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 regular Afloat readers will know, the first attempt begins next month when Kerry-based sailor Pat Lawless starts his second Golden Globe Race from Les Sables d’Olonne in France on September 6.
Lawless, who was forced to retire from the 2022 Golden Globe Race after self-steering failure, is attempting the 30,000-mile circumnavigation aboard his Saltram Saga 36 Silvermines Hydro.
He hopes not only to complete the race at his second attempt but to become the first Irish sailor to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation.
His campaign is also raising funds and awareness for Parkinson’s Ireland in support of his wife Rita, who is living with Parkinson’s disease.
Karl Smith Targets 2027 Global Solo Challenge
Now a second Irish campaign has emerged, with Karl Smith setting his sights on the 2027-28 Global Solo Challenge.
Smith plans to race approximately 30,000 miles solo and non-stop around the world in the event, which begins from Vigo in Galicia in August 2027, with boats departing in groups according to their performance.
Unlike the Golden Globe Race, which restricts competitors to traditional yachts and technology broadly reflecting that available to Sir Robin Knox-Johnston during the original 1968-69 race, the Global Solo Challenge permits a much wider range of yachts and modern equipment.
Smith's campaign says he will compete aboard Class40 #147.
The Irish sailor has progressed through yacht deliveries and sailing instruction to working as a superyacht captain, according to his Smith Ocean Projects campaign.
€1 Million Parkinson's Target
Like Lawless, Smith's motivation extends beyond completing the circumnavigation.
His father, Peter, lives with Parkinson's disease, and Smith's campaign has set an ambitious target of raising more than €1 million for Parkinson's research, care and awareness.
“I can't cure Parkinson's and I can't reverse it. I can sail, and I can use that to get people to pay attention and give others the funding to help cure Parkinson's,” Smith says.
The campaign lists Parkinson's Ireland, Parkinson's UK, Cure Parkinson's and the Michael J. Fox Foundation among the organisations it is supporting.
Smith told RTÉ News of his plans over the weekend as his campaign begins seeking the commercial backing needed to reach the 2027 start line.
While Smith's name was not among the Global Solo Challenge's published confirmed entrants when checked by Afloat, his campaign is actively promoting his planned participation in the 2027 event that begins on August 28th.
The Global Solo Challenge says the next edition will begin in Vigo in August 2027, with successive starts continuing through to December according to yacht performance.
For Irish sailing followers, it potentially creates an unusual sequence of two separate attempts at the same historic first.
Lawless gets the first opportunity when the Golden Globe Race starts on September 6. If the Irish solo non-stop circumnavigation first remains unclaimed after that race, Smith intends to take up the challenge in 2027.
And whichever way the sporting story develops, both sailors will be carrying a Parkinson's cause around the world with them.
