After two days with no racing, day 3 arrived, and the 106-boat GP14 World Championship fleet at Skerries in County Dublin knew they were in for a busy day. The fleet launched early off the sand in the harbour into a northerly breeze that picked up and settled at 15-20 knots for race 1.
The wind direction also made for a very big sea which became an even more confused sea state as the day went on. Considering the strong breeze, the gate starts were well behaved with few incidents across the day.
Matt Mee & Chis Robinson led Race 1 for most of the race, though he had 'finished' only to discover another leg. Reacting quickly, he recovered to take 4th behind event favourite Ian Dobson & Andy Tunnicliffe, Nick Craig & Toby Lewis and Ciaron Jones & Sam Platt.
Fleet leaders Ian Dobson and Andy Tunihill of Burwain SC (boat on right) tack onto starboard in rough conditions alongside second-placed Matt Mee and Chris Robsinson of B&F YC in the first full day of racing (Tuesday) during the GP 14 World Championship at Skerries Sailing Club Photo: Bob Givens
The best of the Irish boats was Colman Grimes & Ross Gingles in 5th with Niall Henry & Ossian Geraghty 6th and Hugh and Dan Gill in 9th. There were 20+ retirals in Race 1 as the freshening breeze started to take its toll on some of the younger and smaller crews.
Race 2 got away clean, with Mee & Robinson again leading at the weather mark, closely followed by Ruan & Rebekkah O’Tiarnaigh. The downwind leg saw Neil Marsden & Derek Hill, Craig & Lewis along, with Dobson & Tunnicliffe back in contention.
The Irish contingent was there in numbers, with Grimes & Gingles well to the fore along with Alan Blay & Hugh McNally, Ross Kearney & Andrew Vaughan and Ger Owens and Mel Morris also showing. With gusts now well over 20+ knots and the confused sea, there were plenty of capsizes, particularly around the gybe mark. Mee & Robinson held and extended their lead, with Dobson & Tunnicliffe and Craig & Lewis completing the top 3. the O’Tiarniagh held on for a great 4th ahead of former World Champions Marsden & Hill. Grimes & Gingles continued their great form with a 7th, with Owens & Morris taking 8th.
At this stage, the sea state had worsened, and with stronger gusts, only 69 boats finished.
There were gusts well over 20+ knots and a confused sea at the GP14 World Championships in Skerries Photo: Bob Givens
Race 3 again got underway, and it was Mee & Robinson who led to the weather mark ahead of Dobson & Tunnicliffe. Irish pair Grimes & Gingles, Marsden & Hill, Craig & Lewis, and the O’Tiarnaigh were all again challenging. With a far smaller fleet still on the water, Dobson & Tunnicliffe came through to take victory ahead of Mee & Robinson and Craig & Lewis.
Grimes & Gingle confirmed their place as the top Irish boat with a 4th with Henry & Geraghty in 7th. With only 49 finishers in race 3, the fleet headed ashore exhausted but the event is now back on track.
Going into Day 4, with two races expected, Ian Dobson leads from Matt Mee & Derek Hill, with Nick Craig & Toby Lewis 3rd. Colman Grimes & Ross Gingles (Skerries Sailing Club lead the Irish in 4th with Niall Henry & Ossian Geraghty (Sligo Yacht Club) in 6th. Ruan & Rebekkah O’Tianaighs (Sutton Dinghy Club) lie 9th with Hugh & Dan Gill (Sutton Dinghy Club) in 10th.
Leading the Silver fleet and 13th overall, with 3 top 20 finishes, Conor Twohig & Matthew Cotter (Sutton Dinghy Club), ahead of Ciaran Keogh & Adam Leddy (Greystones Sailing Club), who also had a super day and finished 19th overall. The Bronze fleet is led by Australian entry Conor Byrne & Emer McNally (Darwin Sailing Club).
Overall results are downloadable below.
