The Cruising Group hosted a talk on Tuesday from Pat Lawless, an Irish sailor and adventurer (woodworker, fisherman, painter....). Winkie Nixon gave him an entertaining introduction. Pat talked about his entry in the 2022 Golden Globe race (cut short after 8000m miles by gear failure) and his intention to try again in the 2026 Race. There were a lot of questions from the audience about food, loneliness, repairs, weather and much more. At the end, the Commodore thanked Pat and presented him with a HYC gilet to keep him warm mid-ocean. Gerry O'Neill, who had arranged the talk, presented Pat with with a warming bottle of Jameson. It was an interesting and informative evening and we wish Pat all the best with his plans. And we raised €800 for the RNLI - sincere thanks to all of you for your generosity!
If you want to follow Pat's progress towards the 2026 Race (or see footage from the 2022 Race), look at www.patlawless.com. Barely mentioned, but also interesting, is that his father sailed solo across the Atlantic in a Folkboat and talked about that in the old clubhouse, 40 years ago. He did a lot more long-distance sailing - see his website : www.patlawlesssolocircumnavigator.com.
