After a very mixed week of conditions where the weather gods threw either too much wind or too little, the 85 boats GP14 World Championships in Pwllheli, North Wales fleet entered the final day on Friday hoping for two races to allow the second discard kick-in, writes Andy Johnston.
It had been a difficult week, with some light winds playing havoc with gate starts, so keeping clean and clear was the order of the day for everyone. Aside from Matt Mee and Chris Robinson, everyone in the fleet carried a horrible number. Bar a disaster of their own making, Matt and Chris looked to have one hand on the event, which would make up for their close call in Skerries in 2022.
Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson (from East Antrim BC) looked to have 2nd place wrapped up, but if two races were managed, 3rd place was still to play for, even though the odds were still very much in Neil Marsden and Derek Hill's favour. They led their nearest rivals, Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle, by 6 points. If things turned their way, Ross Kearney and Daniel Nelson, Ger Owens and Mel Morris still retained hopes of jumping into that 3rd medal spot.
In an event where two days were lost, the layday became a race day and multiple restarts, Fridays 2 races got away without a hitch—raced in 6 to 9 knots breeze with a little bit of chop and a fair amount of weed about just to keep it interesting.
The upset that the Irish were hoping would allow one of the m boats to jump onto the podium never materialised, with Neil Marsden and Derek Hill putting on a masterclass in doing what was needed. While Tom Gillard and Andy Thompson won both races, Neil and Derek had total control of their third place. Unfortunately, their nearest rivals, Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle, never got going on the day and dropped from 4th to 10th by the end.
Despite that, it was a massive day for the Irish fleet, with Ger Owens and Mel Morris putting in two great races, including a second and sixth, to move up to fourth overall. Despite a horror show on the first day, the pair completed their best-ever finish at a GP14 World Championships and were delighted with their recovery.
Sutton's Hugh Gill and Richard Street also finished on a high. A 5th and a 7th moved them into 7th overall. That was also Hugh's best-ever World finish, and the pair just finished behind RNIYC Ross Kearney and Daniel Nelson.
Katie Dwyer & Michelle Rowley on the GP14 World Championships 2024 World Podium
The last race also provided huge Irish interest with another Sutton pairing Katie Dwyer & Michelle Rowley getting out of the gates and leading the whole fleet to the weather mark. The pair entered the day as the leading All Female pairing and hoped to consolidate that position. Over the next hour, they had the race of their lives as World Champions, and Tom Gillard and Neil Marsden chased them down. The pair were caught on the last weather leg, dropped to 6th, but fought back to take a well-deserved 4th. The drone footage shown in Plas Heli stole the show last evening—definitely a memory from the 2024 Worlds.
Howths Diana Kissane and Graham Curran finished up front as the leading female helm.
Sligo's David Evans and William Draper were Youth & Silver Fleet winners at the GP14 World Championships in Pwllheli, North Wales
Sligo's David Evans and William Draper probably took away more prizes from the event than anyone else. They finished the event as top Youths from Sam Street and Josh Lloyd and also took the Silver fleet.
The Prizegiving for the 2024 World Championship was held in the Plas Heli Sailing Centre. New World Champions Matt Mee and Chris Robinson paid tribute to the other competitors and the GP14 Class, remarking that it had been 20 years since they had done their first GP14 event, with most of that time looking up to Neil Marsden and Derek Hill. Some pressure now is on Matt and Chris to prepare to defend their title in Ireland in 2026.
Earlier in the week, the formal launch of the 2026 GP14 World Championships in Royal North of Ireland YC was held and by the prizegiving last night, a very positive 35+ entries had already been confirmed. A proposal by Gerry Reid and his organising Committee in RNIYC, presented to the 2024 Worlds fleet by Ross Kearney, went down very well, with 10 UK entries included.
