Celebrating 60 yrs of the GP14

It was a lovely summer's evening on Friday, and immediately after we arrived we launched 'Aeolian' and went for a brief sail. It was only the second time it had been on water in 10 years. Having just rescued No. 28 a few weeks previously. I had managed to stem the flow of inward water only a little bit since its trial sail the previous weekend.

It was a great pleasure to be introduced to Searson Thompson; his company - Bell Woodworking - built most (possibly all) of the first GPs and also made kits available. His son Paul then tested them at Aberdovey in everything that the sea could throw at them. At age 99 he still takes a keen interest in both the club and the class and he remains a Trustee of the Club. He is probably the only person still alive who has been closely involved with the class since outset.

Despite singularly unattractive weather, we all then launched and enjoyed a good sail almost out to the bar and then returned to the club for lunch ashore. We did venture over the bar, but there was a big swell and generally quite lumpy. We were very conscious that we had a number of 60-year-old boats. In the afternoon, we went upriver as far as the depth of water permitted; the weekend was spring tides and we were approaching low water and the upper part of the estuary dries almost completely, but we still managed to get a reasonable distance before we ran out of water.

The GOM Review

Two visits - hosted by Dovey Yacht Club - excellent facilities and hosts - Up river, OK, but you tend to run out of time because of the tides. The bar at the mouth is brilliant. Beaches to the left and right can be difficult to land on as they face the prevailing winds and can have big waves. A good place for a weekend sail.