THE FAMILY of an Irishman who sailed around the world when he was 70 have appealed for help in tracing a precious manuscript in which he documented his epic voyage.
Pat Lawless, whose solo circumnavigation of the world made him a household name in the 1990s, died suddenly last month aged 84.
The Limerick man was given a hero’s welcome in July 1996 when he returned home after finally completing a 30,000-mile voyage around the world on his third attempt.
Yesterday his son Dan Lawless said his father had written a detailed account of his expedition, which publishers now wish to print.
However, the family cannot find the original manuscript and they have appealed for help in tracing it. “What we’re hoping is that he loaned it to somebody and it’s sitting in their home somewhere on a bookshelf and they’ve just forgotten that they have it,” Mr Lawless explained.
“Our father also did a lot of lectures series around the country and he used to keep his boat in Co Clare and Dingle so he could have given it to anybody not just someone in Limerick.”
In July 1996 the then 70-year-old sailed his 30ft vessel, the Seadog, up the Shannon estuary after spending three years at sea. "We've also decided that all proceeds made from the book will be given to the Life Boats Association which he would have liked too," Dan Lawless added.
Anyone with information about the manuscript can contact him 087-2259108.