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Tom Dolan, Solo Sailor
For the Grand Ouest Trophy race, Tom Dolan (right) will resume his partnership with the young French co-skipper Paul Morvan, whom he sailed with on the Laura Vergne Trophy race earlier in the season, finishing in fourth place
At 735 nautical miles long, the Banque Populaire Grand Ouest Trophy race, which starts Saturday at 1300hrs local time, is one of the most extended offshore courses of the 2024 season for Ireland’s Tom Dolan. For the double-handed course, which…
Ireland’s Tom Dolan is back among the front runners with sixth place overall at Solo Maître Coq, a repeat of last year’s result
Irish sailor Tom Dolan has once again proven his worth among the best offshore racers in the world with an impressive sixth-place finish in the Solo Maître Coq. The gruelling 390-mile solo offshore race, which finished in Les Sables d'Olonne…
Irish offshore solo sailor Tom Dolan competing in the 2024 Solo Maître CoQ
Irish offshore solo sailor Tom Dolan is currently sitting in 14th place (results downloadable below as a pdf) from 34 starters at the Solo Maître CoQ Figaro circuit event in France’s Vendée region. Dolan expressed his 'frustration' after the second…
Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan will compete out of Les Sables d’Olonne in the Solo Maître CoQ
From Tuesday until Saturday Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan will compete out of Les Sables d’Olonne in the Solo Maître CoQ, the second of five events counting for the 2024 French Elite Offshore Racing Championship. “The crewed transatlantic race was a…
Difficult Transatlantic race - Tom Dolan (right) was part of a three-strong international crew, skippered by top Figaro racer Gildas Mahé (centre). The team also included young Spanish racer Pep Costa
Irish skipper Tom Dolan is gearing up for his next challenge, the Solo Maître CoQ race, after finishing fourth in the new 3,430 miles Niji40 Class40 race between Belle-Ile-en-Mer, France and Marie-Galante Gaudeloupe. The 21st edition of the Solo Maître…
Tom Dolan (right) is a key member of a three-strong international crew, skippered by top Figaro racer Gildas Mahé (centre). The team, which also includes young Spanish racer Pep Costa, will compete in a 3,430 nautical mile Transatlantic course from the French Atlantic coast to reach Marie-Galante off the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe
Irish offshore solo racer Tom Dolan is taking advantage of a break in the Figaro circuit to participate in a new crewed Class40 race - the Niji 40. Dolan is a key member of a three-strong international crew, skippered by…
Irish sailor Tom Dolan (pictured) and his French co-skipper Paul Morvan were fourth in France's Laura Vergne Trophy
Irish sailor Tom Dolan and his French co-skipper Paul Morvan secured a commendable fourth-place finish in the Laura Vergne Trophy following a 270-mile offshore race that ended on Monday. Dolan and Morvan, who sailed Dolan’s Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan, held their own…
Tom Dolan (left) and Paul Morvan will compete in the Laura Vergne Trophy Offshore Race
Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan is all set to take part in the Laura Vergne Trophy offshore race, which is a part of the 2024 French Elite Offshore Racing Championship. The event is named in memory of Laura Vergne, who…
Tom Dolan overcame a torn spinnaker to finish in 11th place on the 370-mile offshore race of the Solo Guy Cotten-Concarneau, the Irish solo skipper’s first offshore race of the 2024 season. The spinnaker tear happened within the first couple…
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan: “Staying fresh, hungry and focused are my targets this season.”
Irish solo offshore sailor, Tom Dolan, is starting his 2024 racing season with a new approach. Rather than spending most of his time on the water, the skipper of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan has prioritised his physical and mental preparation. Dolan is…
Irish Figaro star Tom Dolan will screen a documentary on his sailing record attempts Round Ireland this St. Patrick's weekend in Paris
Renowned Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan is set to showcase his upcoming documentary "Around my Island" this St. Patrick's weekend at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris. The documentary focuses on Dolan's record-breaking attempts to sail solo around Ireland's coastline.…
Tom Dolan sets out on his Round Ireland Speed Challenge  from Dublin Bay on October 29th
Tom Dolan halted his latest Round Ireland speed challenge on October 31st due to worsening weather forecasts off the South and Southwest coast. It was a disappointing decision for him and his team and a great many readers who had…
Tom Dolan's second Round Ireland Speed Record attempt has ended off the County Kerry coast due to a worsening weather forecast
Tom Dolan's second attempt at a Round Ireland speed record has ended off County Kerry, at the end of his second day at sea (Tuesday) because of the imminent arrival of Storm Ciaran off the southwest coast.  Tonight, Dolan is…
On Tuesday morning, Tom Dolan sailed on to windward towards the Clare coast, and is now well southwest of the Aran Islands, making about six knots on a track which, at 0800hrs, was headed towards Kilkee
Tuesday morning 0815 hrs -  As he expected, Tom Dolan, with his Figaro 3 Smurfit-Kappa Kingspan, is finding the challenge of getting past the majestic southwestern seaboard of Kerry and West Cork the most demanding part of his current Round Ireland…
Tom Dolan, with his onboard media man Andrew Smith, filming to leeward, breezed through the North Channel and will be in Northwest May within 24 hours of leaving Dublin Bay in his latest Round Ireland challenge
Monday 4pm - Wind conditions with strong easterlies, "enhanced" by dense air, have been so favourable and powerful for Tom Dolan's anti-clockwise Round Ireland challenge that he has been able to downgrade the significance of favourable tides. Having breezed through…
Tom Dolan waves goodbye as he embarks on his Round Ireland Record Speed Challenge off the Kish lighthouse on Dublin Bay at 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 29th
Monday 0900am - After 17 hours at sea, Tom Dolan is making strong progress off the Donegal Coast on Bank Holiday Monday morning, having departed Dublin Bay just before 4 pm yesterday in a northabout bid to break the solo and double-handed…

Tom Dolan, Solo Offshore Sailor

Even when County Meath solo sailor Tom Dolan had been down the numbers in the early stages of the four-stage 2,000 mile 2020 Figaro Race, Dolan and his boat were soon eating their way up through the fleet in any situation which demanded difficult tactical decisions.

His fifth overall at the finish – the highest-placed non-French sailor and winner of the Vivi Cup – had him right among the international elite in one of 2020's few major events.

The 33-year-old who has lived in Concarneau, Brittany since 2009 but grew up on a farm in rural County Meath came into the gruelling four-stage race aiming to get into the top half of the fleet and to underline his potential to Irish sailing administrators considering the selection process for the 2024 Olympic Mixed Double Offshore category which comes in for the Paris games.