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GP14s Back in Action for Autumn open at Sutton Dinghy Club in September

25th August 2021
GP14s racing at Sutton Dinghy Club on Dublin Bay Credit: SDC

Fresh from victory on Lough Erne, the 2021 GP14 National Champion Ger Owens from the Royal St. George Yacht Club is likely to be back in action on his home waters of Dublin Bay for September's Autumn Open & Youth Championship.

So far this season, the Irish 470 double Olympian has made it a clean sweep of the Geep Irish calendar so he's unlikely to pass the opportunity of a local championship title on the far side of the Bay. 

Owens pipped former GP14 World Champion Shane MacCarthy of Greystones Harbour by a single point on Lough Erne, so MacCarthy has some unfinished GP14 business to deal with.

Both helms are, of course, working up for a tilt at the world title to be raced next August on Irish waters at Skerries in County Dublin where a 100-boat fleet is expected.

The NOR for the Championship at Sutton Dinghy Club on Sep 11/12 has been published by Sutton Dinghy Club and is available to download below as a PDF.

 

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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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