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English Duo Ian Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe Win GP14 Worlds for Fifth Time at Skerries

19th August 2022
GP14 Worlds at Skerries - A total of 212 sailors sailed 106 boats and represented five countries in the six-day Skerries event
GP14 Worlds at Skerries - A total of 212 sailors sailed 106 boats and represented five countries in the six-day Skerries event Credit: Bob Givens

The GP 14 Sailing World Championship at Skerries Sailing Club has been won for the fifth time by Englishmen Ian Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe of Burwain Sailing Club.

Dobson had led the series from the outset until his winning streak almost disappeared during the seventh race of the championship today, Friday, when he was hounded into fourth place by arch-rival and fellow Englishman Matt Mee.

The result was that Mee and Dobson were on equal points, and Dobson only carried off the Worlds by dint of the discard rule.

Final GP14 World Championship Overall Standings are below

Neil Marsden and Derek Hill of Blackpool & Fleetwood Yacht Club complete a tack at the GP14 Worlds Photo: Bob GivensNeil Marsden and Derek Hill of Blackpool & Fleetwood Yacht Club complete a tack at the GP14 Worlds Photo: Bob Givens

Ireland's hopeful, Corkman Colman Grimes of the host club, had climbed to fourth overall, a position he held for several days until Friday's tricky windy conditions caused him to slip a place to fifth.

Three times Olympian, Ger Owens, of Royal St George Yacht Club was Ireland's other great hope but, despite winning a race outright (the only one of the Irish to do so) he finished fourth of the Irish behind Grimes, Ross Kearney of Royal North of Ireland YC (7th), Hugh Gill of Sutton Dinghy Club and Jane Kearney of Royal North of Ireland.

A total of 212 sailors sailed 106 boats and represented five countries in the six-day Skerries event.

Final GP14 World Championship Overall Standings are below

Published in GP14
Gerry Byrne

About The Author

Gerry Byrne

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Gerry Byrne is a former Commodore of Skerries Sailing Club and a freelance Journalist in Science, Business and Aviation.

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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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