Irish sailor Mark O’Connor has completed a 17‑day solo Atlantic crossing in the Maxi‑Mini “Skippy”, finishing ahead of his nearest rival by 27 seconds after a dramatic match‑race finish.
Mark said the finish brought “a little bit of pressure, but not too much”, after being overtaken near Basse‑Terre and digging deep to respond.
O’Connor lived in France for four years to prepare his Mini project, juggling work as an electrician on an IMOCA and DIY boat tasks.
He described climbing the mast mid‑Atlantic due to a backstay problem and squaring away a seized winch with a touch of olive oil — alone, immersed in the ocean’s vastness.
“I’ve just spent 17 days at sea, and I haven’t seen the time pass… I enjoyed myself so much, happy to be alone on board,” he said.
The start was tough: he got stuck in calms off the Canary Islands and lost places, but he clawed his way back as the trade winds kicked in.
“I didn’t set myself any particular goal … I’m a little disappointed in terms of performance. But I’m very happy to have moved up in the rankings,” he added.
His boat logged 2 606.38 nautical miles at 6.7 knots over the ortho track, and 3 260.66 nautical miles at 8.4 knots on the bottom. He finished on 10 November 2025 at 21:27:17 UTC after 16 days, 6 hours, 27 minutes and 17 seconds.
This article was written by and first appeared in Afloat HERE