Monday 4pm - Wind conditions with strong easterlies, "enhanced" by dense air, have been so favourable and powerful for Tom Dolan's anti-clockwise Round Ireland challenge that he has been able to downgrade the significance of favourable tides. Having breezed through the North Channel with insouciant style in the dark, at 16OO hours this (Monday) afternoon, he's 24 hours on his way and will soon be halfway across Donegal Bay at a
current average speed of between 9 and 11 knots, well within sight - were visibility better - of the northwest corner of Mayo.

Thereafter, progress south from Eagle Island, and particularly once Slyne Head is astern, will be increasingly dependent on the continuing eastward progress of our current dominant low-pressure system. Its centre is currently about 40 miles west of Shannon Mouth, but as it is part of a larger system, all of which is likely to become less clearly defined as Storm Ciaran approaches through Wednesday, Tom is acutely aware that things could get messy as he approaches the Blaskets, where the frequently confused sea state greatly increases the benefit of a good fair wind.

So far, it has all been done with an impressive flourish. But with every southward mile made good, the likelihood of a less favourable scenario increases, with the majestic coast of Kerry and West Cork being a major challenge in themselves. Thus, if the low-pressure sub-system slows in its eastward progress, it's even possible that he'll shape his course well to the west to find the more favourable winds chasing the depression.

Monday 0900am - After 17 hours at sea, Tom Dolan is making strong progress off the Donegal Coast on Bank Holiday Monday morning, having departed Dublin Bay just before 4 pm yesterday in a northabout bid to break the solo and double-handed Round Ireland speed sailing record times. 

After Dolan's first night at sea along the north coast, his prediction that he could have favourable following winds for the entire circumnavigation is holding up. He appears to be over 60 miles ahead of Michel Kleinjan's single-handed record of four days,1 hour, 53 minutes and 29 seconds from 2004. (See tracker below).

As Afloat reported earlier, Dolan made an epic start to his second Round Ireland bid this year, but this October attempt sees the Meath sailor opting for an anti-clockwise routing.

His top speed so far is over 17 knots achieved in the tides of the North Channel last night. 

At around 0830 hrs this morning, he was already on the NW corner and ready to attack the west coast in very breezy conditions. He is expecting strong easterly winds gusting over 30 knots.

If Dolan can finish before 11:32 on Thursday he beats the double-handed record and if he wants to set a "faux" solo record (as he is sailing with a media man onboard) then he has until about 1740 on Thursday evening to cross the Kish line.

At this point, it looks very achievable because if he averages eight knots overall he will finish about midnight Wednesday and, in an extraordinary performance since Sunday's start, he has averaged over 11 knots.

But it won't be all plain sailing, however, as some forecasts now show a big hole in the wind on the west coast yet to be negotiated and followed then by some strong headwinds.

A forecast showing a hole in the wind on the west coast for Tom Dolan's Round Ireland record bid followed by strong headwinds (below)

Tom Dolan's foiling Figaro 3 craft can reach speeds of 20 knots Photo: Afloat

Dolan reports from onboard, “The night was good, a bit breezy, but there was not too much sea and so it was alright. I had 40kts of wind just off Bangor. It got a bit hairy. But I have a good reef in the mainsail and have an old J3 jib up so I don’t have very much sail up and am making good speeds. I am feeling fine. I had a lot of naps last night. The wind is quite up. I have 33 kts at the moment and the wind is up at the moment. I have only the two sails up – no spinnaker – as the wind is quite dense, this cold Irish damp air is really pushing the sails. I am going to gybe in a few minutes and start heading down the west coast. All good, life is good.”

Sailing counter-clockwise, leaving Ireland to his port hand side, at around 0830hrs this morning Tom Dolan was already on the NW corner and ready to attack the west coast in very breezy conditions Photo: Afloat

Based on current GRIB files, Dolan's team say they expect him to complete the 700 miles in 3 days and 16 hours, meaning Pamela Lee and Catherine Hunt's double handed record, in a Figaro 3 sisterhship, of three days, 19 hours, 41 minutes, and 39 seconds also appears under threat.

On stand-by in Greystones, County Wicklow for his second attempt at a Round Ireland speed record since early October, Tom Dolan will set off this afternoon for the Kish lighthouse startline on Dublin Bay.

