Solo Sailing and Circumavigation News

Cruising Club of America Names Solo Sailor Randall Reeves as Winner of 2020 Blue Water Medal
26th January 2021 Solo Sailing
Randall Reeves has been named winner of the 2020 Blue Water Medal by the Cruising Club of America (CCA) for sailing his 45-foot aluminium cutter, Moli, alone around Antarctica and then through the Northwest Passage in a single season—departing and…

Kerry's Lawless Brothers Embarking on Separate Solo Round the World Sailing Bids
28th December 2020 Golden Globe Race
A second son of the late solo circumnavigator Pat Lawless from Limerick has announced plans to follow in his father's wake and sail solo around the world. Peter and his brother Pat, both based in County Kerry, are embarking on separate solo…

It’s Time to Mind the Weather – Ireland’s Solo Star Tom Dolan Tells Us How
9th December 2020 Weather
Developing out of the successful Weather and Sailing conferences is this short webinar focusing on weather and the single-handed sailo scheduled for next Tuesday, December 15. The two speakers for this joint webinar, which will focus on the challenges faced…

National Yacht Club Under 30s to Host Solo Sailor Q&A with Tom Dolan
27th November 2020 Solo Sailing
After its successful match racing webinar earlier this season, the National Yacht Club’s Under 25 and under 30 sections are now moving offshore for their next online session. The NYCs very own Tom Dolan, who achieved the best ever Irish…

Record 33 Skippers Set for Vendee Globe Race Start Today (LIVESTREAM Here)
8th November 2020 Solo Sailing
When the ninth edition of the Vendée Globe solo non-stop race around the world starts from Les Sables d’Olonne on the French Atlantic coast today at 1302hrs French time, the usual, huge partisan local crowds will be absent. The global…

Marcus Hutchinson of Kinsale & Howth in the Thick of it in Vendee Globe Management
31st October 2020 Vendee Globe
Marcus Hutchinson has been having a good Autumn in his role as a sort of benign marine Svengali with an Irish flavour, operating largely behind the scenes at the sharp end of the French big-time offshore racing scene. But it…

As 33 potential Cape Horners prepare for the start of the 9th Vendée Globe solo non-stop round the world race from Les Sables d’Olonne on November 8, The International Association of Cape Horners (IACH) has taken on the mantle of…

Dublin Sailor Publishes Adventures Solo Sailing the Atlantic & Caribbean in a Hallberg Rassy 352
28th October 2020 Book Review
Dublin sailor Alan McMahon has published a book on his solo sailing adventures aboard a Hallberg Rassy 352 which he sailed across the Atlantic and back in 2018/19. 'Sailing Away' is an autobiographical account of one man's 13-month adventure, sailing…

Timothy Long Becomes Youngest Person to Sail Solo Around Britain
1st October 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Fifteen-year-old sailor Timothy Long spent his summer on a 1,600 nautical mile anti-clockwise voyage around the British coast. Now he has broken the record of Tom Webb, who sailed around Britain aged 17 in 2011. Timothy, from Aylesbury, has become…

When solo star Tom Dolan was told last Saturday evening that the exceptionally calm condition of the inner Bay of Biscay meant that the proposed final fourth stage of the Solitaire du Figaro 2020 would not be sailed, among the…

As reported in Afloat.ie on 1st September here, fifteen-year-old solo sailor Timothy Long from Buckinghamshire is fundraising for the Ellen McArthur Cancer Trust by sailing solo around Britain, a distance of approximately 1600 miles. In his Hunter Impala 28 'Alchemy'…

Tom Dolan Now 10th Heading Into Figaro’s Second Leg After Protest Committee Call
5th September 2020 Solo Sailing
Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan is now in an even stronger position heading into the second leg of La Solitare du Figaro, after the protest committee’s strike against two higher-placing finishers from Thursday (3 September). Both Tanguy Le Turquais and…

15-Year-Old Solo Round Britain Sailor Arrives in Bangor on Belfast Lough
1st September 2020 Northern Ireland Waters
Timothy Long from Buckinghamshire in England is only 15, and by the time he finishes his fundraising solo sail around Britain, he will have 1,600-miles under his belt. In his Hunter Impala 28 'Alchemy' Timothy covers around 45 miles a…

While Ireland is battered by the multiple surges of Storm Ellen, the irrepressible Pat Lawless of Ballyferriter on the Dingle Peninsula is riding it out on the southern fringes of the huge weather system, halfway home from the Azores in…

Mini Transat Winner and 2018 Round Ireland Yacht Race contestant Ian Lipinski has set a Round Britain solo record. On Friday, 10 July, the Class40 Credit Mutuel skipper crossed the virtual finish line by crossing Cape Lizard, to set this…

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston Talks Golden Globe Success & What Came After On Shirley Robertson’s Sailing Podcast
12th July 2020 Golden Globe Race
In the latest editions of her new podcast series, double Olympic gold medalist Shirley Robertson sits down for a two-part chat with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, founder of the Clipper Race and the first man ever to sail solo non-stop around…