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Irish Pair Finish Seventh at GP14 UK Championship

15th June 2026
Seventh Heaven — Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle sailed to seventh overall at the GP14 UK National Championship in Llandudno, recording the leading Irish finish in the 38-boat fleet.
Seventh Heaven — Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle sailed to seventh overall at the GP14 UK National Championship in Llandudno, recording the leading Irish finish in the 38-boat fleet Credit: Cormac Murphy/GP14 Ireland

Irish sailors Sean Craig and Stephen Boyle secured a top-ten finish at the UK GP14 National Championship in Llandudno, Wales last weekend.

Representing Royal St George Yacht Club and Sutton Dinghy Club, the Dublin Bay pairing finished seventh overall in the Gold Fleet after six races against a 38-boat fleet from across Britain and Ireland.

Sailing GP14 No. 14272, Craig and Boyle delivered a consistent championship performance, posting race scores of 16, 2, 5, 6 and 7 after discards to finish with a net score of 36 points.

A 17th-place finish in Race 5, discarded from their series, proved their only setback. Excluding that race, they never finished outside the top seven.

The championship title went to Johnny McGovern and Aron Colman of Port Dinorwic, who secured victory with two race wins and a net score of 14 points. Poole Yacht Club's Oli Hale and Harry Shaw were second, while Jasper Barnham and Graham Sexton of Snettisham Beach Sailing Club completed the podium.

Another notable Irish result came from Daniel Corbet of County Antrim Yacht Club, crewed by Freya Pembury of Rutland Sailing Club. The pair finished 16th overall and were the leading Bronze Fleet competitors.

The GP14 class now turns its attention to the Irish season, with the Leinster Championship scheduled for Howth Yacht Club on July 4-5. The Notice of Race has been published and entries are open.

Race Results

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Published in 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

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