ropelocker.ie 2019 Hot Toddy

19-20 October

Event Report - Katie Dwyer

The final GP14 meeting of the season, the “Hot Toddy” took place on 19/20 October in the beautiful setting at Lough Erne Yacht Club, sponsored by ropelocker.ie. 

Conscious of the interest in the rugby world cup quarter final, organisers delayed the Saturday start to 13:30 with a big screen in the club for sailors to watch Ireland v New Zealand. Sadly, the rugby result was not in our favour, but spirits weren’t dampened, and sailors eagerly took to the water. With 33 boats, it was the largest turnout of the year.

Lough Erne delivered some very challenging yet enjoyable sailing conditions over the two days. Wind ranged from 5- 20 knots and was shifty throughout with no distinct patterns. As a result, all sailors were kept on their toes with positions consistently changing throughout the races. Race Officer Mickey McCaldin and his team ran a full series of six races over the two days, and kept things moving promptly to avoid too much downtime for the sailors in the in the chilly October breeze.

Well deserved “Hot Toddies” were enjoyed by sailors on returning ashore, followed by an evening of food, fun and frolics at the yacht club which was very well attended.

Overnight leaders with three race wins and showing an enviable level of boat speed were Shane McCarthy (GSC) and his very capable substitute crew, Ger Owens. Sligo Yacht Clubs Niall Henry and Ossian Geraghty were in second, with Lough Foyle Yacht Clubs Gareth Gallagher and Ollie Goodhead in third and also leading the silver fleet. Blessingtons Sailing Clubs Sam Street led the bronze fleet.

We took to the water on Sunday for an earlier than usual start for Race 4 at 10:30. The breeze was up and as shifty as the previous day. Shane and Ger won race 4 and 5 and with the event win in the bag, headed for shore. It provided an opportunity for a new race winner which was duly taken by Youghal Sailing Clubs Adrian Lee and Richard Street who had a comfortable lead throughout the race.

Winners of the Hot Toddy were Shane McCarthy and Ger Owens, with five race wins. Over the six races, second and third places were shared across eight different boats, demonstrating the high level of competition in the fleet. With Shane and Ger clear winners, it was down to consistency and how discards came into play to determine the results within the chasing pack. Finishing in second were Niall Henry and Ossian Geraghty, with Sutton Dinghy Club Katie Dwyer and Michelle Rowley in third.

Winners of the silver fleet were Garreth Gallagher and Ollie Goodhead, finishing a solid fourth overall. In second place, Adrian Lee and Richard Street, followed by Blessingtons Simon Cully and Libby Tierney in third.

Top two in the bronze fleet were Blessingtons Sailing Clubs  Sam Street and Tiarnan Brown, followed by Matthew Street and Rhian O’Hiblin in second with Mullingar Sailing Clubs Michael Collender and Brian Walker in third.

A special thanks must go to LEYC  JP and Carolyn McCaldin and all the volunteers, who organised and ran a super event. It was also JP and Carolyns’ last outing in a GP for a while, with Brendan Brogan stepping in to take up the front seat with JP in 2020. 

Thanks also to the sponsors, ropelocker.ie.

The fleet will return to Lough Erne in July 2020 for the Irish Nationals, which will be the last event before the Worlds in Skerries.  

GP14 Hot Toddy

(Lough Erne Yacht Club)

October 19th & 20th 2019

The final event of the season, the Hot Toddy returns to Lough Erne Yacht Club.

The NOR has been published below and the organisers have drafted a useful list of B&B's and other accomodation close by to the Club.

2019 GP14 Autumn Open & Youth Championships

(Sutton Dinghy Club)

September 14th & 15th 2019

Sun 15 Sep 19 16:03
Sail100 Sailing Results Software Program

GP14 Autumn Open

Sun 15 Sep 19 16:01
Sail100 Sailing Results Software Program

Autumn Open & Youth Championships

(Sutton Dinghy Club)

Sat 14th & Sun 15th Sep

Next event on the GP14 circuit is the combined Autumn Open and Youth Championships to be held at Sutton Dinghy Club.

