GP14 Nationals at Llandudno Sailing Club

Racing during the GP14 nationals at Llandudno © Andy Bury

Matt Mee and Chris Robinson win the GP14 nationals at Llandudno © Andy Bury

Over 100 GP14 sailors descended on Llandudno last weekend (3-5 July) for the annual UK GP14 National Championship.

On Friday morning as sailors made final preparations to their boats, the looming grey clouds and drizzle predicted by the forecast did little to dampen spirits. As competitors launched it was already starting to clear and the breeze was building nicely, promising an exciting afternoon’s sailing.

A number of capsized boats in the pre-start outlined the challenge that lay ahead for some. The practice race gave competitors who had not taken part in a gate start (or for whom it had been a while) a chance to reacquaint themselves with this style of starting. However, after taking the chance to acclimatise to the conditions the fleet elected en-mass to sail only the first lap and save their energy for the main event.

Race 1 set the tone for the weekend with close racing from start to finish. Beating towards the Llandudno coastline current GP14 World Champions Ian Dobson and Andy Tunnicliffe and Skandia Team GBR sailor Matt Mee, crewed by Chris Robinson set the early pace.

The course for this year’s nationals was a beat, run, triangle, beat to finish in preference to the usual triangle sausage, an indication of the continuing effort of the GP14 Class to move with the times and adopt more current styles of racing format.

At the end of the first run, it was Mee/Robinson who took the lead into the second beat, followed by Dobson/Tunnicliffe; positions they held to the finish. Not far behind the battle was tight as boats screamed down the three sail reach to the final mark, third place being taken by Simon Potts and Drew Nickless of Chase Sailing Club. Simon, more used to crewing a GP14 for Richard Estaugh (sadly missed at this year’s Championship) was showing he can also be a dab hand at the blunt end.

Race 2 got underway without too much delay and some signs that the breeze may be lessening. It was still plenty enough though for fleet heavyweights Carl Jeffs/Jim Toothill to come to the fore in a challenge to Mee/Robinson who were again at the front and suggesting they were the team to be reckoned with this weekend. A number of unusal errors from Dobson/Tunnicliffe saw their early challenge dissipate and they must have lost count of the number of penalty turns they completed! Mee/Robinson took line honours from Jeffs/Toothill, whilst former GP14 World and National Champion Ian Southworth returning to the boat after a long leave of absence, with crew Dave Hayes, took third.

A well earned rest ensued as the fleet headed for home and the disappointment of watching Andy Murray’s Wimbledon run come to an end. Mee/Robinson had a clear overnight lead, but there was still much to play for.

Saturday morning saw competitors launch to a weakening breeze and by the time most reached the race area they were being swept quickly to Anglesey on the ebbing tide. Racing was postponed whilst boats fought to stay up-tide, the lucky ones anchoring to the committee boat or the nearest course mark. Lunches were broken into early and ribs helped to ensure everyone stayed close by.

Eventually the wind settled from the South East, a course was quickly laid and racing got underway. It soon became apparent that those out of the gate early were sitting pretty as the long starboard tack saw them swept up to the mark. Those starting later had overstood and would loose out. Mee/Robinson, followed by Southworth/Hayes, Justin Jones/Lucy Evans and Potts/Nickless took full advantage and sailed to first, second, third and fourth respectively. More importantly they managed to finish on the last puff of pressure before the breeze shut off almost entirely and upset positions amongst the ensuing fleet who were once again struggling against the ebbing tide.

Despite sailing around for the afternoon in the pleasant back drop of Llandudno Bay and the summer sunshine, after a number of attempted starts it was apparent that the breeze was now too unstable to complete any more races. The fleet headed home for a fantastic BBQ, disco and night of catching up with friends.

Sunday morning dawned to a light South Easterly breeze and an earlier start. PRO Paul Moreton and his team were determined to get in three races and consequently there was still much to fight for. In the pre-start the breeze built steadily. Dobson/Tunnicliffe showed they were determined to finally make their mark on the Championship and sailed to victory. A penalty by Mee/Robinson at the penultimate mark saw them drop from second to fourth, whilst Southworth/Hayes finished second from Potts/Nickless.

A number of competitors struggled to make the start of Race 5, apparently pushed back by the tide. The leaders converged on the windward mark from both the left and right hand side of the beat. Mee/Robinson were again amongst the leaders, together with Dobson/Tunnicliffe. Realising the need to keep their chances of Championship success alive, Dobson/Tunnicliffe attempted to sail Mee/Robinson outside the top positions, however whilst Tim Jones/Christian Birrell took the race win, Mee/Robinson’s second place was enough to secure the 2009 UK National Champion crown and an early shower.

For some time it looked as though no more racing would take place as the gradient wind seemed to be failing against an attempted sea breeze. However, no-one wanted to loose any more racing and the persistence of the Race Team and competitors paid off as Race 6 got underway. Dobson/Tunnicliffe sailed into an early lead and took the bullet, thwarting the huge shifts in wind direction that caused much place changing behind. As beats became reaches and reaches became beats sailors did their best to hold on to positions. Mike Senior/Luke Shaw moved from second to third ahead of Dave/Jackie Gebard on the second beat (or was it a reach) and managed to hold that position on the final beat (or was it a reach). This meant Dobson/Tunnicliffe had secured second overall in the Championship, a great recovery after a disappointing first two days by their standards, ahead of Southworth/Hayes whose return saw them take the final spot on the podium.

Picking up their prize, Mee and Robinson fittingly shared the winners speech, both thanking Llandudno Sailing Club and the GP14 Association for putting on a great event.

Overall Results:
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