Sailor Pat begins remarkable journey
Special link with Silvermines
Amid jovial scenes and an electric atmosphere, the 2026 edition of the Golden Globe Race – an unassisted, non-stop, around-the-world solo sailing voyage – began in earnest from the French port city of Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday afternoon. A livestream broadcast showed a procession of sailing boats streaming out the town’s picturesque harbour, among them the 16 intrepid competitors who have now begun their epic 30,000-mile adventure across the globe.
If you looked hard enough at the footage, you could just about make out the sight of the instantly-recognisable and fearless Irishman Pat Lawless, standing proudly atop his vessel, emblazoned with the name ‘Silvermines Hydro’ in recognition of the local renewable energy company’s role as Pat’s title sponsor. Aged 70, the Limerick-born and Kerry-based sailor will be known to many readers, particularly those in the Silvermines community as well as members of all of the local sailing clubs. He paid a memorable visit to Silvermines National School last April, forging a special connection with the pupils and principal James Hayden, all of whom will be tracking his progress intently.
Pat, who previously competed in the race in 2022 but was ultimately forced to withdraw due to a mechanical issue with his boat, is pleasant and easy-going, but also fiercely determined. Speaking to The Nenagh Guardian during that same visit a few months ago, he expressed his desire to complete the race outright and maybe even win it, but acknowledged that the entire endeavour was not without risk. Of the 16 sailors who started the race in 2022, only three finished, while three boats also sank. In other words, he said, the rate of attrition is huge. Asked whether he would truly be able to conquer the waves and handle everything the ocean throws at him, he gave this answer: “You’re not trying to defeat the ocean, you’re not trying to fight it. You’re not conquering it either. You’re just going with it.”
‘A remarkable voyage’
Pat set sail from Dingle a month ago and arrived in Les Sables in mid-August, but in recent weeks legions of supporters, media outlets, influencers and sailing enthusiasts had descended on the Atlantic enclave. Among them were representatives from Silvermines Hydro, the hydroelectric renewable energy project that is seeking to repurpose the abandoned mine site at Silvermines and convert it into Ireland’s largest pumped-storage power facility. Darren Flynn, the chief executive of Siga Hydro (developers of the Silvermines Hydro project), said that everyone was “extremely proud” to be supporting Pat on what he described as “a remarkable voyage”. “Like the Golden Globe Race, the Silvermines Hydro project is built on patience, planning and long-term resilience. Those shared values make the partnership with Pat a natural fit,” he said.
It is likely Pat will have to call on each of those qualities over the next few months. The race – which is designed to recreate the original Sunday Times Golden Globe Race from 1968-89 and prohibits the use of modern technology – is not due to finish until early next summer. On Sunday the competitors effectively left civilisation behind and took off into the wilds of the Atlantic. From there they will head south, sweeping around the three great capes, passing by Storm Bay in Tasmania before returning north and finishing where they started, in Les Sables d’Olonne.
Pat, who is the oldest competitor in the field and is also raising funds for Parkinson’s Ireland, has lived a life steeped in sailing. His own father completed a solo-circumnavigation of the globe in 1996, at the age of 70, the same age Pat is now. He has said that he now sails “in the spirit of his Dad”. With just a few books, an old cassette player and the waves for company, his journey will be a lonely one, but he will have prepared for that. He is a long way from his home in Kerry and a long way from Silvermines, but there is no turning back now.