GP14 Leinster Championship at the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta

by David Johnston 14 Jul 2015 17:52 BST 10-12 July 2015

With the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta running this year, the GP14 class were invited to compete in addition to 30 other classes that also included 8 other dinghy fleets. To make the event that extra bit special it was decided to make it our Leinster Championships. The GP14 fleet was one of the largest classes in the regatta and the whopping 35 boat entry had some notable names including two former Olympic sailors and the current world champion crew, Andy Tunnicliffe. From the outset, it promised for an exciting event with some fabulous racing.

Day 1 for the GP14 class was Friday the 10th July. After some spine tingling stories of demasted cruisers from the day before, it was fair to say nerves were tense for some competitors. Racing was postponed for 2 hours as the race committee waited for the heavy winds to abate. A quick run to the shops to stock up on food was welcomed by everybody. As the winds started to calm the sailors prepared for the inevitable launch and tough races. The race area was moved to the Salthill race course for the day. With Flying 15s and Squibs starting before the GP14's, the competition had well and truly heated up and there was a general recall on the first GP14 start. Eventually though we were underway and after a tough upwind leg Niall Henry & Ossian Gerraghty rounded the weather mark in first chased closely by Alan Blay & David Johnston. It was the Blay/Johnston team who managed to claim 1st followed by the McGuinness brothers and Ger Owens sailing with stand-in crew Max Treacy. Race 2 got off to a much smoother start with current world champion Andy Tunnicliffe and crew Lee Tennant grabbing the top spot. Race 3, and final race of the day went to Ger & Max who after a fine performance throughout the day, scoring a 3rd, 2nd, 1st were the overnight leaders.

Day 2 of the Volvo Regatta started off with some confused faces as a quick look at the results from the previous day made for some interesting reading. Fortunately all queries were sorted out quickly. After reaching the race area out by South Bull the racing was underway shortly. Race 4 went the way of GP veteran Curly Morris and crew Laura McFarland pursued by Ger Owens & Melanie Morris. Race 5 was taken by Alan & David earning their second race win of the event. Shane McCarthy & Andy Thompson made their presence known by knocking in a 2nd in race 5 and followed that up with a 1st in race 6.

The final day of this event was greeted with calmer winds but tired legs. Arriving to the race area with a wide range of boats including J24s, SB20s, Flying 15s, Squibs, and Wayfarers, the starting area was packed. Ger & Melanie went into the final day with 5 point lead over 2nd placed Andy & Lee and 3rd place Alan & David a further 3 points back. The Blay/Johnston team snatched their 3rd bullet in race 7 to keep their hopes alive. Little however could be done to stop Ger & Melanie following up with a 2nd. The final race of the event still provided a glimmer of hope to catch the leaders. Alan & David and Ger & Melanie raced right to the end and crossed the finish line within 2 boat lengths of each other. It was Alan & David who came out on top but it still wouldn't be enough to topple the former olympian from the top spot. Sailing in and it appeared that Ger & Melanie would be crowned champions, with Alan & David 2nd and Andy & Lee 3rd. However ashore it had come to light that the Blay/Johnston team were OCS in the last race dropping them down to 3rd place overall, just one point behind Andy & Lee.

With a great event over and 8 fantastic races sailed, the Leinster championships went to Ger Owens & Melanie Morris deservedly. A notable mention however goes to the winners of the Bronze fleet, Gareth & Richie Gallagher, who were no pushovers slotting in plenty of top 5 scores and finishing in 6th position overall – an outstanding result. Everyone went home happy to have had such great racing and superb hospitality by the Royal St. George Yacht Club who kept us all well fed and well "hydrated" in the evenings. A great event enjoyed by all.

More Gareth Craig / www.fotosail.com photos can be found here.