After some final weather discussions with Marcel Van Triest, the famous router, the skipper of the Figaro Bénéteau 3 in the colours of Smurfit Kappa and Kingspan has confirmed that he will set off on Sunday between 1500 and 1600 hrs UTC. 

"Dolan hopes he will be sailing downwind practically from start to finish"

“I’ll be taking advantage of a SE’ly wind to set sail. The wind is expected to back Easterly and then NE’ly as I make my way around the island, which should mean I will be sailing downwind practically from start to finish, with just a short tricky stretch on Tuesday afternoon around the Fastnet, due to an area of light winds, but which should not last,” explained the Irish sailor, who will set off anti-clockwise around Ireland.

“If the weather forecast is right, I would hope to cover the 698 miles in three and a half days,” said Tom, who, respecting Irish shipping rules, must keep a permanent watch and remain alert. He will be accompanied by Andrew Smith, a media man who of course will not be involved in the performance of the boat. “It all seems to be falling into place, which means I am optimistic. In any case, I must not hang around as a nasty weather system (gales) is due to sweep across Ireland on Wednesday,” the sailor concluded.

The outcome of his latest bid will be known on Tuesday.

 Ireland's leading solo sailor, the French-based Tom Dolan, is still waiting at Greystones Harbour Marina in County Wicklow for the right wind to embark on his second bid at the Round Ireland speed sailing record.

Sunday night (October 22) brought the prospect of ideal conditions for a start off the Kish light on Dublin Bay, only for a late shift in the weather forecast to thwart plans.

"We have reviewed the latest forecast and decided not to go this evening. Winds are light on Tuesday off the coast of Clare, and the LP 973 is coming in Wednesday with 30-40 knots", Dolan said.

It is now considered 'unlikely' that the right conditions will be present this week for Dolan's latest adventure to round Ireland in under four days and break the 2020 doublehanded record, according to the bid lodged with the World Speed Sailing Record Council. He is also attempting what he describes as a 'faux' solo record and carrying an onboard reporter.

Whenever the bid happens, it will be a journey of 700 nautical miles around Ireland and all its islands; his seven-sail boat can hit speeds of up to 26 knots, or 52km per hour, but averaging much less than that, about seven knots.

Day One (start): Just coming up to 4pm on Sunday, 29th October 2023, Ireland's leading solo sailor, the French-based Tom Dolan, embarked on his latest adventure to round Ireland in under four days and break the 2020 doublehanded record according to the bid lodged with the World Speed Sailing Record Council. He is also attempting what he describes as a 'faux' solo record.

The wait is over, and at 1500 hours and 50 minutes and 33 seconds, Dolan headed north, leaving behind the starting line between Dún Laoghaire harbour and the Kish lighthouse to establish a new time for the fastest sailing time around Ireland.

Fast sailing - Tom Dolan made a great start to his Round Ireland record bid off Dublin Bay Photo: Afloat

Before the start, Dolan said: “I’ll be taking advantage of a SE’ly wind to set sail. The wind is expected to back Easterly and then NE’ly as I make my way around the island, which should mean I will be sailing downwind practically from start to finish, with just a short tricky stretch on Tuesday afternoon around the Fastnet, due to an area of light winds, but which should not last,” explained the Irish sailor, who will set off anti-clockwise around Ireland.

It’s a northabout journey of 700 nautical miles around Ireland and all its islands; his seven-sail boat can hit speeds of up to 26 knots, or 52km per hour, but averaging much less than that, about seven knots.

“If the weather forecast is right, I would hope to cover the 698 miles in three and a half days,” said Tom, who, respecting Irish shipping rules, must keep a permanent watch and remain alert. He is accompanied by Andrew Smith, a media man who, of course, will not be involved in the boat's performance. “It all seems to be falling into place, which means I am optimistic. In any case, I must not hang around as a nasty weather system (gales) is due to sweep across Ireland on Wednesday,” the sailor concluded.

Dolan at full speed in the early part of his record bid off the Dublin coast with media man Andrew Smith at the stern documenting the attempt Photo: Afloat

Dolan was rewarded with 15-knot winds from the southeast at start time and big following seas to sweep past the startline at full speed under spinnaker.

The forecasts say he will get strong easterly winds of 25-30kts around the north coast of Ireland before winds become westerly on Wednesday, which he hopes will carry him around Ireland entirely downwind.

This afternoon's record start time was officiated by Irish World Speed Sailing Commissioner for Ireland Paddy Boyd, who authenticated the record bid at the Kish Light.