This is 2 events run together over the same weekend. 4 races for the Autumn Open and 4 races for the Youth Championships (U16, U19 & U22).

The GP14 have for many years encouraged Youths to race in the fleet but the Youth Championship has also provided an opportunity for Youth to race the GP14 before they have owned their own boat. 

The event is heaviliy dependant on boat-owners within the fleet providing boats and their crewing services on the day of the event. With fleets of upto 24 for the Youth event in recent years we believe the GP14 Ireland Class approach is working demonstrated by the fact we have currently very good numbers of Youth sailors racing within the main fleet here and at overseas events. 

In advance of the event, I would like to thanks our Adult members for providing their boats and their time (or their crew) to enable us run this event.

Sutton Dinghy Club will be able to make available some camping facilities close to the Club but this must be requested in advance. With the All Ireland Final replay set for 6pm on Saturday evening, the Club will be providing refreshments after racing with food and music on Saturday evening from about 7:30pm. Competitors are asked to register their interest in the Supper on Saturday evening prior to the event via this Club website link or via the Club office. 

Registration opens at the clubhouse at 9am on Saturday, where a welcoming tea/coffee & scones will be available.

Looking forward to seeing you in Sutton Dinghy Club.

The NOR  and Entry Forms have been published below and also on the Sutton Dinghy Club website

O'Tiarnaigh Challenge

(Mullingar Sailing Club)

Sat 31st Aug & Sun 1st Sep

Next event on the GP14 circuit is the long-awaited O'Tiarnaigh Challenge at Mullingar Sailing Club.  A completely new exciting format is being introduced for this event, with racing for all boats throughout the two days. Great event to practice your starts - there will be loads of them, starting with 6 short races on Saturday sailing either olympic or windward/leeward courses.  For those of you who like to enjoy the hospitality of Mullingar town on Saturday night, we will be easy on you on Sunday with only 3 longer races.  That's the plan - we'll see what happens.  We are retaining what has always been best about this challenge with two fleets sailing separately throughout the weekend but being chosen & re-chosen in random draws rather than fleet basis. 

For accommodation, there are loads of choices in Mullingar town, which we recommend as your base, as the dinner on Saturday will be in the Annebrook Hotel, as normal, in the centre of the town.  

Registration opens at the clubhouse at 9am on Saturday, where a welcoming tea/coffee & scones will be available.

This is an event which had to be cancelled due to adverse weather last April, so it has ended up being squeezed in between the rather lively Nationals in Skerries & the Autumn Open in Sutton. Mullingar Sailing Club always lay on a good event for us, so please make the effort to support it.

Looking forward to seeing you in Mullingar.  

The NOR has been published below.

3:rock 2019 GP14 Championship or Ireland

16-18 August

Event Report - Andy Johnston

A very windy weekend saw the 3:rock 2019 GP14 Championship of Ireland restricted to 5 races after Sunday racing was blown out. Liam Dineen PRO had no choice yesterday morning but to call a halt with a steady 20+ and regular gusts over 28kts.

2020 GP14 World Championships

Skerries Sailing Club

25th to 31st July 2020

Provisional NOR

&

Link to Entry

https://www.gp14.org/

3:rock GP14 Championship of Ireland

(Skerries Sailing Club)

Fri 16 to Sun 18

August 2019

Skerries Sailing Club are delighted to host the 2019 3:Rock GP14 Championship of Ireland Regatta.  This will be the first year where we race on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday format ands we are hoping to see as many boats as possible competing. We will be running gate starts over the course of the weekend and this should be great practice for next years 2020 Worlds in Skerries. 

The NOR has been published below.

Allen Sailing 2019 GP14 UK Nationals

SCYC, Abersoch

Congratulations Sam Watson & Andy Thompson on your victory this week. Well deserverd and hope we see you across in Skerries for the Championship of Ireland on Aug 16/18.

Also well done Peter & Stephen Boyle (Sutton Dinghy Club) for a superb 7th Overall and Top Irish crew.

Final results, event report and photos to follow.

