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Boyle Father-and-Son Team Win GP14 Leinster Championship at Howth

5th July 2026
Spinnaker Surge: A tightly packed group of GP14s powers downwind under colourful spinnakers during the 2026 Leinster Championships at Howth Yacht Club. Photo: Andy Johnston.
Spinnaker Surge: A tightly packed group of GP14s powers downwind under colourful spinnakers during the 2026 Leinster Championships at Howth Yacht Club Credit: Andy Johnston

A father-and-son partnership from Sutton Dinghy Club claimed the 2026 GP14 Leinster Championship after six races at Howth Yacht Club.

Peter and Stephen Boyle won the 32-boat championship aboard Further, finishing with a nett score of 15 points after counting five top-six finishes and discarding a ninth place.

The title remained in doubt until the final race. Adam and Emily Torrens of Newtownards Sailing Club, sailing Kokomo, finished just two points adrift on 17 points after recording a race victory and a string of top-five results.

David Evans and William Draper of Sligo Yacht Club completed the podium in Red Boat on 21 points. The pair opened the regatta with a race win but an 11th-place finish in Race 5 ultimately denied them a closer challenge for the title.

National Champions Ger Owens and Melanie Morris of Wicklow Sailing Club finished fourth overall in Two Belle, while John and Donal McGuinness of Moville Boat Club rounded out the top five.

The championship attracted a fleet of 32 boats from clubs across Ireland, with Gold, Silver and Bronze divisions reflecting the depth of competition throughout the weekend.

Race Results

You may need to scroll vertically and horizontally within the box to view the full results

Published in GP14, Howth YC
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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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