Craig & Boyle Navigate Tricky Tralee Bay Course to GP14 Munster Championship Win

21st June 2023

Afloat.ie Team

This year's GP14 Munster Championship was the first time the fleet had visited Fenit in over 40 years

The Irish GP14 fleet made the trip to the southwest corner of Ireland to Tralee Bay Sailing Club in Fenit for the 2023 GP14 Munster Championships on the 17th/18th of June.

It was the first time the fleet had been to Fenit in over 40 years.

Twenty-six teams took part in the championship and, on arrival, were greeted with the impressive backdrop of the Kerry Mountains & the Golden Sandy Beaches of Tralee Bay, a spectacular location to host a championship.

Twenty-six teams raced in the GP14 Munster Championship on Tralee Bay

Day 1 of the event arrived with plenty of sunshine & blue skies, with the wind funnelling through the valleys of the far shore, although a forecast which could only be described as variable. PRO John Leech got race 1 away in 7-8 knots of breeze & a flooding tide. A pin-end biased start line saw many of the front runners battle it out for an early advantage. Ger Owens & Mel Morris rounded the weather mark first, followed closely by Sean Craig & Stephen Boyle, along with JP & Carolyn McCaldin in hot pursuit. Ger & Mel held their lead throughout the race and took out race 1, Sean & Stephen in 2nd, and Colman Grimes & Ross Gingles in 3rd.

Sean Craig and Colman Grimes cross tacks on Tralee Bay

PRO John Leech intended to run the races off in quick succession, although this plan was quickly halted by the arrival of the thunder & lightning rolling over the hills above. The fleet was sent in the direction of shore immediately & with a yellow weather warning issued for Co.Kerry; racing was then cancelled for the day.

GP14 Munster Championships PRO John Leech at work on Tralee Bay

With the fleet now safely onshore, it was time for everyone to enjoy some music & food laid on by Tralee Bay Sailing Club.

There were some calms during racing at the GP14 Munster Championship on Tralee Bay like this at the start of race four on day two

Day 2 arrived with ominous-looking skies & further yellow weather warnings for the area. Nevertheless, racing proceeded with caution & a race course was positioned on the South Side of the Great Samphire Island. Racing began shortly after 10 am with a revised race course which included a (sausage, triangle, and sausage) which helped add to the complexity of the day.

After several attempts due to a shifting breeze, race 2 got underway in an outgoing tide with differences in wind pressure scattered across the race course. Norman Lee & Stephen Lynch took the win, Sean Craig & Stephen Boyle 2nd with Ross Kearney & Daniel Nelson in 3rd.

Sean & Stephen took the bullet in race 3, followed by Ross & Daniel, with Ger & Mel in 3rd.

Race 4 began with a softening breeze, quickly becoming a drifter shortly after the start. The race was shortened to one lap in the end & went to the ever-consistent Sean & Stephen, with JP & Carolyn McCaldin sliding into 2nd with Ross & Daniel taking 3rd Place.

The silver fleet was won by Sam Wray & Luke Henderson of Sligo Yacht Club. The bronze fleet was won by Charlie Keating & Ollie Lloyd of Blessington Sailing Club. The youth fleet was won by the fast-improving Sam Street & Josh Lloyd.

Congratulations to the 2023 GP14 Munster Champions Sean Craig & Stephen Boyle, who navigated the tricky race course superbly & posted a consistent scorecard of 2,2,1,1.

Tralee Bay Sailing Club's Anthony Clifford presents the winners Sean Craig (centre) and Stephen Boyle (right) the GP14 Munster Championship trophy
Ger Owens & Mel Morris were second at the GP14 Munster Championship on Tralee Bay Ger Owens & Mel Morris presented with the Race 1 Trophy at the GP14 Munster Championship on Tralee Bay

Race two winner Norman Lee

The O'Tiarnaigh Family at Tralee Bay

The next event on the GP14 Calendar is the Leinster Championships which is incorporated into the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, which takes place on 7th / 9th July 2017.

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

Published in GP14

Tagged under

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 2026

April 25–26 — O’Tiarnaigh Trophy, Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club
May 9–10 — Munster Championship, Cullaun Sailing Club
June 6–7 — Ulster Championship, County Antrim Boat Club
June 11–14 — UK Nationals, Llandudno Sailing Club
July 4–5 — Leinster Championship, Howth Yacht Club
August 1–2 — Championship of Ireland, Carrickfergus Sailing Club
August 8–14 — GP14 World Championships
September 19–20 — Autumn Open / Youth Championship, Sligo Yacht Club
October 17–18 — Hot Toddy, Mullingar Sailing 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