Irish skipper Tom Dolan said that he wanted to cry with joy as he secured a historic win in La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec on Wednesday 11 September 2024.

La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec is one of the most gruelling, prestigious and renowned of all the solo French offshore races, and it’s been the proving ground of some of ocean racings greatest stars.

However, it has also been exceptionally French dominated, with just two international skippers ever having won it: the Belgian Joan de Kat in 1970 and the Swiss skipper Laurent Bourgnon in 1988.

In a typically nail-biting scenario for the Figaro, which is a one-design race in which finish positions are calculated on cumulative time, the top 20 boats all finished leg 1 within 5 minutes of each other after 615 miles of racing and four days from Rouen to Gijón, Spain. Irish sailor Tom Dolan finished 9th in the first stage, but with the fleet so close the race effectively restarted for Leg 2.

He then won the second leg from Gijon to Royan, another 515 mile stage, also picking up a five minutes time bonus for winning an Intermediate Sprint race, before leading the race all the way back across the Bay of Biscay. This left him in first overall going into the final stage.

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Dolan secured his win on a truly epic third and final leg from Gijon to La Turballe, western France, in which the solo skippers – already exhausted after two 500-plus mile stages – had to contend with particularly boisterous conditions. The monster 700-mile course for the final stage sent the remaining 31 solo skippers on an express passage across the English Channel to Portland Bill then back to Skerries off Dartmouth before heading south to the finish line.

On the final stage the fleet also compressed and extended repeatedly, the leaders briefly escaping before the pack closed in on them once again, with the final result uncertain until the finish before the overall race podium winners could be crowned.

Dolan on Smurfit Kappa – Kingspan, finished in 7th at 5:18 am local time today, Thursday 12 September, to secure victory in the overall ranking.

Photo: Alexis Courcoux

“I haven’t really got my head around what’s just happened yet. The Solitaire du Figaro is a race I’d hoped to win one day and today really is a dream come true! It’s completely crazy!” said a beaming Tom Dolan on the dockside early this morning.

“All in all, we had some really boisterous conditions. The pasting we took off southern England with 30 knots of established wind, gusting to 35, was particularly notable.

“At that point, I was no longer within sight of the others and we were really taking a hammering. My sole obsession was to keep the small spinnaker in the air and to make as fast headway as possible without careering off the track.

“It was full-on, it has to be said. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it was even a little scary during the gybes. In the end, we only had a small respite before passing the Skerries Bank and then we hit a light patch offshore of Brest.

“On a personal level, I spent a massive amount of time on the helm and I never let up despite the fatigue. It was vital to keep pace and that required an enormous amount of commitment as everyone was attacking like crazy at the head of the fleet!”

This is Dolan’s seventh entry in the race. “This victory is the reward for years of work and sacrifice, both for me and also for those around me. After the second leg, I knew I was well placed with a lead of 57 minutes over the 2nd boat but I tried to keep a cool head and I strived to put as little pressure on my shoulders as possible.

Photo: Alexis Courcoux

“I admit that there have been a lot of times when I’ve doubted myself. To be honest, a few hours ago, I was just hoping that I’d be able to save myself a spot on the podium. I went through all the numbers out on the water, counting and recounting the times.

“I’d imagined that some monstrous gaps had opened up between me and the leaders with the current at the Raz de Sein. When I crossed the finish line, I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d taken the win but I soon got the picture when I heard people congratulating me. At that moment, I kind of doubled up in my boat. I wanted to cry, albeit with tears of joy.

“Ultimately, it all came down to a transition during the second leg between Gijón and Royan, which was the tiniest of things. That’s generally how it goes in the Solitaire. That was how it played out in the last edition when the situation didn’t work in my favour. This time I had karma on my side!”

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