23 Apr Tom Dolan Completes Toughest Physical Battle to Date with 6th Place Finish
Irish Skipper Tom Dolan and French sailing legend Gildas Mahé finished 6th in the Banque Populaire Grand Ouest Trophy. This six-day offshore challenge offered no respite to the Kingspan pair, with an unrelenting mix of conditions, constant sail changes and rough seas. Temperatures did not help matters with five bitterly cold nights at sea testing the endurance of these two seasoned figaro sailors.
And if that was not enough to challenge the competition, after two intense days racing along the north coast of France toward Brest, the race was effectively reset when the wind shut down. Parking up the fleet and levelling out the leaderboard.
Reflecting on the experience, Dolan said “Double‑handed sailing is insanely different. You must be completely in sync with your partner. Gildas is brilliant at calming me down when I get audacious ideas about what we should try next. I tend to think strategically, while Gildas with all his inshore experience has great short‑term tactical instincts. It was a complementary partnership.” He added, “A race like that is essentially about who makes the fewest mistakes and we definitely made a few.”
One of the trickiest parts of the race for the pair came during a night of chaotic 30–35 knot winds, which proved especially difficult. Water was pouring into the boat and temperatures were dropping, yet both sailors remained determined to stay in the race. Dolan described developing blisters on his mouth and even hiccups from inhaling so much seawater, a stark reminder of the brutality of offshore racing. Despite several boats retiring due to the conditions, Dolan and Mahé were very pleased with how well the Kingspan Figaro held up
Looking ahead to the Solitaire du Figaro, which begins on Sunday 17th of May from Perros‑Guirec, Dolan says there is still a good amount of work to be done on the mast, but the race served as the perfect full‑power test. “This was a great opportunity to pull the be‑jayus out of the boat,” the Meath skipper joked. The strong performance and resilience shown this week leave him feeling confident heading into the iconic three stage solo race.
