Friday, 29 July 2022 | 19.8°C Dublin

Pat Lawless on the quayside in Dingle with his wife, Rita, daughters Helen, Deirdre and Catherine, son Tony, son-in-law John Patrick and grandchildren Hailey and Patrick, just before he set off on Saturday for the start of the round-the-world Golden Globe yacht race. Photo by Declan Malone

Pat Lawless with some of his Baile an Fheirtéaraigh neighbours, (from left) Helen and Austin Ó Riordáin and Kelly and Dónal Ó Catháin, before he set off on Saturday for the start of the Golden Globe round-the-world yacht race. Photo by Declan Malone

Local boats escorting Pat Lawless to the mouth of Dingle Harbour on Saturday as he left to joint the round-the-world Golden Globe Race. Photo by Declan Malone

Pat Lawless on board the Green Rebel before setting out from Dingle on Saturday to join the round-the-world Golden Globe Race. Photo by Declan Malone

Peter Lawless casts off the mooring line for his brother, Pat, as he left Dingle en route to joining the round-the-world Golden Globe race. Photo by Declan Malone

Declan Malone and Joan Maguire

West Kerry sailor Pat Lawless sailed out of Dingle on Saturday to take part in the Golden Globe ‘voyage for madmen’ around the world, with nothing but a set of paint brushes to preserve his sanity on the wide and lonely oceans that lie ahead.

P at is one of just 22 competitors in the single-handed, non-stop race around the world in which contestants must face the challenge of the oceans with absolutely no outside help. They can seek shelter and anchor to make repairs, but they are not allowed to enter any port or accept any materiel assistance at any time during the race.

Competitors can use only the type of equipment and technology that was used in the first Golden Globe race, which means they will have to rely on charts and a sextant for navigation. They will have emergency packs containing life-saving and GPS navigation equipment but they will be disqualified if they resort to using it.

The race was first held in 1968 when only one of the nine contestants finished the race after the rest were shipwrecked, quit, or went mad. The Golden Globe wasn’t held again until 2018 and this year’s race is only the third time the event has been held. Two Irish sailors have taken part in the 30,000 mile race in previous years but neither completed the course.

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Pat is well aware of the Golden Globe’s reputation as a ‘voyage for madmen’ but, as he prepared to sail out of Dingle on Saturday he told The Kerryman he has an antidote for madness. He is going to pass the time during his eight or nine-month voyage by painting. His preferred subject is seascapes, which puts him in the fortunate position of being surrounded by oceans of inspiration.

Originally from Limerick and a long-time resident of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Pat was once a fisherman and, in more recent years, a furniture maker but he doesn’t plan to include woodwork as a hobby on his voyage. He hopes there won’t be any need for unplanned carpentry on the boat either!

Pat is sailing a 1989 Saltram Saga 36 – named ‘Green Rebel’ after his main sponsors - which he bought second hand in Holland and has been preparing for the Golden Globe race ever since. He chose the boat for safety and her load-carrying capacity – no small consideration given that he has had to pack in all the food, water and equipment he needs for the entire voyage. Speed was a lesser consideration for the Golden Globe, which is described as a race of attrition rather than performance, “but she’s still fast enough,” he says.

“There’s a lot of luck involved in the race – it depends on who gets the right winds,” said Pat. But regardless of his chances of getting on the winners’ podium, his greatest determination is to finish.

“Everything is pretty much ready with the boat. I’ve spent over four years preparing for this and I’m eager to get going now,” said Pat as he said farewell to family, friends and well-wishers who gathered on the quayside to see him off. His brother Peter - another adventure sailor in a family of sailors - cast off the stern line adding a simple “good luck, Pat”, as he set off towards the mouth of Dingle Harbour, accompanied by a flotilla of local boats.

“We’ll be worried about him, but we’re happy for him. He’s a good sailor,” Pat’s daughter, Helen told The Kerryman.

On Sunday Pat was in Crosshaven, where he watched Kerry’s victorious All-Ireland football final with his wife, Rita. On Tuesday he left Cork, bound for the port of Sables d’Olonne in France and from there he will sail to Gijón in northern Spain where Golden Globe competitors are to assemble.

On August 14 the contestants will begin a 280-mile challenge race from Gijón back to Sables d’Olonne where the Golden Globe race will get underway on September 4, following a 30,000 mile course that goes southwest towards the coast of Brazil, southeast around the Cape of Good Hope, past the southern tip of Australia, the Pacific, Cape Horn and back to France.

The official race finish is scheduled for June 2023 but Pat isn’t planning to celebrate his 67 birthday at sea on May 1 of next year. He expects to have completed the race and to be back on dry land by then.

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