Peter and Stephen Boyle, the top ranked GP14 Irish pair are back in action on home waters this weekend when the Championship of Ireland kicks off this Friday in Skerries Sailing Club. This will be the first year where the class will race a Friday, Saturday and Sunday format. The championships will feature running gate starts over the course of the weekend as practice for next years 2020 Worlds in Skerries.
This event follows on from the GP14 Leinsters which were held as part of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta almost a month ago. The GP14 were out in force in Dun Laoghaire and with 32 boats on the water, we were the 2nd largest fleet represented at the Regatta. The Class Prize-giving for the GP14 Leinsters will take place in Skerries this weekend.
As Afloat reported previously, for 10 Irish crews, however, last week saw them travel across for the GP14 UK Nationals sailed in Abersoch. A very windy regatta was won by a regular visitor to Irish shores Sam Watson crewed by East Antrim's Andy Thompson. This followed on from their GP14 Leinsters success. The pair will be back in Skerries this week. Ross Kearney (RNIYC) but based in the UK will also be across to defend his title won last year in Sligo. See below to see how the Irish crews fared across in Abersoch.