Sailboat Magazinevideo
Pat Lawless; The Sun Love Sailing Interview
July 29, 2025 · 1h 7m · 309 views · Dingle Peninsula
What this video covers
Pat Lawless, a sailor from the Dingle Peninsula in West Kerry, Ireland, discusses preparation for the 2026 Golden Globe Race (GGR) aboard his Creelock 37 after retiring from the previous GGR when his Aries wind vane self-steering failed — a failure he attributes entirely to not stripping and rebuilding the unit before the race.26:32 He has since fitted a new all-brass-bushing Aries and is keeping the old one as a spare.28:08 During a six-to-seven-day passage from the Canaries to Madeira without self-steering, he discovered he could sail the boat faster upwind by balancing it under a 115–120% Yankee and staysail combination, letting the front of the main luff slightly, and plans to apply that trim knowledge in the race.28:11 The Creelock 37's four-reef main has three reefs led aft; the fourth, highest reef is not.34:28 Downwind strategy favors dropping the main early and sailing under twin headsails on roller furling with foam lofts to maintain shape.36:38 He discusses mast strength, noting modern aluminum masts contain more silicon and less aluminum than older ones and may be weaker despite a perfect appearance — a concern for Southern Ocean sailing.39:52 The Hydrovane's value as a backup rudder system is noted.19:53 Roly Tasker Sails provided new sails at a favorable price after Lawless consulted them on his upwind sail-balance problem.29:42 His home waters off the Blasket Islands run five-knot tides with five-meter tidal range.2:34 Failing to fully understand your self-steering gear's engineering before an offshore race, not just how it works, is the lesson Lawless draws from his GGR retirement.27:05
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