GP14 Ireland
Great video & drone footage from Barbados
GP14 World Champion is Welcomed Home At Dublin Airport
Stephen Boyle congratulates GP14 world champion Shane Mac Carthy.
Ireland's GP14 World Champion helmsman Shane MacCarthy, who now holds a unique triple crown of Irish, UK and World titles was welcomed home this afternoon by Irish class president Stephen Boyle.
Shane MacCarthy & Andy (Taxi) Davies are 2016 GP14 World Champions!!!
Monday 4 April - last day
All got a bit messy...
GP14 Irish Sailors @ Barbados World Championship
Sunday 3 April - Day 5 - Races 7 & 8
Lighter winds today but unfortunately that meant a lot more holes and huge shifts in the air.
Race 7 got under way on time but big shifts caused a bad bend and the gate was restarted. All clean away with Shane & Taxi battling for the lead which they eventually took giving us another new race winner!
2nd place was Graham Flynn & Adam Froggatt of Chase with a superb 3rd thrown in by Andrew Clewer & Mark Taylor of Poole YC. Dobson took 9th with Nick Craig seeing his not so b...est result of 11th.
Race 8 was started under very shifty conditions. So much so that the pathfinder Paul Owen & Sam Pickering of South Staffs were sent on the most massive header that the lined up fleet - who do know what they are doing - had to all go in reverse dramatically downwind to try to get behind the guard boat. Loads of boats were left floundering above the gate which then caused serious problems for those who had just about made it. The later gate starters (2mins+ gate left open for 3mins 30secs) were sunk. All sailed on up to the windward mark with many sailors flying red protest flags to protest the committee. A few rounded the windward mark and popped up their spinnakers when eventually (20mins later) the committee boat came up through the fleet and signalled for a restart!! Bit late considering the fleet had sailed the first full beat!
All took a bit of a while to get reassembled back down to the start line and we eventually got going again. Matt Burges & Paul Childs took the second win of the event followed by Shane & Taxi, with Iain Dobson & Andy Tunicliffe in 3rd.
On a lighter note top Irish crew Brendan Brogann sailing with top Irish helm Paddy O'Connor asked Paddy if they could practice a few capsizes as sailing with Timmy Corcoran gets very boring being upright all the time. Paddy kindly accepted this crew request and is pretty close to averaging 1 capsize per race regardless if the wind is heavy or light. Brendan Brogan is considering having a very serious conversation with Timmy back home in Sligo. ;-)))
Top Ten after 7 races. 1 more race result from today but haven't got the stats. 2 more races tomorrow
1st Shane McCarthy Andy Davies 3 3 (9) 3 2 4 1 (25) 16
2nd Nick Craig Tobytastic Lewis5 2 3 2 6 1 (11) (30) 19
3rd Ian Dobson Andy Tunnicliffe2 1 6 (106 DNF) 1 5 9 (130) 24
4th Mike Senior Chris White 7 4 5 1 4 3 (12) (36) 24
5th Matt Burge Paul Childs 1 5 8 11 7 2 (29) (63) 34
6th Sam Watson Andy Thompson 4 15 (25) 4 3 15 4 (70) 45
7th Richard Instone Jim Toothill 12 18 1 (42) 8 7 5 (93) 51
8th Graham Flynn Adam Froggatt 13 (30) 14 20 9 6 2 (94) 64
9th Neil Marsden Derek Hill 17 13 2 (33) 5 10 23 (103) 70
10th Gary Deighan Dale Knowles (28) 12 7 9 16 18 8 (98) 70
Keep an eye out here for further results http://www.gp14.org/barbados-results/
Friday 1 April - Day 4 - Races 5 & 6
Race 5 & 6 were sailed in only slightly less breeze than Race 4. Very tough conditions for all with only 77 boats choosing to launch. Dobson & Tunicliffe took their second race win in Race 5. Another new race winner for Race 6 taken by Nick Craig & Toby Lewis. Tight at the top 4 positions with only 4 points in it.
On Friday evening Gill Beddows & Beverley Hateley presented the goodies to the spot prize winners. Full listing here http://www.gp14.org/barbados-results/#priz...es.
The evening was then followed by a Bajan Night with local dancers and Limbo dancing. The rum punch flowed well afterwards and numbed the sore limbs and bruises.
