01 May Offshore race set to be decisive for Ireland’s Tom Dolan at the Solo Maître CoQ
At the Solo Maître CoQ Figaro circuit event which started on Tuesday out of Les Sables d’Olonne in France’s Vendée region, a slightly frustrated Tom Dolan is sitting in 14th place heading into Thursday’s 390 mile offshore race component of the annual event.
After enjoying good conditions on Tuesday for the 32 miles coastal race, today’s similar style of race had to be abandoned after the breeze dropped after some six hours and about ten miles of racing.
“It’s annoying to have spent so much time fighting it out on the water and to end up with no score to carry forwards. That is very frustrating, even in the grater scheme of things if the race only had a coefficient of 1,” commented the skipper of Smurfit Kappa – Kingspan.
“I’m not unhappy with what I got in the first race. I didn’t get a bad start but overall I gained more places than I lost over the entire course,” said Dolan whose strengths historically are offshore on the long races.
“ All that being said it all looks good,” said the Irishman of the course set this year which has the 33 boat fleet racing more in the actual middle of the Bay of Biscay, so In essence a ‘proper’ offshore rather than an extended coastal race.
“We should have a lot of upwind and plenty of wind, with 20 knots on average over the entire route. The start will be quite important as we will be heading off downwind and we will be using the currents. And it will be a bit of a rich get richer speed race at least to start with.”
The race should finish some time between mid morning and mid afternoon Sunday.