Solo Sailing and Circumavigation News
A new documentary tells the extraordinary story of British Army veteran Craig Wood, who became the first triple amputee to sail solo across the Pacific Ocean, setting two Guinness World Records. The film, Single Handed, was released exclusively on YouTube on Tuesday,…
Route du Rhum: Armel Le Cléac’h Ready for Solo Atlantic Challenge
21st October 2026 La Route du Rhum Race
Maxi Banque Populaire XI has arrived in Saint-Malo ahead of the 1 November solo transatlantic start, with Ireland’s Pamela Lee preparing for a potentially historic Class40 debut French offshore sailor Armel Le Cléac’h has brought Maxi Banque Populaire XI into…
Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan and Gildas Mahé finished 14th on the second leg of L’Aventura after a bold move west in the Bay of Biscay cost the Kingspan duo places on the 783-mile race from Lagos to Île d’Yeu. The result came…
The concept of the Golden Globe Challenge, the four-yearly non-stop round the world race for boats not more than 36ft LOA designed pre-1988 with a traditional closed hull shape, may indeed have developed in order to celebrate Robin Knox-Johnston’s pioneering…
Irish sailor Tom Dolan and co-skipper Gildas Mahé finished fourth in Lagos on Monday evening after an intense 1,600-mile opening leg of L’Aventura, missing the podium by just two minutes. The result provided an encouraging return to racing for Dolan…
It seems the best way to make commemorations go with a buzz is to try to make it all low-key. The Sailing Into Wellness organisation, which runs the restored 1926-vintage 56ft Baltimore-built trading ketch Ilen of Conor O'Brien fame, tends…
Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan is preparing to return to racing later this month aboard the repaired Figaro Kingspan, teaming up with longtime friend and mentor Gildas Mahé for the season-ending L’Adventura. The double-handed race starts from Port Bourgenay on…
Ireland now has two sailors preparing separate bids to become the first Irish person to sail solo and non-stop around the world — and, coincidentally, both campaigns are using the challenge to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s disease. As…
A Californian who was stranded in the Pacific for a month after his mast snapped has said he would go to sea again. As Hawaii News Now reports, Kai Sato set off from the Californian coastal outcrop of Catalina Island…
Trentesaux Reveals Courrier Pogo RC Had Just Four Hours' Training Before Round Ireland
6th July 2026 Round Ireland
French offshore racing legend Géry Trentesaux has revealed that his new Pogo RC, Courrier, had just four hours of crew training before taking on this year's Round Ireland Race – making the yacht's remarkable runner-up finish on corrected time all…
After sailing around the world single-handed Cork’s Polish/Irish sailor, Jakub Ziemkiewicz, has decided to change his mind from never racing alone again on such a voyage. He is starting a four-year campaign to enter the McIntyre Golden Globe Race, also…
A UK father has been rescued in his second attempt to cross the Atlantic in the smallest boat. Andrew Bedwell set off from Newfoundland in Canada last Thursday (4 June) in his home-built vessel, the Big C V2, which is…
Tom Dolan's 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec campaign may have ended in disappointment, but it also reinforced why the Irish skipper remains one of the leading figures in offshore solo racing. The County Meath sailor's race contained all the…
Tom Dolan's challenge for a second Solitaire du Figaro Paprec title came to an abrupt end on Tuesday night after the Irish skipper ran aground on the Sein reef while leading the race overall. As Afloat reported earlier, the Kingspan…
The final hours of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec are unfolding in demanding conditions in the English Channel, with the overall result still hanging in the balance. After rounding Brittany, the fleet entered the decisive closing phase of…
Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan's challenge for a second Solitaire du Figaro title ended dramatically overnight after he ran aground while leading the fleet off the Brittany coast. Dolan, racing aboard Kingspan, was at the front of the fleet alongside…
