GP14 Ulster Championship at East Antrim Boat Club

Held over the weekend 1st & 2nd September on Larne Lough the 2012 Ulster Championship produced a series of races packed with excitement, a tinge of terror and a dead-heat for first place.

Hosted by East Antrim Boat Club the championship was scheduled for six races with Irish Olympian Ger Owens partnered as usual by local girl Melanie Morris defending the title against 42 other competitors.

Day one race one saw the expected forecast materialising. The capsize list grew. In the end it was the McGuiness brothers John & Donal who took the 50-year-old Belfast Telegraph trophy back to Moville in the county of Donegal. By the start of the second race the conditions blowing across Larne Lough were way ahead of the forecast. Wind speeds of some 28 knots were recorded. Race officer Richard Doig kept the show running to allow Shane McCarthy & Damian Bracken a white knuckle victory. With conditions worsening – wind speeds of plus 38 knots – the fleet made its dramatic dash for shore. Many crews displayed the tell-tale black (mud) mainsail top, and pale complexions! Safety Officer Stephen Craig and his team were at full stretch.

Sunday dawned with contrasting conditions. Although shifty the light South South West breeze held to allow a further three races to be sailed. The keen fleet encountered several general recalls and continually bunched up featuring an abundance of place changing.

However it was the Owens-Morris team who mastered the intricacies of this inland Irish Lough. They took three straight bullets! Their late late show resulted in a tie on overall points which was resolved on count-back. Owens & Morris had successfully defended their title to again accept the ancient and battered brass bell which was first presented to the class in 1953...

Running in tandem with the main championship was the 'masters' series. This was won by 68-year-old Curly Morris crewed as usual by Laura McFarland. Keen competition was also recorded within the Silver and Bronze fleets. Son and father Daniel & Hugh Gill from north Dublin's Sutton club took the silver league while Newtownard's Michael Cox & Joshua Porter won the bronze league.

Speaking at the slick prize-giving the GP14 Irish Association's new President Laurence Balham echoed Ger Owen's comments on the professionalism of East Antrim's organisation. He plied particular praise on the race committee's skill in completing the series in the most challenging of conditions.

Overall Results: