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It has become tradition over the past years for SailLaser in the UK to host a fundraising event in aid of Comic Relief and 2011 is no exception. On Saturday 19th March, fund raising events will take place in both of the UK SailLaser centres. Participation in the event is free; the only commitment required from everyone taking part is to raise as much money for Comic Relief as possible.

In Weymouth, SailLaser's RYA Onboard Club are invited to teach a friend to sail in a Laser Pico before heading off to the race course in pairs. The race around a short course will have the added challenge of collecting as many letters from each turning mark as possible. The winners will be those who can spell the longest word from the letters they collect at the end of the race!

SailLaser's "Race Club" members will also be able to introduce a friend to sailing and after a short introduction they will battle it out on the race course in the fleet of Laser Bahias.

In Scotland, RYA OnBoard Club fund raisers will take part in a multi-disciplined "Tri-Mile" event. The Tri-Mile will include a run, pedal and sail; running from the start line to a pedalo on the shore, pedalling to a Pico moored in the middle of Strathclyde Loch and racing the Pico around a course before arriving back at the shore and running to the finish line!

To add to the fun, competitors, organizers and helpers are encouraged to wear fancy dress. The theme is RED!

"This is a great opportunity for all of our regular sailors to get on the water with a friend as well as raising money for Comic Relief" explains Hannah Burywood, event organiser at SailLaser Weymouth.

 

The charity Comic Relief was launched on Christmas Day in 1985 from a refugee camp in Sudan. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is the bi-annual Red Nose Day. The first Red Nose Day was held in 1988 and £15 million was raised. In 2009, over 5 times that amount was raised to support projects in 25 African countries and the UK. SailLaser is proud to do their bit to support Comic Relief in 2011. 

Published in Laser

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 2023

  • O'Tiarnaigh (Apr 22-23) Blessington Sailing Club
  • Ulsters (May 20-21) East Antrim Boat Club
  • Munsters (Jun 17-18) Tralee Bay Sailing Club
  • Leinsters (Jul 7-9) Dun Laoghaire Regatta
  • SOYC (Aug 19-20) Rush Sailing Club
  • Nationals (Sep 1-3) Sutton Dinghy Club
  • Hot Toddy (Sep 30-Oct 1) Royal North of Ireland Yacht 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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