Solo Sailing and Circumavigation News
Tom Dolan of County Meath is “Sailor of the Month” (International Offshore) for August
1st September 2023 Sailor of the Month
The rise in the international solo offshore sailing reputation of Tom Dolan, who has been known to describe himself as “an escaped farmboy from north Meath”, has been one of the great Irish sailing sagas of our time. For more…
Solo Sailor Tom Dolan is Recharging For The Next Leg of the Figaro Race
31st August 2023 Tom MacSweeney
Solo sailor Tom Dolan was fairly tired when I talked to him at Kinsale Yacht Club after he had finished second in the first leg of this year’s Figaro Race, sailing Smurfit Kappa into Kinsale with a 14-minute advantage over…
Ireland's Tom Dolan Claims Second in Race to Kinsale After Exciting Figaro Leg One Finish
31st August 2023 Figaro
Ireland's Tom Dolan took a career-high second place this morning, sailing into Kinsale to complete the first 610-mile leg of the La Solitaire du Figaro Race. After rounding the Fastnet Rock, Dolan finished at 08.18 hours into a drizzly Kinsale…
Irish sailor Tom Dolan is on track for his career-best stage finish as he secures second place in Stage 1 of La Solitaire du Figaro on Thursday morning. Race rookies and top international solo skippers are giving the top favourites…
With 152 miles to the finish line of leg one at Kinsale, Ireland's Tom Dolan leads the Solitaire du Figaro race on Wednesday morning (0630 hrs) as the fleet races across the Celtic Sea. Land's End, which the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec…
Tom Dolan Lying Sixth in Solitaire du Figaro for Race Across the Celtic Sea to Kinsale
29th August 2023 Figaro
Tom Dolan of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan is making his mark in the Solitaire du Figaro ace as he positions himself to the west alongside leader Basil Bourgnon of Edenred. Dolan is currently in sixth place and well-prepared for racing across the…
Irish Solo Sailor Tom Dolan Lying Fourth in La Solitaire du Figaro Race to Kinsale
28th August 2023 Tom Dolan
Irish sailor Tom Dolan is currently in fourth place on the second day of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro race, which is taking place in France. Dolan, who is representing Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan, had a strong and safe start to…
The 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, a renowned solo sailing race, kicked off its first stage today at Ouistreham beach off Caen on France's Normandy coast. The 32 solo skippers were given a purposeful but relatively straightforward start on…
Ireland’s Tom Dolan And Figaro Fleet Start 54th Annual Solo Contest Towards Kinsale on Sunday
26th August 2023 W M Nixon
The Solitaire du Figaro has been a significant feature of the European sailing scene for 54 years now, and today it is well established as La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, supported by the 1985-founded French re-cycling and green energy conglomerate.…
Rested Tom Dolan Aims to Improve on His Fifth Overall in La Solitaire du Figaro
23rd August 2023 Tom Dolan
Irish skipper, Tom Dolan is gearing up for the La Solitaire du Figaro solo offshore race, which starts on Sunday from Caen, Normandy and heads to Piriac-sur-mer via stops in Kinsale, County Cork in his native Ireland and Roscoff in…
Two Solo Sailors Rescued By RNLI Dunmore East Crew in Separate Incidents
18th August 2023 RNLI Lifeboats
Dunmore East RNLI lifeboat crew called out twice yesterday (17 August) to assist two solo sailors who were part of the qualifying stages for a long-distance solo race. Each sailor was piloting their own 6m sail-only vessels and had intended…
Tom Dolan, the Irish solo skipper of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan, is gearing up for the upcoming 54th edition of the Solitaire du Figaro. With only 20 days remaining until the race, Dolan is devoting all his time to final preparations. The…
Tom Dolan Secures 12th Place Finish in Solo Concarneau Before August's Figaro Race
28th July 2023 Tom Dolan
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan achieved a tenth-place finish on the 395-mile offshore race of the event, which took place on Friday afternoon. After two days of inshore races, Dolan recovered from a disappointing start to the offshore race and…
After a series of mainly double-handed and crewed races so far this season, Irish sailor Tom Dolan returns to solo racing mode this week when he takes on the 47th edition of the Solo Guy Cotten – Concarneau against high-calibre…
Conor O'Brien 'Saoirse' Rally Hailed a Success as Fleet Prepare to Depart Madeira
17th July 2023 Conor O'Brien
The centenary international Irish sailing event called the ‘Saoirse Rally’ has come to a successful end on the 8th of July 2023 after a series of celebrations hosted in Funchal, Madeira by the Clube Naval de Funchal, Madeira Tourism Board…
Conor O’Brien Two Year Saoirse Circumnavigation Centenary Celebration Now Well Under Way
11th July 2023 Conor O'Brien
A hundred years ago on this day, Conor O’Brien of Limerick’s 42ft own-designed ketch - newly-built by Tom Moynihan of Baltimore with some of the West Cork shipwright’s small but very effective hull shape improvements - was well into a…