Dolan breaks into top ten in testing Transat
by Tom Dolan Racing 28 Apr 2018 04:10 BST
Tom Dolan teams up with Tanguy Bouroullec for the Transat AG2R La Mondiale © Tom Dolan Racing
Irish ocean racer Tom Dolan has moved up to eighth overall following a full-on 48 hours in the Transat AG2R La Mondiale.
The 30-year-old from Kells, County Meath, and co-skipper Tanguy Bouroullec rocketed up the leaderboard as they flourished in big Atlantic breeze around 200 miles off the African coast.
After a tough light-wind opening to the race, Dolan's first major event in the super-competitive Figaro Beneteau fleet, the pair's boat Smurfit Kappa-Cerfrance was hit with gales of up to 40 knots after rounding the north-west tip of Spain.
While some call these conditions 'fresh to frightening', Dolan and Bouroullec are renowned for thriving when the weather gods get angry.
"The 48 hours after Cape Finisterre were a tad on the sporty side," Dolan said. "Our coach Gildas Mahe once told us that there are times when you shouldn't try to win a race, just be certain not to lose it. It is always the same gentle balance in the heavy stuff."
After suffering a knock-down, Dolan and Bouroullec discovered one of their spreaders had pieced a hole in their mainsail but after taking precautionary measures to stem the rip they were back up to full speed.
They also sustained damage to their largest spinnaker, which will prove vital once they approach the lighter winds of the Caribbean.
Turning to their smaller, older spinnaker they put the throttle back down but suffered another knock down that lost them three hours while they waited for conditions to abate.
"It cost is three hours but at least we can say we came within three hours and a snapshackle of keeping up with the best in the sport – not too bad for a pair of rookies," Dolan said with trademark enthusiasm.
At 1500 UTC Smurfit Kappa-Cerfrance was 80 miles behind leaders Sebastien Simon and Morgan Lagraviere but with a boat speed of more than 10 knots was the fastest in the top ten.
The fleet must round a waypoint off Las Palmas in Gran Canaria some 150 miles ahead before punching across the Atlantic towards the finish line in St Barts.
"Now the sun's out, the music's on and we're working on repairs," Dolan said. "We're into the trade winds and now the mission is to stay ahead of our fellow newbies Erwan Le Draoulec and Loïs Berrehar."
Track Dolan's progress at player.georacing.com/player_ag2r2018 and follow daily updates at www.facebook.com/tdsailing.