Pat Lawless given green light for non-stop around the world voyage

Pat Lawless given green light for non-stop around the world voyage for the 2026 edition of the Golden Globe Race. Pat Lawless GGR leaving Dingle Co Kerry Ireland sailing to Les Sables d’Olonne – .Picture by: Kieran Ryan-Benson

Limerick sailor Pat Lawless is one of 16 skippers due to depart from France on Sunday for the 2026 edition of the Golden Globe Race

Pat Lawless, an Irish solo-sailor living in Ballyferriter, Co. Kerry, has been given the green light to compete in the 2026 edition of the Golden Globe Race (GGR) after his yacht, the Silvermines Hydro, passed all the necessary safety and equipment inspections.

The safety inspections are designed to ensure that all sailors are prepared for an approximately nine-month-long journey and comply with the race’s traditional technology rules.  Pat must leave France carrying everything he needs for the voyage including food, clothing, tools, spare parts, medical supplies, a compass and paper charts for navigation, and a sextant for observing the sun and stars.

The race team sealed and photographed Pat’s “grab bag,” which contains his emergency equipment, before stowing it aboard Silvermines Hydro. Under the race rules, the bag must remain sealed throughout the race. If Pat breaks the seals and uses any emergency equipment, his race is effectively over.

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Pat, originally from Limerick, is a retired fisherman and furniture maker aiming to be the first Irishman to complete the race and sail unassisted around the world. At 70, he is the oldest of the 16 sailors set to depart Sables-d’Olonne on Sunday (September 6th), the youngest competitor is just 21.

The GGR recreates the extraordinary accomplishment of the original race won by Sir Robert Knox Johnston in 1968 by prohibiting GPS navigation, electronic instruments, satellite weather routing and any outside help. For entertainment, Pat will only be allowed paper books and music played from a cassette tape.

Pat’s Saltram Saga 36 yacht is named after his title sponsor, Silvermines Hydro, a hydroelectric renewable energy project that will repurpose the abandoned mine site at Silvermines in Tipperary. When finished, the pumped storage power facility will be Ireland’s largest and first since the opening of ESB’s Turlough Hill in 1974. The project will transform the legacy mining infrastructure into a long-term national energy asset, supporting Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon electricity system while making productive use of the existing mine site.

Anticipating the start of the race and hoping to improve on his last GGR attempt in 2022, Pat said: “I am delighted to have received my green card after passing all the safety inspections and can’t wait to get started. The last few weeks have been all about getting the boat prepared, stocked and ready for the long 30,000 nautical miles I’m hoping it will make. The GGR is part of sailing history and after not quite making it in 2022, this year, the same age 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 the GGR. I can’t thank Silvermines Hydro enough for their support and sponsorship for my journey and look forward to flying the flag for Ireland.”

Darren Quinn, Chief Executive of Siga Hydro, developers of the Silvermines Hydro project said: “We are extremely proud to be supporting Pat as he embarks on this remarkable voyage across the world. Like the Golden Globe Race, the Silvermines Hydro project is built on patience, planning and long-term resilience. These shared values make the partnership with Pat Lawless a natural fit. To have the Silvermines Hydro name making its way around the world is a unique opportunity and we will be part of a community following Pat’s progress as he navigates the great capes and the Southern Ocean. We have full confidence in Pat’s lifetime worth of sailing and look forward to him joining the small list of sailors to have completed this incredible race.”

Pat will also be raising funds for Parkinson’s Ireland throughout his GGR attempt following his wife Rita’s diagnosis in the build up to the 2022 race. Donations can be made here: www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/patlawless1