Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

The finish of the Mini-en-Mai at La Trinite sur Mer today concluded a period of frustration for Ireland’s Tom Dolan in Offshoresailing.fr, as he saw his wafer-thin class lead worn down by a succession of challengers in other Pogo 3s…

Ireland’s Tom Dolan maintained a narrow lead during the third night of the 500–mile Mini-en-May with his Pogo 3 Offshoresailng.fr (IRL 910) as the fleet made their way through inshore passages past La Rochelle and inside the Ile de Re…

Ireland’s Tom Dolan was neck-and-neck with Pierre Chedeville and Emile Henry as their three Pogo 3s closed in on the Royan turn at 1700hrs to lead their class in the 500-mile Mini-en-Mai offshore challenge, which leaves them with 147 miles…

Irish solo skipper Tom Dolan has continued to show exceptional consistency as he maintains his position at the front of the fleet through a challenging second night of the 500-mile Mini-en-Mai in the Bay of Biscay writes W M Nixon.…

Wednesday evening update – After a difficult day in the middle of the Bay of Biscay with the fleet in the Mini-en-Mai now spread across a wide front as they close in towards the southerly turn off Royan, Tom Dolan’s…

After their first night at sea, the Mini Transat boats racing the 500-mile Mini-en-Mai race in the eastern sector of the Bay of Biscay have put the navigation challenges of Western Brittany astern, and are well on their way, shaping…

Ireland’s Tom Dolan is continuing to set the pace in his Mini Pogo 3 Offshoresailing.fr (IRL 910) in the 500 miles Mini-en-Mai as the leaders sweep past the Iles des Glenans and on towards the Point de Penmarch in a…

After a good start which saw him in third shortly after crossing the line in the 500-mile Mini-en-Mai event for Minitrasat 650s which started today off La Trinite sur Mer on France’s Biscay coast, Ireland’s Tom Dolan is currently rated…

The world of sailing has so many sectors of interest that it’s challenging keeping track of the general picture. But even when you’ve achieved that basic level of comprehension, you then discover that each sector has so many sub-sectors that…

Tom Dolan from County Meath may still seem to some to be the new boy on the block for Irish participation in the small boat solo sailing scene centred around France. But he has clocked up quite a few miles…

Ireland’s mini class sailor Tom Dolan from County Meath has finished an impressive third place out of 52 boats in the first single–handed race of the French Solo Offshore Racing Championship. The podium result came after a 300 mile match…

After a disappointing first race of the year last weekend, as Afloat.ie previewed here, Ireland’s Tom Dolan hopes to improve on his performance in the first single–handed race of the Mini 650 circuit. In offshore racing, 'once the wind has…

Sole Irish Mini Transat sailor Thomas Dolan of County Meath starts his solo–sailing season tomorrow in a double–handed Lorient Bretagne Sud Mini race.  Racing will get underway officially on Saturday 8 April at 11am, with the start of the 150 nautical…

2016 might well have been the year of the foil in offshore sailing writes solo sailor Thomas Dolan. Here the sole Irish 'Mini Classe' competitor assesses some of the latest developments from his base in France and asks will a 'foiler'…

The process towards re-creating Conor O’Brien’s famous Baltimore–built 42ft ketch Saoirse, in which he gained his place in international sailing’s Hall of Fame with the first circuit of the world by a small vessel south of the great capes in…

The re-decking of the 57ft Conor O’Brien ketch Ilen (originally built Baltimore 1926) is the latest stage of this major restoration/re-build project to be nearing completion at Liam Hegarty’s boatyard at Oldcourt on the Ilen River between Skibbereen and Baltimore…