Dún Laoghaire sailor Frank Cassidy has completed a 2,500-mile homecoming voyage from the Canary Islands aboard his Pacific Seacraft 40 Ocean Blue, bringing to a close a three-and-a-half-year Atlantic island odyssey covering almost 10,000 miles.
The National Yacht Club's Cassidy sailed home from Lanzarote via Madeira and the Azores, completing the first part single-handed before being joined by Damian Payne for the Atlantic passage from the Azores to Ireland. The summer passage was the final chapter of a much wider adventure that began when Cassidy left Dún Laoghaire shortly after his retirement three-and-a-half years ago.
His original outward voyage took him first to Flores, the most westerly of the Azorean islands, before heading east to Ponta Delgada on São Miguel and visiting other islands in the archipelago along the way.
From there, Ocean Blue sailed to Lisbon and subsequently overwintered in the Algarve.
The following spring, Cassidy headed south to Madeira and then to Rubicon Marina in Lanzarote, where Ocean Blue was based for two years. The Canary Islands base allowed further cruising around the archipelago, with La Gomera emerging as Cassidy's favourite.
Solo Passage From the Canaries
This summer's voyage home began in Lanzarote, with Cassidy sailing Ocean Blue single-handed to Madeira and then onwards to Ponta Delgada in the Azores.
The two legs amounted to approaching 1,000 miles.
The passage to Madeira was relatively straightforward, with mostly light winds, but the second leg to the Azores required a more tactical approach.
Cassidy sailed north for approximately two days to catch the back of a depression. The detour extended the distance but subsequently allowed Ocean Blue to make a fast and windy beam reach for the remaining three-and-a-half days into Ponta Delgada.
The principal problem on this section came when a large plastic bag became entangled around the yacht's propeller and rudder and had to be cut away.
Back on home waters: Frank Cassidy aboard Ocean Blue following his single-handed passage from the Canaries to the Azores and the subsequent voyage home to Ireland. Photo: Michael Chester
Payne Joins for Atlantic Passage
For the longer passage from the Azores to Ireland, Cassidy decided that 1,400 miles of Atlantic sailing was more than he wanted to undertake alone.
He was joined by Damian Payne, an experienced all-weather lifeboat navigator and helm who had also recently competed in the 2025/26 Clipper Race from the UK to Uruguay.
"It was an inspired decision as he proved to be a fine sailor and excellent companion," Cassidy said.
Cassidy and Payne covered approximately 1,150 miles from the Azores to Kinsale in eight-and-a-half days, a quick passage for the 40-footer.
Atlantic arrival: Frank Cassidy gives the thumbs-up alongside Damian Payne as Ocean Blue completes the final stages of her voyage home. Photo: Michael Chester
Although much of the crossing was relatively benign, the pair encountered more than three days of strong winds after finding themselves in the north-east quadrant of a depression moving at approximately the same speed as Ocean Blue.
"Some of the nights were a bit hair-raising, speeding into a windy and dark night with the waves on the beam, drenching, bashing and rolling the entire boat on occasion," Cassidy said.
Ocean Blue Built for Offshore Miles
Ocean Blue is a Pacific Seacraft 40, a Bill Crealock-designed medium-to-heavy displacement ocean cruiser with a cutter rig, occasionally supplemented by a spinnaker.
Notable features include her canoe stern, long keel, encapsulated propeller and heavy skeg-hung rudder — characteristics Cassidy values for offshore sailing.
He has owned the yacht for approximately 17 years and says reliability was a major reason for choosing her for extended Atlantic cruising.
"She may not always be fast, but she's generally quite comfortable and is so well specced very little, if anything, ever breaks at sea," he said.
For longer ocean passages, Cassidy equipped Ocean Blue with a Hydrovane mechanical self-steering system, upgraded electrical power including solar panels, and Iridium GO satellite communications with PredictWind for weather forecasting and routing.
Nearly there: Ocean Blue approaches the National Yacht Club pontoon in Dún Laoghaire, where family and friends were waiting to take her lines. Photo: Michael Chester
10,000 Miles Over Three-and-a-Half Years
Cassidy estimates that Ocean Blue covered between 9,500 and 10,000 miles during the three-and-a-half years away, taking account of the major passages and shorter voyages between the Atlantic islands.
Friends and family joined him for various parts of the wider adventure, including opportunities to make ocean passages with his children Grace and Hugh.
The final summer voyage home from the Canaries accounted for approximately 2,500 miles of that total. Cassidy sailed the Canaries-Madeira-Azores section single-handed before Payne joined him for the passage from the Azores to Ireland.
Welcome home: Family and friends greet Frank Cassidy and Damian Payne alongside Ocean Blue at the National Yacht Club following their arrival in Dún Laoghaire. Photo: Michael Chester
The final arrival in Dún Laoghaire brought Ocean Blue back to the National Yacht Club, where Cassidy and Payne were welcomed by family and friends.
"It was very pleasant for both of us to be welcomed by family and friends when I sailed into Dún Laoghaire Harbour," Cassidy said.
Homecoming crew: Frank Cassidy and Damian Payne relax aboard Ocean Blue with family and friends after completing the yacht's summer voyage home from the Canary Islands. Photo: Michael Chester