Overall Results:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Fleet	Helm	Crew	Club	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	14076	True Belle	Gold	Gerard Owens	Melanie Morris	Royal St George YC/EABC	3	2	1	2	4	36	2	1	15
2	14036	No Name	Gold	Andy Tunnicliffe	Lee Tennant	Sligo Yacht Club	6	1	3	18	3	4	5	6	28
3	13977	Temerity	Gold	Alan Blay	David Johnston	Sutton Dinghy Club	1	6	5	7	1	8	1	36	29
4	14077	Trouble I've seen	Gold	Curly Morris	Laura McFarland	East Antrim Boat Club/	10	12	2	1	14	5	9	8	47
5	14143	No Name	Gold	John McGuinness	Donal McGuinness	Moville Boat Club	2	8	9	11	7	3	10	9	48
6	14080	Blueberry Muffin	Bronze	Gareth Gallagher	Richie Gallagher	Lough Foyle Yacht Club	8	14	4	5	13	12	4	3	49
7	13993	Daisychain	Gold	Niall Henry	Ossian Geraghty	Sligo Yacht Club	4	5	16	8	5	2	36	11	51
8	14127	Karma	Gold	Colm O'Flaherty	Joe Murray	Sligo Yacht Club	5	3	8	6	11	6	13	36	52
9	13915	Chi	Gold	Hugh Gill	Eanna Maloney‑Lawless	Sutton Dinghy Club	36	4	6	9	9	17	6	5	56
10	14144	No Surprise	Gold	Colman Grimes	David Lappin	Skerries Sailing Club	7	10	13	14	6	7	14	12	69
11	14055	No Name	Gold	Keith Louden	Alan Thompson	ISA	36	9	7	10	10	9	18	16	79
12	14074	No Name	Silver	Cathal Sheridan	David Cooke	Skerries Sailing Club	16	16	19	4	15	18	11	10	90
13	14116	No Name	Bronze	Peter Boyle	Stephen Boyle	Sutton Dinghy Club	36	11	10	23	12	15	12	7	90
14	13981	Cloud 9	Gold	Richard Street	Simon Dick	Blessington Sailing Club	13	20	11	16	20	14	7	18	99
15	14158	No Name	Gold	Shane MacCarthy	Andy Thompson	Greystones Sailing Club	36	36	36	20	2	1	3	2	100
16	12403	No Name	Bronze	Alan Pinder	Kevin Hackett	Mullingar Sailing Club	12	17	14	3	18	23	23	13	100
17	13951	No Name	Silver	Katie Dwyer	Michelle Rowley	Sutton Dinghy Club	18	18	18	12	16	10	16	14	104
18	13882	Nevara	Bronze	Lawrence Baalham	Robert Richardson	Donaghadee Sailing Club	9	7	17	22	23	19	19	15	108
19	13207	"This one"	Bronze	Adrian Lee	Edward Coyne	Youghal sailing club	11	15	23	15	22	11	17	17	108
20	14040	Alkado	Silver	Bill Johnson	James Johnston	Lough Foyle Yacht Club	17	13	21	26	21	16	15	19	122
21	14142	No Name	Silver	Gerard Gilligan	Lucia Nicholson	Sligo Yacht Club	15	36	36	21	24	20	8	4	128
22	14138	No Name	Silver	Simon Cully	Libby Tierney	Blessington Sailing Club	36	19	12	19	8	13	21	36	128
23	13955	Quantum Shadow	Bronze	Simon Christopher Jeffery	Rebecca Jeffery	East Down Yacht Club	14	21	20	17	19	21	22	20	132
24	14061	No Name	Silver	Robert Lee	Mary Hogan	Greystones Sailing Club	22	24	15	13	17	22	20	36	133
25	13840	No Name	Bronze	James Hackett	Rosemary Hackett	Mullingar Sailing Club	20	23	36	29	29	24	24	22	171
26	13527	Kaya	Bronze	Cormac Meaney	Josh McCormick	Mullingar Sailing Club	21	25	26	27	26	36	25	21	171
27	13192	No Name	Bronze	Stephen Farrell	Kate Farrell	Howth Yacht Club	19	22	22	25	25	36	36	36	185
28	11060	Grasshopper	Bronze	Des MacMahon	Pat Biestly	Cullaun Sailing Club	23	27	27	28	28	36	27	25	185
29	14164	SDC	Bronze	Brenda Preston	Patricia Browne	Ballyronan Boat Club	24	28	24	24	27	36	36	36	199
30	14133	Kylie	Bronze	Jack Buttimer	Finn O'Brien	Youghal Sailing Club	36	26	25	36	36	36	26	24	209
31	13909	Syracuse	Bronze	Gerard Brady		Sligo Yacht Club	25	36	36	36	30	36	29	23	215
32	14165	Com‑a‑dee	Bronze	Neil Boyd	Ali Boyd	Donaghadee Sailing Club	36	36	36	36	36	36	28	26	234
33	1	TBA	Gold	Ruan O'Tiarnaigh	Niamh McCormick	Ballyholme Yacht Club	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	252
33	13759	No Name	Bronze	Seán Duffy	Kieran Millner	Mullingar Sailing Club	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	252
33	IRL12560	Au Naturel	Gold	Ross Killian	Rebecca Killian	ISA	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	36	252