Tom Dolan Eager to Return for the Final Race of the Season
by Tom Dolan - Kingspan Sailing 13 Aug 13:32 BST
Gildas Mahé and Tom Dolan © Romain Marie / Kingspan
While it's not a return to the single-handed sailing Tom is best known for, he and Gildas Mahé will make a triumphant comeback to racing aboard the recovered Figaro Kingspan.
After a devastating end to a near-perfect Solitaire du Figaro, which finished with Kingspan washed up on the shores of Île de Sein, Dolan is relishing the challenge of this near 3,000 nautical-mile race.
Although the break between racing has seemed long, Tom has had a busy summer between getting married, claiming overall IRC Class 1 honours in the 2026 Round Ireland Race aboard Gery Trentesaux's Courrier Pogo and completing all of Kingspan's repairs.
L'Adventura is the final Figaro race of the season for Tom, starting from Port Bourgenay on the 23rd of August with a momentous 1,600 nautical-mile leg to Lagos, Portugal, via Madeira, followed by a shorter 785-mile leg back to Île d'Yeu, France.
"I'm raging to get back to racing, we've had weeks of preparation after what I felt was some of the best sailing of my career, so I'm eager to get back out there and do it again. Thankfully there are some really nice offshore oceanic passages in this race, which means no rocks and no bloody islands!" Dolan laughs.
The Figaro Kingspan made a remarkable recovery after two weeks stranded on the shores of Île de Sein, with the hull remaining fully intact and needing only cosmetic repairs. However, to get the boat race ready, Tom and his team had to replace the keel, the starboard foil, the starboard rudder and the batteries. Proof that even after a triumphant rescue, there was still plenty of work ahead with the mast only going back in today Wednesday 12th August.
"Even though this race is double-handed, it's going to be a lot more intense pushing the boat, and it's a very long race, nearly the length of an Atlantic crossing over the two legs. Inevitably a few surprises from the incident will arise, so having two of us there to fix things will be a lot better," Dolan says of sailing alongside Gildas, his lifelong friend and mentor whom he considers a privilege to sail with in his final race of the season.
Only 20 teams will compete in this edition, but it promises to be highly competitive as ever, with big names like Macif on the start line to welcome Tom back.
"I was so, so lucky with this accident to be surrounded by so many good people working with and for me, ready to help otherwise the boat never would have been ready in time. So I'd like to extend a really big thank you to everyone who has helped me throughout their summers!"
L'Adventura kicks off in just under two weeks on the 23rd of August from Port Bourgenay, France, where fans will be eagerly awaiting the return of Kingspan to racing waters.
tomdolanracing.com