Top 10
1st Nick Craig Tobytastic Lewis GBR Gold 5 2 3 2 (6) 1 19 13
2nd Ian Dobson Andy Tunnicliffe RWYC/ Burwain SC GBR Gold 2 1 6 (106 DNF) 1 5 121 15
3rd Shane McCarthy Andy Davies Greystones SC Ireland Gold 3 3 (9) 3 2 4 24 15
4th Mike Senior Chris White South Staffs SC GBR Gold (7) 4 5 1 4 3 24 17
5th Matt Burge Paul Childs Poole YC / Hayling Island SC GBR Gold 1 5 8 (11) 7 2 34 23
6th Sam Watson Andy Thompson Nantwich and Border SC / East Antrim BC Gold 4 15 (25) 4 3 15 66 41
7th Richard Instone Jim Toothill Blithfield SC GBR Gold 12 18 1 (42) 8 7 88 46
8th Neil Marsden Derek Hill Blackpool and Fleetwood SC GBR Gold 17 13 2 (33) 5 10 80 47
9th Dave Young Nicola Booth South Staffs SC GBR Gold 14 (16) 11 13 11 12 77 61
10th Graham Flynn Adam Froggatt Chase SC GBR Gold 13 (30) 14 20 9 6 92 62
Full results up on
http://www.gp14.org/…/20…/03/GP14-worlds-2016-races-1-6.html
Thursday 31 March - Day 3 - Race 4
Only 1 race, race 4, got sailed today - bloomin' windy in the West Indies!!! Gusting up to 30knots during the race.
Fleet battered their way up the first beat then the choice was on for mad enough to fly a kite or not. Mad enough was Paddy & Brendan who moved from 30th to 5th after the 2 reaches. Only to regret it on the way down the run when they just flew too close to the wind and had their kite burnt with a gust that put them in the drink.
The run down to the finish line saw big gusts hit the top end of the fleet and many capsized. The big swell made it difficult to get boats righted quickly so many top enders saw 20+ boats pass them before they could get going again.
Other technical failures unfortunately were with Dobson & Tunicliffe. Busted rudder early in the first race meant they had to abandon their race, dash to shore, get a replacement rudder and get out for the second race which did not happen.
Shane & Taxi on the other hand had a grand old day with another 3rd. Sam Watson & Andy Thompson bunged in a happy 4th - get it folks??!!
JP & Carolyn McCaldin worked their butts off and got a 5th - Carolyn has the bruises to prove it!
Keith Louden & Alan Thompson as pathfinder held their way and finished a great 6th.
Mike Senior & Chris White took race 4 - another new race winner!
After the last boat crossed the line the IOD signalled for the fleet to go ashore as the conditions were getting worse and the rescue boats were very stretched.
It was a tough day on the water but GP14ers still have a sense of humour when it comes to retiring reasons. Apart from the normal here are 2 craic'ers from race 4:
'Crew & helm frighten to death'
'Crew stolen by sea'
Race 4
1 GBR 14187 MIKE SENIOR CHRIS WHITE
2 GBR 14023 NICK CRAIG TOBY TASTIC LEWIS
3 1RL 14158 SHANE McCARTHY ANDY DAVIS
4 GBR 14194 SAM WATSON ANDY THOMPSON
5 IRL 14047 JP McCALDIN CAROLYN McCALDIN
6 IRL 14055 KEITH LOUDEN ALAN THOMPSON
7 GBR 14182 STEVE BENNETT JACK BENNET
8 GBR 14181 ANDY HATELEY BEN PICKERING
9 GBR 14091 GARY DEIGHAN DALE KNOWLES
10 GBR 14090 NEAL GIBSON GEOFF PHILLIPS
Race 1-4 provisional. http://www.gp14.org/…/20…/03/GP14-worlds-2016-races-1-4.html
No discard yet. Only kicks in on the 5th race.
Tuesday 29 March - Day 2 - Races 2 & 3
Very similar racing conditions - swelling sea, big gusts with oscillating winds. First gate start of race 2 had to be abandoned as the guard boat got 'stuck'. Pathfinder Norman Lee had to keep going through the fleet with no guard boat - he survived with no damage.
Didn't take too long to get going again. Ian Dobson & Andy Tunnicliffe took their first race of the
championship. Shane Mac Carthy & Andy Davies took another 3rd. Norman Lee & Kevin Martyn took an
excellent 6th.