In order to comply with the rules of Irish maritime affairs prohibiting single-handed sailing for several years, the skipper will be accompanied by a media man. Under no circumstances will the latter affect the performance of the boat, Dolan claims.

Dolan has agreed with the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) that he will attempt to break the 'Round Ireland Double-handed less than 40ft record'.

Dolan hopes to return to the Kish within three days, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 39 seconds to break the doublehanded record and set a new 'faux' record solo record Photo: Afloat

While the WSSC is not recording this as a solo attempt (as Dolan has a journalist onboard), Dolan says he is also seeking to set a 'faux record' by attempting to break the Belgian Michel Kleinjan's solo 2005 record time.

Reference times are the 2005 solo record by Kleinjans aboard a Class40: 4 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes and 29 seconds and the doublehanded record set in 2020 by Pamela Lee and Catherine Hunt on a Figaro 3 of 3 days, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 39 seconds.

All going well, Dolan is expected home on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning with a predicted time of 3 days and 16 hours based on current GRIBS

See the tracker below

As solo star Tom Dolan said when he arrived this week in Greystones to position himself on stand-by for his waiting-game round Ireland record challenge from the Kish Lighthouse, the current increasingly Autumnal weather pattern is much more encouragingly dynamic than it was when he made his previous attempt in the Spring.

It’s the Meath Maestro’s first time back in Ireland with the boat since he emerged as the winner of Stage 1 of the Figaro Solo Paprec 2023 in Kinsale on the last day of August, after racing over an artificially lengthened, extremely challenging and complex 620-mile course from Caen in Normandy.

While the Figaro 3 can certainly make to windward with enthusiasm - as seen here in the 2023 Figaro Solo Paprec in which Tom Dolan won the first stage from Caen to Kinsale – the strategic minimizing of windward work is essential to a successful Round Ireland challenge

The Figaro concluded, he then teamed up with fellow Figaro racer Gaston Morvan on Region Bretagne, and with three others aboard they contested the crewed season-concluding Figaro 3 Nationals at Lorient on October 7th, and won. As it was sailed while the late summer weather prevailed in heatwave conditions, subsequently choosing to sail north in Smurfit-Kappa Kingspan when the summer shutters came down with a bang on Ireland was inevitably a matter of going suddenly into a very different world. But it’s typical of Tom’s approach to challenges that he can put a cheerful spin on it all.

This was just a fortnight ago in South Brittany - Gaston Morvan and Tom Dolan and their crew basking in late summer sunshine after winning the Figaro 3 National at Lorient

STORM BABET? SHE WAS DEFINITELY “DYNAMIC”

And certainly “dynamic” is normally used in this positive way. Yet those who have been at the receiving end of Storm Babet in recent days - whether through wind damage, flooding, power outage, or just plain inconvenience - might find different and often unprintable words to describe the current rapidly moving chaotic kaleidoscope of conditions. It’s doubtful they’d enjoy being told they’ve just had a dynamic experience, accentuated by the brief bursts of sunshine lasting just long enough to emphasise the meteorological horrors in between.

These have included yesterday’s near-visit by Babet’s un-named little sister. While in development form, she went slowly past to the south of us, heading in an eastward direction in deepening mode. Then, having gained power, the nameless one unfairly turned back to have a whack at Ireland’s East Coast yesterday afternoon before settling down over England to start the messy process of fading away.

FLOATING ON DOLAN ENTHUSIASM

So what else can we do other than let ourselves be carried along by Tom’s bubbling enthusiasm? The Irish weather may be adversely under the heel of the jet-stream at its most malignant. And there are too many places in the world where intractable people-made horrors prevail ashore. Yet when we look at what this weekend has to offer as that latest low pressure area grinds away to the eastward while slowly filling, we find Irish sailors coming out for more sport at home and abroad.

Unlikely as it might have seemed early in the night, the final race may be sailed this afternoon in the monday.com Autumn League at Howth. And although there’ll be a real nip to the northerly wind, there are enough close placings at the top of various leaderboards to make it well worthwhile competing.

When Autumn sailing is good, it’s very very good – the Autumn League at Howth celebrated its 40th Anniversary last year, and memories tend to be like this, as seen with the two Howth 17s Leila and Aura, both of 1898 vintage. Photo: HYC

As for the seasonal leagues in Cork and Kinsale, being further west and using more of the weekend, they can expect even gentler conditions.

