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Skerries GP14 World Championship Status Update Due This Month

8th April 2020
More than 100 boats have now entered for the Championships at Skerries Sailing Club from July 24-29 More than 100 boats have now entered for the Championships at Skerries Sailing Club from July 24-29

A further update on the status of the GP14 World Championships scheduled for July in Skerries, North Dublin is expected before the end of April.

GP14 Ireland Hon. Secretary Andy Johnston has told the class the International Committee in conjunction with the Skerries GP14 Worlds Organising Committee is in 'constant communications' with regard to the running of the World Championships and the threat posed by COVID-19 to the successful staging of the event.

As Afloat previously reported, more than 100 boats have now entered for the Championships at Skerries Sailing Club from July 24-29.

Johnston also advises the sailors that 'it is with regret but no surprise' that the Munsters at Cullaun Sailing Club and the Leinsters at (Mullingar Sailing Club) ear-marked for the weekends of May 2/3 and May 23/24 respectively have been postponed.

Depending on the COVID-19 situation, the Clubs would hope that one or both may be run at a later date this summer.

With travel restrictions in place across Ireland and the UK, all GP14 coaching dates have also been cancelled.

Published in GP14
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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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