • O'Tiarnaigh (Apr 22-23) Blessington Sailing Club
  • Ulsters (May 20-21) East Antrim Boat Club
  • Munsters (Jun 17-18) Tralee Bay Sailing Club
  • Leinsters (Jul 7-9) Dun Laoghaire Regatta
  • SOYC (Aug 19-20) Rush Sailing Club
  • Nationals (Sep 1-3) Sutton Dinghy Club
  • Hot Toddy (Sep 30-Oct 1) Royal North of Ireland Yacht 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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