OUR NAVY OF ARMCHAIR ADMIRALS

But meanwhile, the considerable presence of Ireland’s navy of Armchair Admirals has been glued to weather observation and prediction charts as they wait and opinionate about Tom and Smurfit-Kappa Kingspan making their move.

It’s easy enough to say that wind directions were near enough just right to take off anti-clockwise on Tuesday. But severe easterly gales and zilch visibility in the shipping-busy North Channel would have been unnecessarily and extremely hazardous when the campaign has the luxury of time.

CHALLENGE OF 1986 GOT AWAY “BY SKIN OF ITS TEETH”

The last thing you need in a Round Ireland Record attempt is too much wind, even if it is favourable. Back in May 1986 when we were hanging around in Dun Laoghaire with Robin Knox-Johnston and his 60ft trimaran British Airways to inaugurate the current wave of non-racing Round Ireland records, we waited for winds from all sorts of easterly directions (with much rain) to abate a bit, and settle in a favourable direction.

Robin Knox-Johnston’s 60ft MacAlpine-Downie catamaran British Airways making away from Dublin Bay at the start of a successful Round Ireland record challenge in May 1986. Shortly after disappearing northeastwards into the murk, she was almost capsized in a sudden extra gust of wind. Photo: BA

All the ducks seemed to be in a row by Saturday, with a strong yet seemingly steady easterly. So off we went anti-clockwise in driving rain from the Kish, in sailing conditions which saw the big twin-hulled bucket at her noisy best. But she went so fast that we caught up with a line of squalls that had been retreating northwards, and one of them as near as dammit capsized us, though happily it’s a memory that had been largely obliterated by all the subsequent experiences before the job was done.

A FAVOURABLE GALE?

A favourable gale is just about manageable if you’re on a straight-line course, but a problem-filled challenge like the Ireland circuit is better off with good steady whole-sail winds and reaching conditions, just like Tom is enjoying in our header photo. So maybe after the current climatic chaos has fully departed, we can revert to the dynamic conditions the Meath skipper favours, and the show will be on the road.

And to think they might have been guiding a plough – former Meath farmboy Tom Dolan’s hands exfoliated by salt water at the end of a tough solo race

Yet while we’ve been left meteorologically punch-drunk at home by the hectic conditions, elsewhere Irish sailors are enjoying competition in something approaching summer, although it looks to be tough enough in Tangiers where Eve McMahon (Howth YC) is at the top of the table in the ILCA 6 U21 Worlds, which conclude tomorrow.

Thanks to Eve McMahon, IRL has been looking good at Tangiers this week in the ILCA6 U21 Worlds. Photo: ILCA Class

Meanwhile in Malta, it has been high summer by our standards in the countdown to today’s start in Valetta of the 609-mile Rolex Middle Sea Race, in which Conor Doyle’s xP50 Freya from Kinsale is defending an ORC Class podium place. Whether or not the strong wind conditions in Tangiers move eastward towards Malta is a moot point, as the Mediterranean weather is something of a law unto itself.

The ultimate in-harbour start: tradition dictates that the Rolex Middle Sea Race from Malta should start within Grand Harbour, Valetta. Photo: Rolex/Kurt Arrigo

She certainly gets around - Conor Doyle’s Freya from Kinsale in Dublin Bay. This morning (Saturday) she starts her second Middle Sea Race from Malta. Photo: Afloat.ie/David O’Brien

Either way, the smart money overall might be on Bryon Ehrhart’s Lucky from the US, as she is of course the former round Ireland mono-hull record-holder Rambler 88 with which George David and his team demonstrated that they probably had the best-all-round big boat on the planet, with overall victory - including a course record – being part of their track record in the Malta major.

“Sail clear through the gap….” Nobody knows how the gap opened up to let Rambler 88 through the smaller boats at the start of the record-breaking 2016 Round Ireland Race from Wicklow, but she was right there at the Naval Vessel end of the line, bang on time and going two or three times as fast as any other mono-hull. Photo: W M Nixon

TWO MONTHS TO SYDNEY-HOBART

Rambler 88 had yet to prove herself in the Sydney-Hobart Race, which is sailed again in just over two months time, but meanwhile, Down Under the new season is having its traditional opening in New Zealand this weekend with the Auckland-Russell coastal race numbering a fleet of 150-plus.

