12 Sep Tom Dolan: “Winning the Solitaire du Figaro is a dream come true!”
The suspense was palpable throughout the third and final leg of the Solitaire du Figaro Paprec! It was a leg of truly epic proportions in which Tom Dolan and his fellow rivals had to contend with some particularly boisterous conditions, with the fleet concertinaing in and out, falling away from the leaders before closing in on them again. So much so that the battle went all the way to the wire before the top three could be crowned. To cap it all, the skipper of Smurfit Kappa – Kingspan, leading the overall ranking at the end of the first two acts, did not disappoint. By placing 7th at 5:18 am local time this Thursday, the sailor secured victory in the overall ranking. An XXL performance for the Irishman and in so doing he writes a new page in the history of this event by becoming the third overseas sailor, after the Belgian Joan de Kat in 1970 and then the Swiss skipper Laurent Bourgnon in 1988, to etch his name on the list of winners of this the king of solo one-design races!
“I haven’t really got my head around what’s just happened yet. The Solitaire du Figaro is a race I’d hoped to win one day and today really is a dream come true! It’s completely crazy!” explained Tom Dolan, beaming from ear to ear as he arrived dockside early this morning after what was a very tough third and final leg. “All in all, we had some really boisterous conditions. The pasting we took off southern England with 30 knots of established wind, gusting to 35, was particularly notable. At that point, I was no longer within sight of the others and we were really taking a hammering. My sole obsession was to keep the small spinnaker in the air and to make as fast headway as possible without careering off the track. It was full-on it has to be said. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it was even a little scary during the gybes. In the end, we only had a small respite before passing the Skerries Bank and then we hit a light patch offshore of Brest. On a personal level, I spent a massive amount of time on the helm and I never let up despite the fatigue. It was vital to keep pace and that required an enormous amount of commitment as everyone was attacking like crazy at the head of the fleet!” explained the skipper of Smurfit Kappa – Kinsgpan, for whom this seventh crack at the title has proven to be the winning one.
“This time, karma was on my side”
“This victory is the reward for years of work and sacrifice, both for me and also for those around me. After the second leg, I knew I was well placed with a lead of 57 minutes over the second boat but I tried to keep a cool head and I strived to put as little pressure on my shoulders as possible. I admit that there have been a lot of times when I’ve doubted myself. To be honest, a few hours ago, I was just hoping that I’d be able to save myself a spot on the podium. I went through all the numbers out on the water, counting and recounting the times. I’d imagined that some monstrous gaps had opened up between me and the leaders with the current at the Raz de Sein. When I crossed the finish line, I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d taken the win but I soon got the picture when I heard people congratulating me. At that moment, I kind of doubled up in my boat. I wanted to cry, albeit with tears of joy,” admitted the Flying Irishman, who has become the first sailor in his country to add his name to the list of winners of the event, as well as the third sailor from overseas to take victory after Joan de Kat and Laurent Bourgnon. “Ultimately, it all came down to a transition during the second leg between Gijón and Royan, which was the tiniest of things. That’s generally how it goes in the Solitaire. That was how it played out in the last edition when the situation didn’t work in my favour. This time I had karma on my side!”
Credit photo: Alexis Couroux