GP14 Ulster Title Decided on Countback After Whitehead Test

12th June 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Countback Champions: Howth Yacht Club's Connor Twohig and Matthew Cotter receive the 2026 GP14 Ulster Championship trophy after a dramatic three-way tie was decided on countback at County Antrim Yacht Club

The 2026 GP14 Ulster Championship was decided on countback after a dramatic weekend of racing at County Antrim Yacht Club in Whitehead. Twenty-five boats travelled to the Co Antrim venue for the two-day championship, which delivered challenging conditions both ashore and afloat.

Strong easterly winds of 18-20 knots and a difficult sea state greeted competitors on Saturday morning. Launching from the club slipway proved impossible, forcing organisers to relocate the fleet to a more sheltered public slipway along the promenade. The operation was completed efficiently, allowing racing to proceed once conditions eased.

Race officer Sheela Lewis and her team oversaw proceedings on the water as the GP14 fleet returned to Whitehead for the first time in more than four decades.

Saturday's opening race was won by Colman Grimes and Ross Gingles of Skerries Sailing Club and Derwent Reservoir Sailing Club. Connor Twohig and Matthew Cotter of Howth Yacht Club finished second, with Keith Louden and Brendan Brogan third.

Louden and Brogan responded by taking victory in race two after finding the strongest breeze early in the contest. Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle finished second, while Twohig and Cotter secured another podium finish in third.

Sunday brought fresh challenges, with winds building from 14-16 knots to gusts approaching 30 knots during the afternoon. Craig and Boyle mastered the conditions in race three to take the win ahead of Louden and Brogan. Ross Kearney and Daniel Nelson finished third. Race four proved the toughest of the weekend. Gusts of up to 28 knots and heavy squalls tested crews throughout the fleet, with numerous capsizes and retirements.

Twohig and Cotter claimed victory in the final race, followed by Grimes and Gingles. Craig and Boyle crossed in third.

With racing halted after four races, the championship ended in an extraordinary three-way tie on six points between Twohig and Cotter, Craig and Boyle, and Grimes and Gingles. Countback on the final race awarded the Ulster title to Howth Yacht Club's Twohig and Cotter, securing their first GP14 event victory.

In the Silver Fleet, Patrick Hamilton and Emma Pierce of East Down Yacht Club topped the standings with an impressive sixth place overall. Sam Wray and Luke Henderson of Sligo Yacht Club were second, with Brian Morrison and Adam Nelson of Lough Erne Yacht Club third.

Patrick Hamilton and Emma Pierce of East Down Yacht Club claimed the Silver Fleet title after an impressive performance that also earned sixth place overall in the Ulster Championship standings

The Bronze Fleet and Youth Trophy were won by County Antrim Yacht Club's Daniel Corbett and Frea Pembery. Rush Sailing Club's Riaghan Boardman and Oisin Alexander finished second, while John and Steffi Lewis completed the podium for the host club.

Daniel Corbett and Frea Pembery receive the Youth Trophy after leading the Bronze Fleet at County Antrim Yacht Club's hosting of the 2026 GP14 Ulster Championship

Several competitors now turn their attention to the GP14 British Championship in Llandudno next week. The class returns to action at the GP14 Leinster Championship in Howth Yacht Club on 4-5 July, before the World Championship at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club in August, where a fleet of around 100 boats is expected.

Published in GP14, Howth YC

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