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Pat Lawless leaving Dingle, sailing to Les Sables d'Olonne, France for start of Golden Globe Race KIERAN RYAN BENSON
Voyage of Madmen
Limerick man bidding to become first Irish person to complete solo sailing race around the world
Pat Lawless is participating in the race to raise funds for Parkinson’s disease research and treatment, as his wife is living with the neurodegenerative disorder.
A LIMERICK GRANDFATHER is bidding to become the first Irish person to complete and win a non-stop solo ocean sailing race around the world known as “the voyage of madmen”.
Next Sunday, Pat Lawless (70) will set out in the 2026 edition of the Golden Globe Race (GGR) after his yacht, the Silvermines Hydro, passed all the necessary safety and equipment inspections.
“I’m eight years preparing for it, I was preparing four years for it before and didn’t finish, and there was 16 in that race; three finished and three sank,” Lawless explained.
From Corbally in Limerick but living at Ballyferriter, Co Kerry, Lawless is participating in the race to raise funds for Parkinson’s disease research and treatment, as his wife Rita Geoghegan (66), from O’Connell Avenue, is living with the neurodegenerative disorder.
“I’m feeling quietly confident that I have prepared as well as I can for this race, but it’s my last chance; I know there is a chance that I won’t make (the finish line), but there is a chance I will,” offered Lawless.
“One thing I don’t like are lightning strikes, they’re very scary. I was in a fishing boat that was struck by lightning before and it blew all the electrics, but we made it home.”
“Lighting and calm weather – they’re the most challenging things. You’re nice and busy in storms,” added Lawless.
Sailing solo without the aid of electronic navigation on board, as per the race rules, means it won’t be plain sailing.
Lawless said: “I think over 500 people have been to space; 10,000 people have been to the top of Mount Everest; and less than 200 people have ever sailed solo non-stop around the world, so it’s not easy and no other Irish person has done it.”
Lawless is “one of the favourites” to cross the finish line first, despite having failed to finish the race in 2022.
And despite the obvious risks involved, Lawless said: “my biggest fear isn’t my safety, it’s that I won’t finish”.
“The biggest risk in the Southern Ocean is that you get pitch-poled (capsized) or rolled, and the mast goes under the water and you lose it.”
“It could make a hole in the side of the boat, and you might stay afloat for a few days until a ship gets to you, so that’s the biggest problem.”
The race will be as tough psychologically as it will be physically as the 16 participants, including 15 men and one woman, will have to cope with long periods of isolation.
“It’s the loneliest and longest race in the world, that’s why they call it the race for madmen,” quipped Lawless.
“When I am in the Southern Ocean, the closest people to me will be the astronauts flying in space above me in the International Space Station (ISS).”
The Limerick man won’t be able to call on the astronauts for help, as the ISS will be travelling around 27,000 km/h, while Lawless might hit a top speed of around 9km/h with winds.
Phone calls to loved ones are also prohibited during the race, but each competitor will be allowed to phone the GGR office once a week and message it once a day.
Each of the 16 competitors must leave the starting point in France carrying everything they need for the none-month long voyage including food, clothing, tools, spare parts, medical supplies, a compass and paper charts for navigation, as well as a sextant for navigating by the sun and stars.
As per the race rules, the solo sailors will not be allowed to continue racing, if they open a “grab bag,” containing emergency equipment.
The GGR recreates the extraordinary accomplishment of the original race won by Robert Knox Johnston in 1968 by prohibiting GPS navigation, electronic instruments, satellite weather routing and any outside help.
For entertainment along the 30,000 nautical mile voyage, Lawless will only be allowed paper books and music played from a cassette tape.
“In fact, I will be listening to 50 Irish traditional and classical music caste tapes, that had belonged to the late Taoiseach Charlie Haughey, which were given to me by his son Conor Haughey,” he added.
Lawless is a retired fisherman and furniture maker, but he will be competing against elite sailing endurance competitors, the youngest of which, at 21, is 50-years his junior.
He sets out attempting to follow in the footsteps of his late father Pat Lawless Sr, who, when also aged 70, sailed solo around the world on his third attempt in 1996.
“The GGR is part of sailing history, and after not quite making it in 2022, and being the same age now that my father was when he completed his round the world trip, I would love to be one of the names added to the list of skippers to have completed it,” said Lawless Jr.
Donations to Lawless’ fundraising drove for Parkinson’s treatment can be made at: www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/patlawless1
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