Among them is “The Irish Boat”, Mick Martin’s TP52 Frantic (ex-Patches). She won the new Sydney-Auckland Race - a 1250-mile marathon – a week ago, with Trevor Smyth, formerly of Clontarf and one of the legendary Sailing Smyths, in the afterguard. After the Auckland-Russell contest, Frantic heads back to Australia and the Hobart count-down, with Trevor Smyth aboard for his second Sydney-Hobart.

While you can have year-round sailing in Auckland, for many New Zealanders the annual Auckland-Russell Race (seen starting here) marks the beginning of “the real season”

IRISH RUFFIANS IN HONG KONG

Thousands of miles to the north in Hong Kong, yesterday they were enjoying 25 degrees Centigrade, but on a cloudy day. Over the weekend, the temperature will drop a little, but the sky will clear, while the winds – 18 km/h today from just east of north - will freshen to 23-24 km/h fr between north and northeast.

It may be the other side of the world, but it’s of nationwide interest in Ireland today, as the Irish Ruffian 23 Class is carrying its Golden Jubilee celebrations to a new level with the resumption post-Covid of the biennial inter-port contest between the Irish and Hong Kong fleets.

This weekend sees the Irish Ruffian 23 Class in Hong Kong defending the inter-port trophy which they narrowly won in Dun Laoghaire pre-lockdown in 2018

In the fast-changing Hong Kong sailing scene, the relatively venerabe Ruffian 23s are seen as something of a mascot class in the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, where they’re much celebrated. That will reach new heights today as Ann Kirwan of the National YC – a former Dublin Bay SC Commodore – has managed the logistical challenge of getting an all-Ireland team of twenty Ruffian 23 sailors from half a dozen widespread clubs out to Hong Kong for a long weekend of international sport and celebration.

The Ruffian 23 Hong Kong class’s trophies on display in the Royal Hong Kong YC

That Ruffian 23 international Corinthian contest is probably about as far as you can get – both in real distance and spirit – from top level sailing in France. As has been said maybe too often, the past is a different country, they do things differently there.

THE FRENCH WAY IS DIFFERENT

Certainly as far as sailing is concerned, at the top level France is indeed a very foreign and different country, with the corporate structures of its society reflected at the highest levels of professional sailing. The talented sailors compete for the support of promotion-geared companies which recognise that there’s an enormous appetite for news of extreme sailing among the population, most of whom live at some distance from the nearest bit of sea. And ashore, the gung-ho regional authorities vie with each other through big budget campaigns to host the starred events.

Obviously we’re looking at an Irish take on this with Tom Dolan’s Smurfit-Kappa Kingspan support. But in a week’s time one of the the really big one is right on top of the agenda with Le Havre hyper-alive with the crowds gathered for the start on Sunday, October 29th of the Transat Jaques Vabre to Martinique in the Caribbean.

Irish interest has never been higher, as Pamela Lee of Greystones – currently holder of two of the most meaningful Round Ireland Records as the two-handed champ and women’s record titleist - is on the line for the two-handed division with her loaned Class 40 and lead sponsorship from Brittany Ferries.

THE 2024 VENDEE GLOBE?

At the moment, there’s no noise from any of the four Irish sailors who announced potential campaigns three years ago towards the November 2024 Vendee Globe solo from Les Sables d’Olonne in IMOCA 60s, but the outcome of the upcoming Transat Jacques Vabre might put a different spin on that.

Fast women. Pamela Lee (right) and Catherin Hunt in speed mode on the Figaro 3 with which they established a solid Round Ireland in October 2020

Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan is back in Ireland with his Figaro Beneteau 3 Smurfit Kappa Kingspan, aiming to set a Round Ireland speed sailing record, a bid sparking debate about the status of solo sailing in Irish waters and the records themselves, which Afloat concluded in May, was all a bit of a mess.

The National Yacht Club sailor wants to break the long-standing record of 4 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes and 29 seconds established by Michel Kleinjans aboard a Class40 in 2005, but, he says, the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) do not accept singlehanded record attempts, so Dolan has lodged a double-handed speed record bid.

"I will be sailing around Ireland single-handed with an onboard reporter (OBR)", he explained to Afloat. 

Dolan says the OBR has been quite common in offshore racing since the role was introduced in the Ocean Race 2012. (The first single-handed race with an OBR was transatlantic from New York to Vendee in 2016). "So I do all the sailing, he does all the filming!" he told Afloat. 

