GP14 class release 75th Anniversary Book
by Ann Penny 19 Jul 2025 11:01 BST
GP14 class release 75th Anniversary Book © Ann Penny
From its concept in 1949, with prototypes taken to Dovey Sailing Club in Aberdovey, testing if the boat floated in the Dovey estuary, the book 75 YEARS ON THE WATER, shows that the class has not only a history but a future.
The official birthday when boat no.1 was launched by Howard Davies at Dovey Sailing Club, was the 17th June 1950; however by reading the book you will see from personal recollections Hayling Island is also mentioned, indeed possibly where the boat was trialled.
What we do know for certain is that the International GP14 Association was formed on the 11th November 1950, with membership subscriptions set at five shillings a year.
Who designed the boat? Why design such a boat? Well, that is down to a couple of key people. Group Captain Haylock, who at the time was editor of Yachting World and had the idea of a boat, so looked to his friend Jack Holt for the design. Simultaneously Howard Davies a member of Dovey Sailing Club was looking for a boat. Then the question was who was to build it? Dusty Pollock, an accomplished joiner, who had been building bee hives during the war, comes into the picture and boat building then started at Bell Woodworking.
Why the bell logo which still flies proudly on GP14 mainsails? Is it because of the initial boat builder or is it from the mythical bells of Aberdovey?
So, the first boats were built and Howard Davies ordered boat no.1, with Brigadier Palmer ordering boat no.2. (Which has recently been refurbished and sailed.)
By 1952, 50 clubs had adopted the GP14 Class. In 1956 regional championships started. Then in 1963 the Association created 8 championship areas. The general purpose boat had arrived and was proving also to be a great tactical racing boat, so much so that the first GP14 World Championship was held in 1967 at Stormont Yacht Club in Canada.
Discover who have been GP14 World Champions. Find out how their sailing journeys began and continue.
In the book you will also read about who has been allowed by the Association to use the intellectual property rights and moulds to manufacture GP14s - the boat builders.
This book has something for everyone, racers, cruisers, new sailors, youth sailors anyone who is interested in why this boat is where it is at today and what the future holds for the Class.
Sailors join for the boat but stay for the people.
The soft backed book is a limited edition, which not only covers the history of the development of the boat, but also those who have sailed a GP, the racers and the cruisers. It also looks to the future of the Class and the investment of the GP14 Association to its youths through subsidised training.
The book can be bought online from the International GP14 website at £25 plus p&p : gp14.org/product/book