Please select your home edition
Edition
McDYachts_Pyewacket-for-Sale_1456x180 TOP

Irish solo sailor Tom Dolan: "Staying fresh, hungry and focused are my targets this season"

by Tom Dolan Racing 11 Mar 2024 02:30 PDT
Tom Dolan set for the Solo Guy Cotten © Gilles Dedeurwaerder

Irish solo offshore sailor Tom Dolan will start his 2024 racing season on Monday at the 48th edition of the Solo Guy Cotten determined that a slight change of approach will bring him consistently better results.

Rather than spending big chunks of his winter and spring on the water, this pre-season the skipper of Smurfit Kappa-Kingspan has prioritised his physical and mental preparation as he is seeking to be able to maintain his energy and focus at a higher level over the entire raxing year, leading to better results.

"I have been in the class for six years and I really feel like I know the Figaro Bénéteau 3 by heart and so rather than being out sailing in search for tiny percentages in speed here and there, I am trying to set myself up to have, and to retain more energy and focus through each race of each event." Dolan contends, " In turn that should allow me to sail faster for longer and to have better energy to make better decision and maintain a higher level of concentration. It is a long season, starting out now, and this is one area we identified last year. I am looking at staying fresh, hungry and focused this season."

The Solo Guy Cotten races out of Dolan's adopted home port of Concarneau from Monday until Thursday. Courses on the Bay of Concarneau are followed by a major 300-mile race between Pointe de Bretagne and Ile d'Yeu.

"I have trained a bit less on the water to make sure I am always hungry to go sailing and to do well, I have improved my strength and fitness and have worked hard on my mental game.." He says.

He has made some small tweaks to his sail programme, minor updates and is very happy with his boatspeed. More recently did some training with French skipper Jules Delpech under the watchful eye of Gildas Mahé.

"That has allowed be look more closely at the sails again and to just validate my different trim settings. This Solo Guy Cotten will allow me to find my marks in the fleer. My goal will be to complete all the races in good shape, avoiding the pitfalls over period of very high tides and doing the best I can against the competition which is higher than ever with a few new faces coming in. I want to be practising my starts and just rediscover the feel for solo racing under pressure. I don't have a specific performance objective. My goal is to concentrate on what I can control." Says Dolan.

The seasonal curtain raiser comprises two days of racing around the Glénan islands and on the Bay of Concarneau before setting off on Wednesday on an off-shore course of 'around 48 hours, between Pointe Bretagne and Ile d'Yeu.

"We should have fairly sustained south westerly winds going to the south east, never much more than 20 knots. The positive thing is that it shouldn't be too cold for March. As always, I will do the best I can, just looking to chain together the little wins, the small victories along the way rather than looking to achieve a ranking. The important thing for me just will be to have the feeling of having managed all the processes well and to feel I have sailed a good race."

He adds, "Overall I had good results last year, everything went quite well other than losing out in the Bristol Channel on La Solitaire and so I am quite happy. I have the speed and the experience, now - as they say - my biggest enemy is myself."

In April Dolan will race the Class 40 Amarris to Guadeloupe along with two other "Figaristes", good friends of his, Mahé and Catalan Pep Costa.

"Actually that will be the first ever crewed racing across an ocean I have done.I raced a Transatlantic before with Gildas but this will be very different. The Class 40 is bigger and heavier and needs more physical work. Right now I am about learning all I can on other boats too and learning from sailing with other people."

tomdolanracing.com

Related Articles

Dolan battles injury as Leg 1 Endgame begins
A niggling hand injury in the Solitaire du Figaro Kingspan skipper Tom Dolan sought medical attention on Tuesday for a niggling hand injury he had picked up within an hour of the start. Posted today at 8:33 am
Globe40 and La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec
A look at the Globe40 and the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec It's always an encouraging sign when a round-the-world race begins its second edition, especially when the steeds in question are approachable boats for most serious sailors. Posted on 9 Sep
La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec Leg 1 Day 3
All That for This... While most people ashore were sitting down for lunch, a strange ballet was unfolding at sea off Dieppe. Carried by the rising tide in the Channel and with barely a breath of wind, the solo sailors struggled to escape the second course mark, Daffodils. Posted on 9 Sep
Dolan channeling experience in Solitaire du Figaro
It's a long, demanding leg where experience and resilience will be the key factors This revised Leg One course sees the fleet criss-crossing the English Channel and its busy commercial traffic several times, leaving little opportunity for sleep or rest of any kind as the sailors dodge tankers, ferries, fishing boats and other craft. Posted on 9 Sep
La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec Leg 1 Day 2
Tom Goron (Groupe Dubreuil) and Charlotte Yven (Skipper Macif 2023) lay down their tactics Just over 24 hours after the start of the first leg of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, the fleet has rounded the first major mark of the 2025 course — Skerries Bank, off the southeast coast of Cornwall. Posted on 8 Sep
Tom Dolan in leading bunch in Solitaire du Figaro
A tricky night of upwind sailing in the English Channel split the fleet at times Kingspan-sponsored Flying Irishman Tom Dolan is in the leading edge of the pack after the first night at sea in La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, as the 34 skippers head north-west towards the Skerries Bank Buoy off the Cornwall coast. Posted on 8 Sep
La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec Leg 1 Start
The English Channel to decide a grueling first leg They're off! At 1 p.m. this Sunday, September 7, the 34 solo skippers of the 56th edition of La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec set sail from the Bay of Seine towards the Bay of Morlaix. Posted on 7 Sep
Irish sailor Tom Dolan begins title defence
This 'old school' style Figaro will be fast, physical, and tactical Tom Dolan begins the defence of his historic Solitaire du Figaro title today, with the Solo Offshore sailing race starting at 12 Irish time in Le Havre. Posted on 7 Sep
Before the La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec start
The course has been modified to highlight sailing in the English Channel On Sunday, September 7th at 1:00 p.m., 34 skippers* will finally set off, alone at sea, for a thrilling new edition of the race where every second spent offshore will count towards performance. Posted on 6 Sep
Tom Dolan 'relaxed and ready' to defend title
Flying Irishman will start his defence of the prestigious Solitaire du Figaro Ireland's top offshore sailor Tom Dolan will start his defence of the prestigious Solitaire du Figaro off the coast of France on Sunday morning. Posted on 6 Sep
Sea Sure 2025C-Tech 2021 SnuffAir 728x90 BOTTOMHyde Sails 2024 - One Design