Nevertheless, some say it asks what record the Irish Figaro star attempts to break; the solo or double-handed record? Or will it set a new time as the first circumnavigation with an onboard reporter?

"Pointing at Michel’s record as a reference time makes no sense. Respect the current record and call this attempt what it is: a double-handed round Ireland record attempt as defined by the WSSRC", former Round Ireland record holder Mick Liddy told Afloat.

Female duo Pam Lee and Catherine Hunt set a double-handed record time in 2020 of 3 days, 19 hours, 41 minutes and 39 seconds.

As regular Afloat readers know, Dolan similarly completed a circumnavigation in May but finished some hours outside Kleinjans reference time, as time and tide ran out.

He completed the course in 4 days, 11 hours, 54 minutes and 31 seconds but maintains that it is possible for him (with his OBR) to complete the 688-mile course in three and a half days if the weather window is good.

Now, in October, he says is under no time pressure on his second quest and can wait for an ideal weather sequence that will give him the best chance.

It would be a fitting conclusion to a hectic solo season, where he scored a spectacular leg one win into Kinsale in the Figaro race in September before ultimately ending up 18th overall. 

He will wait for an ideal weather sequence. While the weather seems very unsettled this week, Dolan is confident that he has much less time pressure now and can afford to wait. The weather at this time of year is much more dynamic than in the summer, with more lows coming sweeping in from the Atlantic. 

Dolan is still unsure whether the best way is to go anticlockwise or clockwise. He needs a system that will give him a sequence of shifts in wind direction. "The key is always that northeast corner where the strong tides are. Normally, I'd say you want to get through and deal with them first, and then you are not worried about getting stuck at the end, but you need the wind to work for you," says Dolan. 

The long hours of darkness and cold will be much more unpleasant than his summer attempt, but he is accustomed to the ocean's late autumn and early winter conditions. Dolan notes that weight is not super critical, as it is in La Solitaire du Figaro, so he can ensure he has a good supply of hot food and drinks and can carry more sails. 

Like the last attempt, Dolan's boat is in Greystones Harbour in County Wicklow, less than seven miles from the record starting line between Dun Laoghaire and the Kish Bank lighthouse, and is all set and ready to go. 

The annual French solo, multi-stage one-design offshore race, La Solitaire du Figaro is an incredible sporting challenge, and this year’s edition, the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, which finished into Piriac-sur-Mer on Thursday morning was no exception. Although there were no major gales it was a long, Doldrums like calm at the finish of Stage 2 into Roscoff which shaped the final outcome of the race.

While escaping the shutdown in the breeze at the finish, which lasted overnight and through the best part of the next morning, was beaten by the three French sailors who took the podium places today, it proved a cruel setback for Ireland’s Tom Dolan. After the skipper of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan had made history by winning the opening stage into Kinsale from Caen, Dolan was one of the many left drifting on not one, but two tides off Roscoff, losing more than a dozen hours against the solo sailors who finished top three today, Corentin Horeau (Banque Populaire), Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) and Lois Berrehar (Skipper MACIF 2022).

Dolan dropped to 17th overall and, despite a great final stage today – finishing eighth into Piriac-sur-Mer – ended his sixth La Solitaire du Figaro in 18th.

Tom Dolan: “Sometimes La Solitaire is a war, sometimes a dance, sometimes a chess match”

“It was quite a race I felt good all the way through this stage and quite comfortable until very early this morning when I lost my temper when I caught something in my keel. It took me a while to realise it and the others passed me” said the sailor who grew up in County Meath and now lives in Concarneau.

He is disappointed with his final finish position, which falls short of his 5th in 2020 7th in 2022, but he will always treasure the victory in Kinsale. “Winning and doing it at home in Ireland was an incredible moment, without doubt the best of my sporting career!”

Dolan’s race and that of others was ultimately lost at Saint David’s Head on the northwest corner of Wales. He was among the leading group who went outside, west of the Smalls TSS and became becalmed in contrary tide.
“It was just bad timing. At that time on the forecast we had, there was no reason to go inshore, but the boats behind did. ” Recalled the Irish skipper.

He finished a very creditable eighth into Piriac-sur-Mer this morning – losing Berrehar and Horeau in the final miles after he caught a rope round his keel - but weighted down by that Stage 2 finish, Dolan ends up 18th overall and wins the Vivi Trophy for the best international skipper.

