2026 GP14 World Championships
Alternative Venue Announced
(March 15th 2024)
Following a review by GP14 International Committee in early February, a decision
was made to look to relocate the 2026 World Championship to an alternative venue. It was with much regret that the Committee had to consider this course of action.
The Sri Lanka Championship Committee were notified and the GP14 International President, Charles Saunders issued an update very recently to the GP14 membership outlining the concerns and challenges
that led to this decision. These were primarily:
- Container shipping costs estimates suggest that the per boat cost could be in the region of €1,200-1,500 which is 3 to 4 times more
expensive than shipping boats to Barbados for 2016 Worlds
- There still remains serious uncertainty on the future price of shipping with Red Sea being drawn into Middle East conflict, notwithstanding
impacts on delivery times and schedules
- Long haul air fares have also risen considerably and unlikely to drop much in the near to medium future
The outcome of all these factors was that the Committee believed there are very few sailors in Ireland or the UK who could commit to an event in Sri Lanka in two years
time and that we would struggle to get more than a couple of containers and the event would not attract sufficient numbers to make a proper World Championships. Having considered the forgoing issues
very carefully, it was with much regret that the General Committee decided that it would be sensible as a class to look for an alternative venue for 2026 World Championships.
That process has been underway for a number of week with the Championship Committee looking beyond the traditional venues including possible European venues. This is a challenge as many suitable
locations will already have had their events calendar for 2026 locked down.
However the GP14 International Committee are delighted to announce today
that Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club, Belfast have agreed to take on the task of hosting the 2026 GP14 World Championships. The Club were already earmarked to host the
2026 UK Nationals so were ideally placed to step into the breech. More details and revised dates to follow.
Regards
Andy
Johnston
President - GP14 Ireland
Class Association
Vice President - GP14
International Class Association
2024 GP14 World Championships
- Plas Heli-
Irish Ferries Discount Code AVAILABLE
(as of March 2024)
Irish Ferries have confirmed availability of a discount code for boats travelling to Plas Heli for the World Championship. As of today they have also confirmed
the code could be useed by UK sailors travelling across for the Championship of Ireland this year or indeed by Irish sailors interested in travelling across to some UK event prior to the
Worlds.
- World Championships - August 10-16
- Championships of Ireland - June 28/29/30
- UK Inland Championships - April 6/7
- Northern Championship - May 18/19
To avail of this, sailors can email our team at clubdeals@irishferries.com quoting event code GP14WC and including
the information below:
- Names of all travelling
- Date of birth and nationality for each person
- Do any passengers require special assistance
- Dates of travel (out and return)
- Route
- Times of sailings
- Type of on board accommodation (e.g. Club Class or cabin) if needed
- Vehicle make and registration number
- Trailer dimensions (in meters), to include towbar
- Where booking a motorhome, please include height and length of the vehicle in meters
- A contact postal address
- A contact mobile phone number
Please note that the code will not work on our website and bookings should be sent through to our team by email only
Terms & conditions: This event code is valid for bookings for your specific event and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, offer or discount. Rates are not available if
paying with Tesco Boost Tokens. Use of the event code will be monitored and will be revoked if any misuse is detected. Best pricing is available on our cruise ferry sailings and all event rates are
subject to availability at the time of booking.
Email GP14 news and notices to Andy on info@gp14ireland.com to get them posted here