This Sunday August 27, the most French of Irish skippers, Tom Dolan, set off aboard his boat on the waters of the English Channel from Caen, in Normandy, to reach the small village of Kinsale, in the south-west of the Ireland, three days later.
For his 53th edition, The Figaro Solitaire invites sailors to join the south west of ireland since the Normandy, during a first stage of 610 nautical miles, or nearly 1,130 kilometers. No doubt that Tom Dolanan Irish skipper who has been living in France since 2010, will be keen to achieve a good first part of the race to reach his native land. “The Flying Irishman”as it is nicknamed, is a forerunner of sailing in Ireland and will necessarily hold high the colors of the country which saw him try his hand at navigation for the first time, a discipline which will become his greatest passion and will make him world famous.
It is in the small village of Kinsaleabout thirty kilometers south of corkthat the boats are expected on Wednesday August 30 in the morning, after rounding Fastnet Rock and its lighthouse erected off the coast of Ireland. The skippers will then have a few days off to regain their strength and prepare for the rest of the race on September 3. In Kinsale, they will be able to survey the charming alleys strewn with colorful housesenjoy a high quality dining sceneor visit the imposing Charles Fortperched on a hill facing Kinsale Bay, a stone’s throw from the village.
THE Irish Tourismresponsible for promoting the Island of Ireland as a tourist destination on the French market, is delighted that Kinsale has been chosen as the land of stopover for the sailors of the Solitaire du Figaro for the first stage of its 2023 edition and hopes that this highlighting will encourage many visitors to explore the southwest irish and to discover its innumerable natural resources, cultural And historical.
The route chosen for stage 1 of the race, between Caen and Kinsale, is also an opportunity to highlight the ease of getting to Ireland by sea, from Normandy. Companies Stena Line And Brittany Ferries offer crossings between Cherbourg And Rosslarewheras’Irish Ferries connects the Norman city to Dublin. Since 2023, Brittany Ferries has also served the port of Rosslarein the south-east of Ireland, since Le Havre. Crossings between Ireland and Normandy take around 18 hours; a journey that requires taking your time, but which is not nearly as trying as the journey undertaken by Tom Dolan and his competitors within the framework of the race.