Looking exhausted and spent, he was philosophical, “This stage felt long but it was shorter than the one before. It was intense, it was a real race that I really found cool. This Solitaire was a lot of hard work. And I'm quite happy with the way I sailed on the first stage, even if the second was a little bit cruel for me and many other sailors. I feel good, and I was quite comfortable with the boat, until this morning when I lost my temper when I caught something in the keel. It took me quite a while to realize that I had something on it, while the others were passing me.”

Even in his deeply fatigued state, Dolan smiled, “I feel like I sailed well, I sailed the boat fast and made good decisions. With the information I had I would still make the same choices at Saint David’s and indeed I am pretty happy with all the choices I made. I don’t feel like I made mistakes or bad choices.”

He quipped, “If I could, I would love to do this every month, haha! It's so good, there's nothing better. Sometimes it's a war where you're attached to the helm that you can't let go, other times it's a game of chess, and sometimes it's a dance or at the slightest shift in the wind everything the world turns at the same time. It’s incredible and intense. I recommend to everyone, and I already want to come back next year.”

Tom Dolan of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan has made a commendable climb up the leaderboard in the latest update from the 2023 La Solitaire du Figaro, positioning himself in sixth place. He was 4.5 miles behind the leader, Benoît Tuduri of CAPSO en Cavale. Dolan was going well upwind, positioned slightly offshore of the boats around him, which could benefit him by sailing a shorter distance to the last marks of the course.

With just over 70 nautical miles to sail at 1800hrs this (Wednesday) evening, the battle for the overall title hangs in the balance. Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) trails two miles directly behind second-placed Corentin Horeau (Banque Populaire) as they beat back up the Vendée coast between Les Sables d’Olonne and Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie after starting the third and final 470 miles stage from Roscoff to Priac-sur-Mer with a lead of 8 minutes and 55 seconds over Horeau.

The theoretical time difference between Horeau and Bourgnon is around 20-25 minutes, giving the advantage to Horeau by a matter of ten or 11 minutes. It is increasingly looking like Horeau, the older, more experienced sailor, finally has the most coveted solo one design offshore title within his grasp on his seventh attempt. The breeze is likely to ease over the duration of the evening and night, and will head them to ensure the last dozen miles will be directly upwind. But most forecasts do not predict a shutdown.

Loïs Berrehar, who was in third going into the final stage, is 32 minutes and 42 seconds behind Bourgnon and 23 minutes and 47 seconds behind Horeau. He is in seventh place but only a few hundred metres ahead of Horeau. It's worth noting that the strategy for the podium is being in front of the other two.

The race is expected to end tonight, and all eyes are on the top contenders, namely Horeau, Bourgnon, and Tuduri.

ETA on the finish line is between 0300 and 0600hrs local time Thursday

Benoît Tuduri of CAPSO en Cavale has made a formidable comeback on the third and final stage of the 54th La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec. Tuduri was denied the Stage 1 win due to a rookie rules transgression but has now made a late bid for glory, threatening long-time stage leader Elodie Bonafous of Quéguiner-La Vie en Rose. Tuduri and Jules Delpech of ORCOM were coming in with speed, having worked an inshore, easterly route down the Vendée coast past La Rochelle. Both were looking like they might get a share of the time bonuses for passing the Intermediate Sprint line buoy. 

The fleet of 31 boats has been making solid progress under spinnaker today, allowing the exhausted solo skippers to grab some short catnaps to recharge their batteries. Despite this, the main peloton led by Bonafous remains very tightly packed, with less than five miles between the top ten and two miles separating the top five. 

Basile Bourgnon of EDENRED still holds the advantage in the battle for overall top honours, but Tuduri's late surge has made the final leg worth watching. Bourgnon won Stage 2 and is directly in front of Corentin Horeau of Banque Populaire and Lois Berrehar of Skipper MACIF 2022 respectively. His main goal now will be to monitor Horeau's every move and cover him as much as possible on what should be a one-upwind leg 140 miles back to Piriac-sur-Mer on the French Loire Atlantique coast just west of La Baule. 

Irish sailor Tom Dolan of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan is also in a good position, currently in ninth place, and has a chance to make some gains as they converge on the mark, only six miles off the coast between Arcachon and the entrance to the Gironde Estuary. 

As the race enters its final stages, the excitement is palpable, with Tuduri's comeback story adding a thrilling twist to the proceedings.