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GP14 Leinster Championship at Skerries Sailing Club

by David Johnston 12 Jul 2018 13:31 BST 7-8 July 2018
GP14 Leinster Championship at Skerries © SSC

After many weeks of amazing summer weather, the GP14 Leinsters did not disappoint with Skerries producing a fantastic weekend sailing. With light winds forecasted all weekend the OD and his team had planned ahead to allow for four races to be sailed on the Saturday in preparation of very little wind on the Sunday. In the end it proved to be the right call.

Much to the appreciation of the fleet, gate starts were proposed for all races, as the Mounts Bay bound Irish contingent prepared for the 2018 World Championships. With only a handful of very late, barging boats, the gate starts worked very well. With many boats benefiting from the great coaching sessions organised by the class earlier in the year, these gate starts have become a lot less intimidating for sailors not as accustomed to them.

The racing was very tight as the results from day 1 would tell you, with four different race winners the championship was still well open going into Sunday. Shane Mac Carthy & Damien Bracken took first honours in race one followed closely by Ger Owens and Melanie Morris in 2nd and a great performance by youth helm Peter Boyle crewed by father Stephen taking third. Ger & Mel took first in race 2, Niall Henry & Oisin Geraghty taking first in race 3, and Alan Blay & David Johnston winning the last race of the day.

With only two points separating second and fourth place, and then a further three to first, the championship was wide open. Despite matching Ger & Mel with a second and first on the final day (with time to spare for Alan to answer the call from nature up the final beat), Alan & David had to settle for third overall as Shane & Damien had done enough with a 3 and 5 to earn them top spot and another Leinster Championship. Ger & Mel narrowly missing out by one point.

Thank you to all in Skerries Sailing Club for hosting such a fantastic event in testing conditions.

Overall Results: (with apologies to the hard-working crews who are not named)

PosSail NoFletOwnerR1R2R3R4R5R6Pts
114203GoldShane Mac Carthy13223511
214076GoldGer Owens21661212
314235GoldAlan Blay114512113
413993GoldNiall Henry102156620
514219GoldCurly Morris47484322
614180GoldAlastair Duffin859147433
714209Youth GoldGareth Gallagher7873141338
813917Youth SilverJosh Porter9131275841
914116Youth SilverPeter Boyle310139161045
1014214GoldKeith Louder14984102545
1114144GoldColman Grimes181731291253
1214225SilverCathal Sheridan1311161712759
1313888Youth SilverJames Hockley1216171081561
1414054SilverDoire Shiels15201411131164
154076SilverAlan Pinder6121515231967
1614105GoldKatie Dwyer561025242670
1713669GoldNorman Lee22141113182076
1814138SilverSimon Cully2021201623986
1913644BronzeStuart McCormick16152418152387
2013847BronzeNoel Clarke25251824111492
2114061BronzeMichael Collender17241921171892
2213840BronzeJames Hackett191921202121100
2314133Youth BronzeJack Buttimer241823232017101
2413624Youth SilverCiaran Keogh212225192224108
2513782SilverSimon Crowe232322221922108
2614247GoldJohn McGuinness282725262316117
2713890BronzeIan Fitzpatrick262725262426127

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