Race 3 was again a bouncing start with Barbadians Jason Tindale & Robert Povey as pathfinder. The gate was stopped at bang on 3 minutes and closed at 4 leaving a few put out of the race and having to sail home early. Richard Instone & Jim Toothill had a terrible start having to go behind boats to get a gap into the gate. It forced them away from the fleet but happily onto a very sweet lift that put them in first position into the windward mark which they held to the finish. John & Donal McGuiness took a 4th which they are over the moon about as Donal's back was full of pain killers the day before. Shane & Andy took a 9th position leaving them 4th overall. Sam Watson & Andy Thompson did not have a good day at the office - back bung was left out!! Doh - a few choice words said but then mellowed later after a few Mount Gay rums were taken at the Mount Gay Museum.
Wednesday is the fleet's first lay day - yes there are 2 in this championship!! Sailors become tourists for the day. Next 2 races on Thursday.
Overall after 3 races:
1st Ian Dobson Andy Tunnicliffe 2 1 6 9
2nd Nick Craig Tobytastic Lewis 5 2 3 10
3rd Matt Burge Paul Childs 1 5 8 14
4th Shane McCarthy Andy Davies 3 3 9 15
5th Mike Senior Chris White 7 4 5 16
6th Richard Instone Jim Toothil 12 18 1 31
7th Neil Marsden Derek Hill 17 13 2 32
8th Dave Young Nicola Booth 14 16 11 41
9th Sam Thompson Leanne Hibberd 9 11 22 42
10th Sam Watson Andy Thompson 4 15 25 44
Full results up on http://www.gp14.org/…/20…/03/GP14-worlds-2016-races-1-3.html
Monday 28 March - Day 1 - Race 1
Day 1 - Race 1
1st Matt Burges
2nd Dobson & Tunicliff
3rd Shane & Taxi
4th Sam Watson & Andy Thompson
10th Norman Lee & Kevin Mertyn
16th Alan Blay & Liz Copland
18th Robert & Ross Gingles
19th John & Donal McGuiness
Shifty winds on the gate start caught out a number of late gaters. The pathfinder was lifted high after about 30 seconds of the gate opening and left half the fleet well behind the line. Conditions remained shifty and the large swell and chopped up water makes sailing conditions tricky. Large gusts can roll in very quickly and caught a few out and caused a number of capsizes. Righting the boats in the choppy water proves very tough and some take 20 minutes to get up again.
Conditions seem similar for the remaining of the week - it will be a bruising championship!
Official results now posted on org
http://www.gp14.org/barbados-results/
It has been another day with a few more broken rudders and a very unfortunate GP14 belonging to Frank Nickless had a race collision and took a large hole in the bow. His best mate however is fiberglass expert Andy Thompson who worked on it ashore and had a decent patch job done by dinner time.
Andy has also proved his worth with helping out Alan Blay & Liz Copland rigging a new mast for their boat after a bad incident in the beach rollers.
2016 GP14 World Chamionships Day 1 - Interview with Kevin Martyn Sligo YC
Sunday 27 March - Opening Ceremony
Barbados Yacht Club put on a fantastic evening for the GP14 2016 World Championship Opening Ceremony.
Saturday 26 March - Registration Day
All 44 Irish sailors have now arrived in Barbados via various routes. Some via Gatwick, others via Toronto. Some were badly delayed on Thursday as the Barbados air traffic controllers decided to go on strike. Delays were up to 6 hours long.
It was hot work getting the boats out of the containers and getting them rigged. All boats arrived in one piece with only minor damage to 1 GP14's deck. You can see Robert Gingles in one of the photos has got well into the Barbados swing of things and has taken a very laid back approach to rigging. Ross had to take over.
Many boats have hit the water. There are big rollers in and out of the water. 1 English boat got hit badly by a large roller on their launch and snapped their centre board in half. He had no spare board but as true to the friendliness of the GP14 fleet he had a spare given to him within the hour.