2019 GP14 Leinster Championship

incorporated in

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

12-14  July

Event Report - To Follow

GP14 O'Tiarnaigh Challenge

(Mullingar Sailing Club)

AUG 31ST / SEP 1ST

NOTE CHANGE OF DATE

2019 GP14 Ulster Championship

12-14  July

Event Report - Sam Watson

Lough Foyle Yacht Club, located on the banks of the River Foyle at Culmore Point, hosted the 2019 Ulster Championships attracting 27 competitors from not only all over Ireland but as far from Poole in Dorset, England.

After 2 general recalls and the race officer having to raise the black flag before race 1 had begun, the fleet started and headed off towards the windward mark. As the fleet were getting used to the dominating tide, Keith and Alan showed they were not to be messed with on their home turf and used their local knowledge to navigate to the front of the fleet by the windward mark. Closely followed by the English Raiders, Sam and Andy. 3^rd place and 1^st silver went to the young pairing of Adrian and Ed who had a fantastic race and were extremely unlucky not to turn 3^rd into 2^nd as they crossed the line almost simultaneously with Sam and Andy. 1^st Bronze fleet sailor went to the new pairing of David and Elysia.

Race 2 commenced after only 1 general recall! By this time the tide had increased and the offshore breeze had started to shift significantly. Again, local boat Adrian and Ed used their local knowledge to get to the right and correct side of the course early. Shortly after the start a nice 20’ starboard shift came down the racecourse giving Adrian and Ed the largest lead the fleet has seen for a while! They sailed away by themselves and won the race by the best part of a leg! Behind these guys Keith and Alan and Shane and Damian had a battle for 2^nd and 3^rd. Being won on the last leg by Keith and Alan. Mathew and Richard Street had a great race finishing just behind Shane and Damian in 4^th place and 1^st Bronze.

Race 3 saw a similar set of conditions with slightly decreasing tide but still large offshore shifts. This time it was Shane and Damian who dominated the first beat and gained an impressive lead. Behind them the fleet changed positions in the varying shifts. 2^nd was taken by Sam and Andy followed by Keith and Alan. Josh and Meg sailed through the fleet to finish an impressive 4^th place.

With Saturdays 3 races over the most important race of the day kicked off, the beer race into the club! The sailors packed up and headed up the hill to The Magnet Bar who had prepared some 1^st class food for the sailors. We even had a honouree visit from Curley Morris who wasn’t sailing due to hip op. Curley will be back for the Nationals, watch out!

Day 2 came around and you could definitely tell who had been to the Magnet bar till 1 in the morning. Keith and Alan were the first boat on the water and had set the boat up for what seemed was going to be a windy day. The fleet ran out into the tide in a considerable 15 knot breeze. With the tide pushing the boats to windward a few boats were slightly pre mature for race 4 and two boats were given the first black flags of the event. Alistair and Andy and Connor and Barry Twohig hit the line a little too early and were disqualified. The fleet carried on up to the windward mark in what was again, extremely shifty and tough conditions to sail in. This meant for allot of place changes and not one boat could let their guard down. The wind had died slightly and the Race Officer decided to shorten the course at second leeward mark. This left Shane and Damian to take the win, followed by ex Olympian Ger Owen and Mel Morris who used the light conditions to sail through the fleet. Keith and Alan secured 3^rd putting them on equal points with Shane and Damian. It now looked like a 2 horse race for the lead with both boats having a 6 point lead to Sam and Andy in 3^rd place. Micheal and Michelle secured 4^th place and first Silver.

Race 5 commenced and was met at the gybe mark by a lovely 18 knots squall. This helped Sam and Andy who managed to hold onto the kite for a little longer that JP and Carolyn which set them up for the win. Shane and Andy won the battle fro 2^nd against Keith and Alan. This put them just a point ahead of Keith and Alan going into the last race. Doire and Andrew had an impressive race to 4^th position. David and Alysia had another great race finishing 6^th and 1^st Bronze.

