Irish Sailor Tom Dolan Set to Compete in Laura Vergne Trophy Offshore Race

25th March 2024

Tom Dolan (left) and Paul Morvan will compete in the Laura Vergne Trophy Offshore Race

Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan is all set to take part in the Laura Vergne Trophy offshore race, which is a part of the 2024 French Elite Offshore Racing Championship. The event is named in memory of Laura Vergne, who was a prominent figure in the administration of the Figaro class of boats used in the championship.

Dolan, who recently suffered a ripped spinnaker in the Solo Guy Cotten Trophy season opener, will be sailing the Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan boat with French sailor Paul Morvan. The duo finished fourth in the championship's coastal race, showing great promise for the 270-mile offshore race scheduled for Monday.

Dolan had a week of solid training ahead of the championship, which included sailing the Class40 Amarris with Gildas Mahé and Spain’s Pep Costa. Though the weather forecast for the offshore race looks complex, Dolan seems optimistic about the race.

"The positive is that we can expect to do a lot of downwind racing, both on the way out and on the way back. If this does happen, it promises to be quite fast, and that's ideal because there is a gale coming in with between 35 and 40 knots on Wednesday, and it would be good to miss that!" said Dolan.

The Irishman and his team are ready to give their best shot at the championship and are hoping to make their mark.

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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.