19 GP14s set sail on St Patrick's Day for the fifth weekend of the spring series at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club on Belfast Lough.
The sailors were greeted with a light 4-5 knots from the south, with a balmy 12 degrees! Race Officer Gerry Reid and his team managed the light shifty breeze excellently, setting 3 races away in what was a building offshore breeze.
This series, and in particular this weekend, saw some new faces entering the fleet for the first time: Ross Nolan helming with his daughter Ellie crewing and Lucy Anderson swapping her Feva for the front of Jane Kearney’s GP14. Peter Todd of RNIYC and Craig Troughton are new to the fleet and are showing some great promise. GP14 stalwarts, Sam Street/Josh Lloyd and Conor Twohig/Matthew Cotter made the effort to travel from Dublin and have definitely increased the intensity at the pointy end of the fleet. A testament to the great racing during this series, four boats travelled from the West: Keith and Matteo Louden from Lough Foyle Yacht Club and three boats from Lough Erne Yacht Club: Michael and Emma Brines, Peter Brines and Charlie Valentine, and Brian Morrison sailing with local Steven Nelson.
Downwind racing at the 19-boat GP14 Spring Series at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club Photo: Zac Dalzell
The collective mix of age, experience, and personalities is what the GP14 is renowned for, and it is fantastic to see, especially so early in the season.
Following a general recall, the black flag was out for the remainder of the day. In Race 1, the fleet battled the oscillating wind and bands of pressure with the wind building to 7-10 knots. The fleet stayed very compact throughout the two lap windward/leeward course with plenty of place changing and great competitive racing. Ross Kearney and Daniel Nelson came in 1st, closely followed by Keith and Matteo Louden, with Adam and Emily Torrens in 3rd. Robbie Richardson, new to GP14 sailing Nathan Telford, came in a credible fourth.
There was plenty of shifty upwind work at the GP14 Spring Series at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club Photo: Zac Dalzell
The wind had increased a little in race 2, now gusting 11 knots, which allowed some crews to stretch their legs. Again a very shifty beat followed by a patchy run saw plenty of place changing. The first leeward gate provided a spectacle for the race team watching from afar with a 10-boat pile-up, sailors gently asking for a room, or so they say, and huge gains and losses to be made. Ross Nolan and Ellie, using Ellie’s experience, dropped the spinnaker early and waited for a lovely gap to appear, then glided on in and around for a huge gain!
Ross and Daniel managed to stay out of trouble, and crossed in 1st place, with Sam and Josh coming in 2nd, Josh Porter and Sara Gowdy in 3rd place.
With the wind starting to drop for the third race, the fleet got away cleanly, apart from Jane and Lucy, who were black-flagged (not part of the training plan!).
Ross and Daniel had a tight battle with Sutton Dinghy Clubs Conor and Matty and East Down’s Patrick Hamilton and Hana Stolcova. Having stolen the lead up the second beat, Patrick and Hana, unfortunately, lost out at the windward mark rounding, with Ross and Daniel and Conor and Matty sneaking past to finish in that order.
The overall standings are listed below, with next Sunday being the final day of the series. Rumours of more Dublin-based boats set to make the journey up would jump the fleet over the 20-boat mark, which is excellent in the third season of the RNIYC GP14 Spring Series.
GP14 Spring Series 2024 at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club Results. Sailed: 11, Discards: 2, To count: 9, Entries: 18
A results pdf is downloadable below
