Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan is planning to return to his native Ireland in May when he will seek to break the singlehanded record for sailing 698 nautical miles around Ireland. The skipper of Smurfit Kappa –Kingspan is aiming to complete the circumnavigation in 3.5 days or less on his 30ft (10m) Figaro Beneteau 3 which he normally races in France where he has been based for more than a dozen years since leaving his rural, farming life at home in County Meath to pursue a career in solo ocean racing. Dolan has harboured the round Ireland idea since 2020 during a period when all racing in France was cancelled because of the health crisis. Now, in 2023, a gap in his racing calendar has opened up and he is looking to seize the opportunity. “ I wanted to do something valued and different.” recalls Dolan, “ Once the seed was sown in my mind and I saw the original record was set by an older Class40 I remain sure my more modern boat can go quicker.” He plans to bring Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan to Ireland in late April and will be based in Dun Laoghaire until a suitable weather window appears. He explains: “ I have never sailed round Ireland, and I know myself already that it is the most beautiful Island in the world, so it will be great for me to learn my own country from the sea. It is also very challenging course, with a lot of headlands, tidal gates and of course the infamous Irish weather. This idea has been in the back of my mind for a while and as I have a gap in the season I thought ‘let’s go’. And for me it is a nice personal odyssey, a chance to come home and enjoy a big challenge and, after 12 years away in France, I suppose you could call it a little bit of a homecoming.” And while he has raced many times around the famous Fastnet Rock and taught sailing in Baltimore his knowledge of the west coast is limited. “ The furthest west really I have been is Fastnet so it will almost all be new to me and so I am really looking forward to it.” A Class 40 sailed by Belgian Michel Kleinjans set a solo record of 4 days 2 hours in 2005 but the Department of Marine issued a notice effectively banning solo record attempts. Tom is of course knowledgeable of the situation and will of course respect all maritime safety regulations and rules set out by the World Speed Sailing Record Council. "I have a little surprise up the sleeve of my foul weather gear" he smiles. Tom Dolan asserts, “I think three and a half days is possible and if conditions are really, really perfect I think it could be done in under three days. That is based on my weather studies using historical weather forecast files over the last 15 years. I can run course routings which tell me what is feasible and whether it is best to round clockwise or counter-clockwise. There are so many different potential weather scenarios - a big anticyclone over Siberia, a good old fashioned Atlantic low pressure.” The decision will be taken at the time but Dolan believes at the moment that going counter-clockwise, Ireland to port (left) is most probable. |