The last raced commenced in a light breeze. It looked like the 22 year old Duffin had much better pace in the lighter winds as Sam and Andy did what they could to fight for the lead. Another win would put them in contention but at this stage it all depended on how both Shane and Damian and Keith and Alan did in the last race. In the light and shifty wind Jp and Carolyn showed serious speed aswell as Ger and Mel who took 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. Doire and Andrew held onto 4^th infront of Shane and Damian and Keith and Alan who were battling further down the fleet for the lead.

The final race was complete and again the race to the club commenced with a serious ebbing tide flying out of the Foyle. It took a while for the boats to get through this in the dying wind. The boats came ashore and the maths started! On joint points Sam and Andy took the lead from Shane and Damian due to number of 1sts and 2nds. Following behind by only 1 point was Keith and Alan.

Thanks to Lough Foyle Yacht Club and the many volunteers for putting on a great event. Thanks to Thompson NI for sponsoring the event and James Peter Hockley for organising the best event of the season so far! The next event is the Leinsters at Dun Laoghaire on the 12th to the 14th of July.

GP14 Ulster Championship

(Lough Foyle Yacht Club)

8-9 June 2019

The 2nd event of the season will be the Ulster Championship. Its been a while since we held an event in Lough Foyle Yacht Club and the event organising committee that includes James Peter Hockley & Owen McCauley have been hard at work since it was announced the Ulsters were heading back to the Lough.

The NOR has been published below and the organisers have drafted a useful list of B&B's and other accomodation close by to the Club.

2019 GP14 Munster Championship

incorporating the Purcell Trophy

Cullaun Sailing Club

11-12 May

Event Report - JP McCaldin

Cullaun Sailing club, Co Clare, hosted the Irish GP fleet for what turned out to be the 1^st event of the year following the postponement of the Mullingar event in April. Competitors travelled from the 4 corners of Ireland with visitors from Derry, Dublin, Cork and North Down and many points in between and were warmly welcomed to the brand new clubhouse which had only been completed 2 weeks previously.

The race officer had a challenging weekend with light very shifty conditions on the Saturday and windier but still shifty conditions on the Sunday. He did a great job to get in 6 races over the 2 days and gave the class plenty of starting practice!

Race 1 was dominated by Colman Grimes and Matthew Street who built up a considerable lead of almost a leg at one stage but JP and Carolyn McCaldin got very lucky and hooked up with a gust on the final run and then took advantage of a 20 degree lift at the leeward mark to pinch 1^st place. 3^rd place went to class newcomers Alex Barry and Richard Leonard from Cork in their 1^st competitive outing in the GP. 1^st Silver fleet boat was Lawrence Baalham and Robbie Richardson with a 5^th place and 1^st bronze went to Michael Collender and Brian Walker.

Race 2 followed a similar pattern with big shifts and multiple place changes. The McCaldins decided to start before the gun and had to go back! Keith Louden and Alan Thompson had a great battle with Alex and Richard to take the win. Lawrence and Robbie had another great result with a 3^rd place with Norman and Ken Lee taking 4^th. Michael and Brian were again 1^st bronze.

Race 3 again saw lots of place changes with big gains (and losses!) to be made in the shifts. Alex and Richard won the race showing us all that they are definitely going to be a force to be reckoned with as the class builds to the worlds in Skerries in 2020. The Derry boys, James Peter Hockley and Owen McCauley taking 2^nd place and 1^st silver with Keith and Alan 3^rd. 2^nd silver was son and father team Conor and Barry Twohig. Again Michael and Brian were 1^st bronze home.

Alex and Richards consistency gave them a 4 point over night lead from Keith and Alan with the McCaldins 2 points further back.

All competitors enjoyed an evening of BBQ and music in the local pub in Tulla and were treated to the skills of pool shark Hugh Gill beating all comers!

Sunday dawned with more wind, hiking would be required. Conditions still shifty, but thankfully not quite as extreme as day one.

Race 4 was led from start to finish by silver fleets Adrian Lee and Edward Coyne, giving them their first ever event race win. The McCaldins applied pressure at times but were unable to get past and took 2^nd. Alex and Richard were 3^rd with James Peter and Owen 4^th and 1^st silver. The theme continued with Michael and Brian again dominating the bronze fleet. Four races in, 4 different winners – showing how competitive the fleet is.

