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 August 23 and will cover almost 3,000 nautical miles over two legs, beginning with a 1,600-mile passage to Lagos in Portugal via Madeira before a 785-mile return leg to Île d’Yeu in France.
Dolan’s return follows a difficult end to his Solitaire du Figaro campaign, when Kingspan was washed ashore on Île de Sein. The boat spent around two weeks stranded before being recovered with its hull intact.
Double Act – Tom Dolan and Gildas Mahé put Kingspan through her paces ahead of their return to competition in L’Adventura, a two-leg offshore test covering nearly 3,000 nautical miles. Photo: Eléonore Villers
Since then, Dolan and his team have replaced the keel, starboard foil, starboard rudder and batteries, with the mast stepped again on Wednesday, August 12.
“I’m raging to get back to racing,” Dolan said. “We’ve had weeks of preparation after what I felt was some of the best sailing of my career, so I’m eager to get back out there and do it again.” He added with a laugh: “Thankfully there are some really nice offshore oceanic passages in this race, which means no rocks and no bloody islands!”
The break from Figaro racing has nevertheless been a busy one. Dolan married during the summer and also joined French offshore veteran Géry Trentesaux aboard Courrier Pogo for the 2026 Round Ireland Race. As Afloat reported, the Franco-Irish crew produced one of the standout performances of the June offshore classic, with Courrier Pogo finishing second overall on IRC corrected time after leading for significant periods around the 704-mile course.
Irish Honours – Tom Dolan was part of Gery Trentesaux’s Courrier Pogo crew that claimed overall IRC Class 1 honours in the 2026 Round Ireland Race in June, one of the highlights of his summer away from the Figaro circuit Photo: Afloat
L’Adventura will provide a very different challenge. Although Dolan is best known for solo sailing, he expects the long double-handed race to be particularly intense as Kingspan returns to competition following extensive repairs.
“Even though this race is double-handed, it’s going to be a lot more intense pushing the boat, and it’s a very long race, nearly the length of an Atlantic crossing over the two legs,” he said. “Inevitably a few surprises from the incident will arise, so having two of us there to fix things will be a lot better.”
Mahé has played an important role in Dolan’s career, and the Irish skipper said sailing the final race of the season alongside his friend and mentor would be a privilege.
Back in Business – Kingspan powers through testing after an extensive repair programme following her grounding on Île de Sein, with Dolan now counting down to the 23 August start of L’Adventura. Photo: Eléonore Villers
Only 20 teams are expected on the start line, but the field includes some of the leading names in the Figaro circuit, with Macif among the campaigns entered. Dolan also paid tribute to those who helped return Kingspan to racing condition.
“I was so, so lucky with this accident to be surrounded by so many good people working with and for me, ready to help, otherwise the boat never would have been ready in time,” he said. “So I’d like to extend a really big thank you to everyone who has helped me throughout their summers.”
L’Adventura starts from Port Bourgenay, France, on August 23.
