Irish skipper Pat Lawless, the oldest skipper in the race at 70, sailing SILVERMINES HYDRO, has retired from the 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race after reporting a serious failure of his Solent rig while lying just over 100 nautical miles behind race leader Damien Guillou.
At 23:51 UTC on 17 October, Pat sent a short SMS to GGR Race Control:
“Pat here. Solent rig broken. Rig okay. Now sailing north. Out of the game.”
The message indicates that Pat has suffered a serious failure involving the Solent stay, the secondary forestay situated aft of the main genoa forestay and used aboard SILVERMINES HYDRO for a reefing headsail system. At the time, he was pushing into a 20–25 kt north-easterly headwind and 3–4 m seas. He is approx. 2,000 miles west of Cape Town, South Africa, in the Roaring Forties of the South Atlantic.
A few weeks ago, Pat had already reported damage to the Solent forestay and successfully carried out a repair at sea. It now appears that the stay has suffered another serious failure. At this stage, GGR has not established whether the previous repair itself has failed or whether the latest damage has occurred elsewhere in the Solent rigging.
The most important information in Pat’s message is his statement that the “rig [is] okay.”
There is presently no indication that the mast itself is in danger. The main genoa forestay remains in place, together with the staysail forestay and the remainder of the standing rigging, which GGR currently assumes to be intact.
Pat has reported no injury and has not requested assistance.
For those reasons, GGR has not declared a CODE ORANGE.
Pat is a highly experienced ocean sailor and appears to be fully in control of SILVERMINES HYDRO. Had he considered himself to be in immediate danger, or required urgent assistance, he could have telephoned the GGR emergency number directly, which would have immediately alerted Race Control.
The SMS arrived at approximately 01:51 local French time on 18 October, shortly after Race Control had finished normal monitoring for the night. It was discovered early this morning following the 04:00 UTC tracker update, when Pat’s course was seen to have changed dramatically and SILVERMINES HYDRO was moving slowly in a north-westerly direction.
Pat’s shore manager has now been informed. He too had been watching the tracker but had received no additional information directly from Pat.
Now that Pat has formally retired from the GGR, he is free to use his satellite telephone without the race restrictions that applied while competing. At the time of this release, however, he has not yet made further contact with Race Control.
Immediate situation at sea
Pat’s exact intentions are not yet known.
Based on his present course and speed, one possibility is that he may currently be hove-to or otherwise keeping SILVERMINES HYDRO comfortable while waiting for daylight to fully assess the damage.
Pat’s first priorities will almost certainly be to inspect the damaged rig, secure or remove any loose components and ensure that no further damage can occur.
Once the rig is made safe, it would be reasonable to expect that he may turn towards Cape Town, although GGR stresses that Pat has given Race Control no indication of his intended destination at this stage.
A cruel repeat of 2022
The retirement is particularly difficult for Pat because the 2026 race represented unfinished business.
During the 2022 McIntyre Golden Globe Race, Pat had been sailing strongly near the front of the fleet when his Aries windvane self-steering system suffered a major failure west of Cape Town. Unable to continue his non-stop solo circumnavigation as intended, he subsequently sailed into Cape Town, where his retirement was confirmed on 10 November 2022.
For Pat, the 2026 edition represented what he had described as his final opportunity to achieve a lifelong ambition: to become the first Irish sailor to complete a solo, non-stop circumnavigation in the Golden Globe Race, while also challenging for overall victory.
His performance in this edition has been exceptional.
In recent days Pat had steadily reduced the distance to French leader Damien Guillou aboard SOLAREM, at one point closing to little more than 100 nautical miles.
The two sailors had effectively broken away from much of the fleet and were shaping up for an extraordinary head-to-head contest as they approached the Southern Ocean.
Damien will undoubtedly be disappointed to learn that the competitor who had been applying such relentless pressure from astern will no longer be part of that battle.
The reality of the Golden Globe Race
For Pat, his family and the enormous body of Irish supporters following SILVERMINES HYDRO, this is a heartbreaking outcome. It also illustrates the uncompromising nature of the Golden Globe Race. Success depends not only on seamanship, navigation and endurance, but also on preparing and maintaining a yacht capable of surviving months of continuous ocean racing under enormous loads. Every piece of equipment matters.
Whether this failure is simply bad luck, fatigue accumulated in the rig during the previous six months, damage sustained earlier in the voyage, or another cause altogether cannot presently be determined.
What is certain is that Pat will be deeply disappointed. He returned to the Golden Globe Race determined to finish the job left incomplete in 2022, was sailing an outstanding race and remained very much in contention for victory.
Pat Lawless has once again demonstrated his determination, seamanship and competitive spirit. For now, however, the priority is simple:
Pat has reported no injury. SILVERMINES HYDRO’s main rig is reported secure. There is no CODE ORANGE. GGR Race Control is monitoring him. But Pat Lawless is officially out of the 2026 McIntyre Golden Globe Race.
Further information will be issued once Pat has assessed the damage and communicated his plans.
Don McIntyre
Founder and Race Director
