GP14 Scottish Championship 2025 at Castle Semple Sailing Club
by Stephen Harrison 30 Sep 2025 05:34 PDT
6-7 September 2025
GP14 Scottish Championship at Castle Semple © Joe Reilly
The 2025 GP14 Scottish Championship took place at Castle Semple Sailing Club, SW of Glasgow, over the weekend of 6-7 September 2025. It was a small gathering of seven boats, but this did not dampen any enthusiasm, and meant that all sailors (and some additions) could gather around a single long table for dinner on Saturday night, exchanging anecdotes, jokes, and (occasional) tips.
As well as some regular attenders, the event saw the return of one old GP14 hand (Peter Collings), ably crewed by no less than Ann Penny, returning Champion Andy Smith and Ali Rimmer, and by local father and son team, Donnie and Kye Gillies. The fleet also welcomed Jules Whitstone, CSSC Commodore, crewing for Paul O'Neill.
Saturday's winds were lighter than expected, but still relatively strong, and the class enjoyed three traditional 'Olympic' style races, with not all competitors chancing spinnakers on the first, close reach. After the first race, Andy and Ali dominated the results, but there was considerable chopping and changing throughout the day, up and down the fleet, as strong gusts put boats through their paces.
Even stronger winds were forecast for Sunday and some boats switched to older sails in anticipation, but in the end, the winds were surprisingly light, with some disconcerting calm patches which led to a lot of place-changing, in some cases from end to end of the fleet - sadly, not always in the preferred direction. Andy and Ali continued to dominate the results, closely followed by Donnie and Kye, while Arthur and Iain (CSSC) and Alan and Sue (Bassenthwaite) continued their long-standing close rivalry.
An informal race for 'best Irish boat' (or at least helm) was convincingly won by Peter, while sea-based sailors Stephen and David, at the back of the fleet learned some 'interesting' lessons about inland sailing, particularly the effect of weed on foils.
In the end, Arthur and Iain beat Sue and Alan to third place by the narrowest of margins. Donnie and Kye had a triumphant first Championship, winning second place overall, despite having misread the SIs in the first race. In the end, however, it was Andy and Ali who were triumphant, returning across the border with a not-insignificant set of trophies, including a number of individual race wins.
The event also brought the 2025 Scottish and Borders Bell Travellers' Series to a conclusion. Super-friendly banter and rivalry ran through all four events (Derwent, Bassenthwaite, Largs and Castle Semple), with three events required to qualify. This year, third place went to Stephen Harrison and David McFadyen from Largs SC. Alan Jones and Sue Watson from Bassenthwaite, having won the previous four Travellers' series, were knocked into second place by the home team of Arthur Logan and Iain Hardy from Castle Semple.
More interest has been expressed in travelling for next year, and dates are already being discussed. We are already looking forward to more friendly competition, and would encourage anyone racing at any level to consider participating.
Overall Results:
| A | Nat | Sail No | Helm | Crew | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1st | ENG | 14296 | Andy Smith | Ali Rimmer | ‑3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ‑2 | 1 | 4 |
| 2n | SCO | 13140 | Donnie Gillies | Kye Gillies | DNF | 2 | ‑3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| 3rd | SCO | 14056 | Arthur Logan | lain Hardy | 1 | 4 | 2 | ‑5 | ‑7 | 3 | 10 |
| 4th | ENG | 14206 | Alan Jones | Sue Watson | 2 | 3 | ‑4 | 2 | 3 | ‑4 | 10 |
| 5th | IRL | 13460 | Peter Collings | Ann Penny | 4 | ‑6 | ‑7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| 6th | SCO | 13872 | Paul O'Neill | Jules Whitstone | 5 | 5 | 5 | ‑6 | 5 | ‑6 | 20 |
| 7th | IRI | 13791 | Stenhen Harrison | David McEadven | DNF | ‑7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 |