Limerick man is on the high seas - again!

IT IS all hands on deck for one Limerick man this week, as he is taking on a personal challenge of sailing from South Africa to Southern Ireland non-stop until he reaches home.

Limerick native Pat Lawless, who now lives in Ballyferriter, Kerry, touched down in Cape Town on February 8 via aeroplane. He is proceeding to sail from Cape Town to Dingle with an estimated arrival time of mid-April.

This is not the 66-year-old’s first time taking on an exploration of this scale, however - he participated in a solo race around the globe last year, but had to cut his journey short in Cape Town, coincidently, due to steering and mechanical difficulties.

The Corbally native competed in the Golden Globe Races 2022, which tasks experienced sailors around the world to challenge themselves in completing a global exploration.

His love for fishing and sailing came from historical influence, with Pat’s father having similar nautical interests: “We were reared in different boats - my father sailed around the world on a boat actually called the Limerick Leader, he was sponsored by the newspaper at the time!”.

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“Also an amateur skipper Conor O’Brien was the first man to sail around the world 100 years ago this year - he was a Limerick man and was an influence because my father brought me to his grave when I was young. He is buried in Loghill in County Limerick,” said Lawless this week.

Determined to continue the remainder of his journey home, Pat is taking on this lengthy exhibition in preparation for the next Golden Globe Race taking place this August 26, 2023.

Over the last six decades, Pat has sailed over 125,000km on water, fishing sometimes.

He says that he prefers solo sailing, without distractions, and is bringing oil paints aboard his next journey.