Race 5 was won by the McCaldins putting them on equal points with Alex & Richard going into the last race. Josh Porter and Andy Corkhill had a fabulous race to take 2^nd at a photo finish with Keith and Alan 3^rd. James Peter and Owen took 4^th and 1^st in the silver fleet - with this form they won’t be in the silver fleet long!! Richard decided to test the buoyancy of the spinnaker pole and his helms swimming ability was noted in this race! No prizes for guessing the 1^st bronze boat!

The final race of the event was under way at the 5^th or was it the 6^th ? attempt after numerous ‘U’ flag general recalls. With the wind in a left phase Alex and Richard started at the pin end and crossed the fleet to lead from the McCaldins at the weather mark, with James Peter and Owen in 3^rd. James Peter and Owen took a flier to the right on the 2^nd beat to lead considerably at the windward mark followed by Alex and Richard. The Derry boys headed right again on the final beat followed by the McCaldins but this time left paid and Alex and Richard led comfortably at the final weather mark which they held to the finish to take the race and the event. James Peter and Owen were 2^nd in the final race, 4^th overall and 1^st silver. Event organiser Des McMahon and Pat Biesty stopped a clean sweep in the bronze fleet which was dominated by Michael and Brian.

Overall a great event, many thanks to everyone at Cullaun Sailing Club for their hospitality and effort. Full results below. Photos from the event will be posted shortly.

The next event, the GP14 Ulster Championship, is hosted by Lough Foyle Yacht Club on 8^th & 9^th June. Rumour has it the fleet will be joined by some English raiders.

GP14 Munster Championship

incorporating the Purcell Trophy

(Cullaun Sailing Club)

11-12 May 2019

Less than a week now  to go to the GP14 Munsters being held in Cullaun Sailing Club. The Club have only recently opened a new Clubhouse and this is the first sailing event to be run in the Club for quite a long time.

GP14 O'Tiarnaigh Challenge

(Mullingar Sailing Club)

27-28 April 2019

CANCELLED FOR THIS WEEKEND

DUE TO ADVERSE FORECAST WARNING

The Class Association are working with Mulingar Sailing Club to arrange an alternative weekend to run the event.  The Committee had looked at moving to next weekend but with the proximity to both the Munsters (Cullaun) and Ulsters (Lough Foyle) it was felt it would have a detrimental impact on all events. Running a Sunday only event was also considered but for a number of reasons looking to an alternative weekend in the season was viewed as more appropriate.

GP14 O'Tiarnaigh Challenge

(Mullingar Sailing Club)

27-28 April 2019

Less than a week now  to go to the first event of our season.

The event will have a revised format from previous seasons. This has been done to try and ensure all racers get as much racing as possible as well as ensuring we have a result in the event we lose a day of racing due to weather. Details will be outlined in the SI's.

31 Entries

With 3 Months to go to the

GP14 Leinster Championship

Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta (July 12-14)

2019 E Howard Davis & Craftinsure Youth Training - July 28 - August 2

Duffin Marine - Has a new email address:

2019 Events

2018 Hot Toddy

Newtownards Sailing Club

13-14 Oct

From Michael Cox (Newtownards Sailing Club):

Event reports are written by the helm or crew of the 3rd placed boat.

Mullingar - GP14 Autumn Open and Youths

15-16 Sep

From Michael Collender (Fleet captain, Mullingar Sailing Club):

The next event of the season is scheduled for Mullingar Sailing Club. Come to Mullingar and to make this the biggest event of the season.  We are in a central location, the lake offers a really good sailing area - we can get on the water when nobody else can. Sailing area is 5 minutes from slipway - not an hour!  Dinner & the few drinks are in the centre of Mullingar, so no freezing outside the clubhouse. Convinced - great - we want you in Mullingar for this big fleet event - we guarantee at least 6 boats from the Club.

Important news - venue change for Autumn Open and Youths

Dates remain the same - 15-16 Sep

It will now be held in Mullingar and no longer Blessington.

The water levels in Blessington are too low to hold the event.

Thanks to Mullingar for stepping in at short notice.