Solo Sailing and Circumavigation News
Galway sailmaker Yannick Lemnnier finished the Eurochef MinisTransat yesterday (Monday) in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe at 20:37:47 UTC in 16th place in the Proto Division in his 2004-vintage Manuard design Port of Galway tracker here To achieve this, he overcame a dismasting…
Ireland's Jim Schofield & Inaugural Globe 5.80 Transat Fleet to Depart on Wednesday, One Day Earlier Than Scheduled
16th November 2021 Solo Sailing
Due to a weak weather forecast for the scheduled start on November 18th, the Race Director and the five remaining entrants of the inaugural Globe 5.80 Transat including Irish solo sailor Jim Schofield have agreed to move the start date…
Galway’s Yannick Lemonnier Holding Position Towards Finish of MiniTransat 2021
14th November 2021 Solo Sailing
Pierre Le Roy’s super-scow Teamwork finished the MiniTransat 2021 in Guadeloupe on track on Friday with a good lead on the water of almost 12 hours from Fabio Muzzolini, and at noon Sunday the first seven boats of the Proto…
Ireland's Jim Schofield Ready for 3,000 Mile Trip to Antigua in Globe 5.80 Transat
14th November 2021 Solo Sailing
The six solo sailors entered in the first edition of the Globe 5.80 Transat as launched by Don McIntyre (who is racing) arrived in Lanzarote at the end of the first stage from Lagos, the Swiss Etienne Messikommer won. The…
Mini Transat Leader 200 Miles From Finish, While Port of Galway Is 17th
11th November 2021 Solo Sailing
Pierre Le Roy sailing the uber-scow Teamwork has a good lead in the Euorochef Minitransat 2021 as he closes towards the finish at Saint-Francois in Guadeloupe 200 miles away, where he is expected to cross the line tomorrow (Friday) evening.…
Irish Solo Sailor Jim Schofield Will Start Late as Adventure Globe 5.80 Transat Race for Amateur Built Minis Gets Underway
2nd November 2021 Solo Sailing
A group of six Class Globe 5.80 home-built plywood Minis are making history with the first-ever single-handed Globe 5.80 Transat Race setting off at noon yesterday from Lagos Portugal. They are bound for Rubicon Marina in Lanzarote in the Canaries…
Port of Galway's Yannick Lemonnier is Lying 12th & Bound for the West Indies in Mini Transat Race
1st November 2021 Solo Sailing
As planned, the second leg of the 23rd Mini Transat EuroChef kicked off Friday and Ireland's only entry in the solo sailing race is lying 12th in the Proto division. As reported earlier, Galway Franco-Irish sailmaker Yannick Lemonnier, racing Port of Galway,…
Start of McIntyre Adventure Globe 5.80 Transat Delayed For 24 hours To Welcome Irish Entrant
30th October 2021 Solo Sailing
The McIntyre Globe 5.80 design was created by Australian voyager and adventurer Don McIntyre to bring Mini Transat-style campaigning within the reach of independent sailors with minimal resources. Photographer Jim Schofield (57) of Blessington in County Wicklow - a member…
Yannick Lemonnier's 'Port of Galway' Prepares for MiniTransat 2021 Second Stage on Friday with 87 Boats Still in the Race
28th October 2021 Solo Sailing
Despite being battered by storms and whales off northwest Spain, 87 boats of the originally 90-strong fleet which started from France in the Eurochef Minitransat 2021 completed the first stage to La Palma in the Canary Islands. There, life was…
Kerry Solo Sailor Peter Lawless Will Try Again to Sail Around the World Non-Stop
27th October 2021 Tom MacSweeney
Disappointment is always hard to take, but Peter Lawless is determined, even though he has, this time, failed in his ambition to become the first Irishman to sail around the world non-stop. The Kerry solo sailor left Kilrush Marina in…
Galway Solo sailor Yannick Lemonnier Finishes First Stage Mini-Transat In 16th Place
9th October 2021 Solo Sailing
Solo sailor Yannick Lemonnier racing Port of Galway finished the first stage of the Eurochef MiniTransat 2021 at 16th in class this afternoon (Saturday) at Palme in the western Canaries, having moved up a couple of places during the final…
The Minis Transat fleet was emphatically divided by hundreds of miles when the leaders managed to get themselves well south past Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain before ferocious weather and aggressive killer whales forced a significant section of the fleet…
While everyone else was staring goggle-eyed at rapidly-changing and decidedly hostile weather charts last Thursday, and wondering whether the weekend's racing was going to be possible at all, in typical style the always-amazing Gary MacMahon was at sea off our…
Galway’s Mini-Transat Boat Battered into Spanish Shelter by Wind, Waves & Whales
3rd October 2021 Solo Sailing
While the leading boats in the fleet of 90 racing the Mini Transat 2021 are now passing Madeira and well on their way to their planned stopover in the Canaries (where they may well find that volcanic activity interferes with…
Tom Dolan is Afloat.ie "Sailor of the Month (Offshore)" for September
1st October 2021 Sailor of the Month
The exceptionally-demanding final 642-mile stage of La Solitaire du Figaro 2021 took the 34-strong fleet from Morlaix in Brittany northwest round the Fastnet Rock, and then southeast to the finish at Saint-Nazaire on France's Biscay Coast. After three frustrating stages,…
Galway Bay's Solo Sailor Yannick Lemonnier Lying 15th in Mini Transat First Leg
30th September 2021 Solo Sailing
Galway solo sailor Yannick Lemonnier is in 15th place in the 25-boat Proto division on the first stage of the Mini Transat Race. Lemonnier, the only Irish competitor, is 85-miles behind leader Perre Le Roy in a leg that has…