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Irish Ferries has been awarded the title of ‘Best Ferry or Fixed Linked Operator’  for the third consecutive year at the UK Group Leisure and Travel Awards 2021 – a momentous achievement following a challenging year for global travel.

The annual awards ceremony recognises the very best providers, attractions and destinations for groups, as voted for by readers of Group Leisure & Travel. This year’s event took place virtually, and was hosted by British presenter and actress, Julie Peasgood.

Whilst traditionally known for its Irish Sea routes between Holyhead – Dublin Port and Pembroke – Rosslare Europort, Irish Ferries recently extended their network to include Dover – Calais.

In June, Irish Ferries launched their Dover – Calais route, serviced by the trusted ‘Isle of Inishmore’, brings even more choice for customers travelling across the channel. Frequency on this route is soon to be increased with the introduction of a second vessel in the coming months.

Irish Ferries encourages customers and group partners to “Sea Travel Differently” – whether for group tours, business trips, or planning the holiday of a lifetime. The company prides itself on providing high quality hospitality and service, exceptional on-board amenities, first-class facilities for coach drivers, great value sailings, and has a dedicated groups support team and manager to oversee enquiries via email and phone.

Commenting on the award, Marie McCarthy, Passenger Sales Manager UK & Ireland, said “Irish Ferries is proud to have been awarded this title for the third year running, particularly as this succeeds the launch of our new Dover – Calais route, connecting this critical market now to both Europe as well as Ireland.

“Group travel is a very important market for us, for which, over the years, we have built our reputation as a specialist. This award formally recognises our continued efforts to provide our groups customers with a wonderful experience on a first-class fleet, with Irish hospitality at the centre of our offering.

“Group Leisure & Travel has a loyal readership which values the publication’s preferred providers and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure our standard of service remains high. Thank you to all readers who voted for us – we cannot thank you enough!”

Published in Irish Ferries

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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