Irish solo sailor and NYC Member Tom Dolan is back in Ireland with his Figaro Beneteau 3 Smurfit Kappa Kingspan, aiming to set a Round Ireland speed sailing record, a bid sparking debate about the status of solo sailing in Irish waters and the records themselves, which Afloat concluded in May, was all a bit of a mess.
Tom wants to break the long-standing record of 4 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes and 29 seconds established by Michel Kleinjans aboard a Class40 in 2005, but, he says, the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) do not accept singlehanded record attempts, so Dolan has lodged a double-handed speed record bid.
“I will be sailing around Ireland single-handed with an onboard reporter (OBR)”, he explained to Afloat…