| Tally | Name | Club | Container # | Fleet |
| 1 | Tony Patterson | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.1 | Bronze |
| 9 | Ivan Heaney | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.2 | Bronze |
| 11 | James Ogg | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.3 | Bronze |
| 12 | Neil Boyd | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.4 | Bronze |
| 13 | Martin Dewes | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.5 | Bronze |
| 15 | Lawrence Baalham | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.6 | Silver |
| 23 | Steven Nelson | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.7 | Silver |
| 25 | Maurice Baalham | Donaghadee Sailing Club | 1.8 | Bronze |
| 19 | Brenda & Steve Preston | Ballyronan Boat Club | 1.9 | Bronze |
| 2 | Michael Cox | Newtownards Sailing Club | 2.1 | Silver |
| 3 | Brian Andrews | Newtownards Sailing Club | 2.2 | Bronze |
| 4 | Alan Blay | Sutton Dinghy Club | 2.3 | Silver |
| 18 | Robert Gingles | East Antrim Boat Club | 2.4 | Silver |
| 21 | Norman Lee | Greystones Sailing Club | 2.5 | Gold |
| 27 | Newenham de Cogan | Newtownards Sailing Club | 2.6 | Bronze |
| 5 | Curly Morris | Newtownards Sailing Club | 3.1 | Gold |
| 6 | JP McCaldin | Lough Erne Yacht Club | 3.2 | Gold |
| 8 | Shane McCarthy | Greystones Sailing Club | 3.3 | Gold |
| 10 | Keith Louden | TBC | 3.4 | Gold |
| 17 | Paddy O'Connor & Brendan Brogan | Sligo Sailing Club | 3.5 | Gold |
| 20 | Simon Cully | Blessington Sailing Club | 3.6 | Silver |
| 22 | Donal McGuinness | Moville Boat Club | 3.7 | Gold |
Your roving reporter hard at work!
Message from GP14 Irish President to Irish fleet in Barbados
Barbados Yacht Club, Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown will host the largest sailing championship held on the Caribbean Island to date when racing in the GP14 World Championship commences on Monday 28th March. 104 boats from around the world with entries from Barbados, Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Sri Lanka and Australia will compete over an eleven race series for the coveted title in this popular 14 foot international one design class.
President of the Barbados Sailing Association and event organizer, Gus Reader said:
“The fact that 104 of them will be taking part in the 2016 World Champion-ships speaks volumes about the enduring quality of this one-design class. With 104 entries, the GP14 World Championships is the largest sailing event we have held in Barbados, and this means 208 competitors, 186 support personnel and officials, which brings it to a total of over 400 visitors to Barbados for this event.”
The 23 crews who travelled from Ireland can expect superb sailing conditions with winds of 25 to 30 Kph and temperatures in the high 20’s forecast for the duration of the Championship.
The event has proved popular with the Irish fleet and with strong entries from the northern clubs including Donaghdee, Newtonards, Lough Foyle and East Antrim and Lough Erne Yacht Club.
Competition is expected to be as hot as the weather, as five times and reigning World Champions Iain Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe look to add a sixth title their record. The strong field also includes former World Champion Neil Marsden (2003) sailing with long time crew Derek Hill, Fireball World Champion and Endeavour Trophy (2014) winner Matt Budge and Graham Flynn and Adam Frogatt runners up in the 2015 UK Nationals.
Greystones sailor Shane McCarthy who holds the current UK and Irish Championship titles is expected to lead the charge of the Irish entries which includes John and Donal McGuiness of Moville Boat Club, Keith Louden and Alan Thompson, Curly Morris and Laura McFarland of Newtonards and Sutton Dinghy Clubs Alan Blay.
Larne native and Laura’s brother Andy Thompson, former World (2000) and reigning UK National crew and paired with Sam Watson second placed helm in the 2014 Worlds will also be expect to be in the mix come Monday 4th April.
Conditions are expected to suit Greystones Shane McCarthy who is on form having lifted both the UK Championship and Irish titles in 2015 – it was more than 50 years since the British title has been held by an Irish sailor. The next 10 days will determine if he can bring the World title back to Ireland for the first time since Mark and Paul Fekkes of Larne won in 1991. The task is not beyond him.
Best wishes to the entire Irish contingent - enjoy the sailing and the weather!
Stephen Boyle,
President, GP14 Association of Ireland.
GP14 Ireland Dates
Events & Venues
2025
Apr 12/13
O'Tiarnaigh Challenge
Royal North of Ireland YC
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May 17/18
Ulster Championship
East Antrim Boat Club
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Jun 7/8
Munster Championships
Cullaun Sailing Club
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Jun 19/20
75th Anniversary of GP14 Class
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Jul 12/13
Leinster Championship
Greystones Sailing Club
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Aug 1-8
British National Championships
Tenby, Wales
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Aug 22-24
Championship of Ireland
Rush Sailing Club
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Sep 13/14
Autumn Open & Youth Championships
Blessington Sailing Club
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Oct 18/19
Hot Toddy
Antrim Boat Club, Lough Neagh
Guidance for Operating Fleets and League[...]
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