Tom Dolan Braces for Spring Tide Chaos in 800-mile Trophée Banque Populaire Grand Ouest

Tom Dolan and Gildas Mahé © Romain Marie

Irish offshore sailor Tom Dolan is set to launch into the second event of his 2026 Figaro season this weekend, taking on the Trophée Banque Populaire Grand Ouest double-handed race alongside long-time friend and renowned Figaro specialist Gildas Mahé. The pair depart Concarneau on Saturday, 18 April, ready to tackle one of the most technical early-season challenges on the circuit.

The demanding 800-mile course sends the Figaro fleet south out of Concarneau before looping back north to round a chain of islands scattered along the West Coast of France. This course is bound to challenge skippers as the fleet will compress and expand multiple times throughout due to narrow channels, inside outside routing choices and countless tidal gates.

Looking at the line up of skippers for Saturday, several major names have returned to the class and made their presence known in the season opener earlier in March. This race will be no different as they race a longer course, ensuring more fierce battles to come.

Mahé has overseen the technical preparation of Dolan's Figaro for the past two seasons, giving the duo a unique advantage. Often referred to as the 'little Mozart' of sailing, Gildas has a reputation as a dangerous competitor who has been among the offshore scene for 20 plus years. Racing together allows them to test, refine and validate the small performance gains they've been working on, the marginal percentages that often make the difference in Figaro racing.

"This race offers a unique opportunity to work on those percentages," Dolan says. "Gildas and I know the boat very well at this point, and double-handed sailing gives us the chance to push that bit harder as we can get significant rest between watches".

One of the most challenging sections of the course is expected to be the English Channel, where strong spring tidal coefficients can create unpredictable conditions. As Dolan notes, "Every time we head up there, something unusual seems to happen, and especially as this falls in the second half of the race where exhaustion will have begun to set in for skippers, it will be an interesting test, that's for sure.".

The 37 boat strong fleet are set to face lighter conditions as they head out of Concarneau at the start of the race before winds pick up to 25knots and above in the second half of the race. These conditions will make managing energy at the start of the race a key component for success among this experienced fleet.

Follow the race here and race updates from Tom and Gildas here.