RNIYC GP14 Spring Series Opens In Shifty Southerly Breeze

12th March 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Spring Start: GP14 sailors launch the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club Spring Series in a lively southerly breeze, with 15 boats racing short windward–leeward courses in the opening event of the 2026 season Credit: Lindsay Nolan

The Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club launched its annual GP14 Spring Series on 8 March in bright sunshine and a lively southerly breeze. Fifteen boats sailed out to the race area in winds of 12 to 17 knots, creating shifty and gusty conditions for the opening day of the 2026 season.

Race officer Gerry Reid and his team ran three short windward–leeward races lasting around 15 to 20 minutes each. The quick turnaround kept crews moving and avoided long waits in the cold. The format is a popular one with the fleet and delivered close racing throughout the afternoon.

Several visitors joined the local sailors. Boats travelled from Whitehead, Donaghadee, Blessington and Sligo for the opening event.

Race One

The first race started in a building breeze. Niall Henry and Ossian Geraghty quickly adapted to the conditions to take the win. Keith and Matteo Louden finished second, while Adam and Emily Torrens crossed the line in third.

Close Quarters: GP14 boats battle for position in gusty conditions during the opening races of the RNIYC Spring Series. Photo: Lindasy Nolan

Race Two

The second race saw a clean start across the fleet. The Loudens took control early and led from start to finish. Ross and Daniel secured second place, with Henry and Geraghty third. New GP14 sailors James Waugh and Emma Pierce showed promising pace during the race. However, a lifting centreboard caused the boat to roll, resulting in a capsize.

Spinnaker Run: GP14 crews fly colourful spinnakers during the RNIYC Spring Series racing on Belfast Lough. Photo: Lindsay Nolan

Race Three

The final race began in similar shifting winds. Tight racing saw the fleet frequently exchanging positions as gusts moved across the course. Keith and Matteo Louden took victory again. Ross and Daniel finished second, while Meg Tyrell and Connor Twohig secured third place. Tyrell, usually at the helm of the bow position, teamed up with Twohig for the day and showed a strong pace across the series.

Organisers thanked the race management team, rescue crews and the club for supporting the opening event. Daily entries remain available for sailors wishing to join the series in the coming weeks.

Download results below as a pdf file

Downloads

After r3_260310_215110.pdf (84 Downloads)

Published in GP14, Northern Ireland Waters, Belfast Lough

Published in GP14

Tagged under

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven't put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full-time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

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