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Tom Dolan, Solo Sailor
Highs and Lows — Tom Dolan aboard Kingspan during the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. The Irish skipper won the opening stage and led the race before a dramatic final-stage retirement ended his title defence.
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…
Night Lift: French Navy rescuers winch Tom Dolan to safety after his Kingspan Figaro Beneteau 3 grounded on the Sein reef, ending the Irish skipper's bid for a second Solitaire du Figaro title. Photo: Alexis Courcoux
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…
Title Tilt — Nicolas Lunven aboard PRB holds a strong position for overall victory as La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec heads towards its English Channel finish in Le Havre.
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…
Night Drama: Tom Dolan's Kingspan lies stranded on the Chaussée de Sein after grounding while leading the Solitaire du Figaro fleet. The Irish skipper was later airlifted to safety by the French Navy.
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…
Leader of the Pack — Tom Dolan aboard Kingspan powers north during the final stage of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec as the Irish skipper pursues a second overall race title.
Tom Dolan has moved back to the front of the fleet on the final stage of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro as the Irish skipper closes in on a second overall victory in offshore sailing's most demanding solo race. Racing…
Eyes On The Prize — Tom Dolan (left), overall leader of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, discusses the final stage in Pornichet before the decisive 630-nautical-mile race to Le Havre.
Tom Dolan will start the decisive final stage of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro this evening holding a narrow overall lead as the race enters its final 630-nautical-mile showdown from Pornichet to Le Havre. The County Meath sailor, racing…

Tough Test — The strain shows on Tom Dolan's face after five days of racing through calms, shifting winds and 40-knot gusts during the demanding second leg of La Solitaire du Figaro. Photo: Eléonore Villers.
“Honestly, it’s probably the hardest I’ve ever done. It was hell.” That was Irish skipper Tom Dolan's verdict after completing a punishing second leg of La Solitaire du Figaro and retaining the overall race lead. The Kingspan-backed sailor finished fifth…
Leader’s Focus – Irish skipper Tom Dolan remains overall leader of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec after a hard-fought fifth place finish in Stage 2 to Pornichet.
Tom Dolan has retained the overall lead in La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec after finishing fifth on Stage 2 into Pornichet. The Irish skipper of Kingspan, who won the opening stage, now leads by 3 minutes and 38 seconds from…
The La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec fleet races offshore after organisers postponed the start of the final leg to Le Havre following difficult conditions on Leg 2.
Irish offshore racer Tom Dolan and the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec fleet will have extra recovery time after organisers postponed the start of the race’s final leg. The third and concluding stage, from Pornichet to Le Havre, was due…
Fleet Focus – Offshore racers competing in La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec sail through golden evening light as Tom Dolan and the fleet regroup during a tactical second leg.
Ireland’s Tom Dolan remains firmly in contention as the split fleets in the second leg of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec begin to regroup offshore. Dolan, racing on Kingspan, held his position among the leading pack as changing weather conditions…
Fleet Focus: Tom Dolan’s Kingspan yacht powers through the fleet during the second leg of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec as sailors battled light winds and tactical conditions in the Bay of Biscay.
Irish skipper Tom Dolan remained firmly in the hunt as the second leg of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec turned into a tactical battle of patience and positioning in the Bay of Biscay. Dolan stayed within striking distance as the…
Leader's Focus — Irish skipper Tom Dolan aboard his Kingspan-backed Figaro yacht before the start of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec second leg from Vigo to Pornichet.
Ireland’s Tom Dolan begins the second leg of La Solitaire du Figaro as overall leader, with the Kingspan skipper facing a tactical battle in light and unstable conditions between Vigo and Pornichet. The 450-nautical-mile stage started from the Galician coast…
“Dawn
Tom Dolan’s marvellous sunrise victory on Thursday in Stage 1 of the 2026 Figaro Solitaire was the most effective starting signal we could hope for in order to encourage us all into thinking the 2026 season really is under way…
Victory Salute! Irish skipper Tom Dolan celebrates aboard Kingspan after winning the opening stage of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec off Cape Finisterre. Photo: Thomas Campion
Tom Dolan delivered a commanding performance to win the opening stage of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro after a decisive overnight move off the Spanish coast. The Irish skipper of Kingspan crossed the finish line at Cape Finisterre after…
“Atlantic
Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan has won the opening leg of the 2026 La Solitaire du Figaro after an intense four-day battle across the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay. According to provisional results on the race tracker, the Meath…
Close Quarters — Irish skipper Tom Dolan pushes hard aboard his Figaro Beneteau 3 as he closes to within 0.6 nautical miles of the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec race lead off Cape Finisterre.
Irish skipper Tom Dolan has moved to within just 0.6 nautical miles of the lead in the opening leg of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec as the fleet battles through a tactical transition off Cape Finisterre. The Meath sailor aboard…

Tom Dolan, Solo Offshore Sailor

Even when County Meath solo sailor Tom Dolan had been down the numbers in the early stages of the four-stage 2,000 mile 2020 Figaro Race, Dolan and his boat were soon eating their way up through the fleet in any situation which demanded difficult tactical decisions.

His fifth overall at the finish – the highest-placed non-French sailor and winner of the Vivi Cup – had him right among the international elite in one of 2020's few major events.

The 33-year-old who has lived in Concarneau, Brittany since 2009 but grew up on a farm in rural County Meath came into the gruelling four-stage race aiming to get into the top half of the fleet and to underline his potential to Irish sailing administrators considering the selection process for the 2024 Olympic Mixed Double Offshore category which comes in for the Paris games.