Round Ireland Record: Tom Dolan's first day goes well
by Tom Dolan Racing 30 Oct 2023 03:43 PDT
Tom Dolan © Tom Dolan Racing
After starting at 1500hrs yesterday, Sunday, Irish sailor Tom Dolan has made good progress through his first night at sea as he attempts to set a new solo record for sailing round Ireland.
Sailing counter-clockwise, leaving Ireland to his port hand side, at around 0830hrs this morning he was already on the NW corner and ready to attack the west coast in very breezy conditions.
He reported, "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."
Track Tom's attempt