WM Nixon
William M Nixon has been writing about sailing in Ireland for many years in print and online, and his work has appeared internationally in magazines and books. His own experience ranges from club sailing to international offshore events, and he has cruised extensively under sail, often in his own boats which have ranged in size from an 11ft dinghy to a 35ft cruiser-racer. He has also been involved in the administration of several sailing organisations.
The 2020s provide a remarkable decade of major sailing commemorations in world, national and local sailing. Between 2020 and 2030, the 300th Anniversary of the Royal Cork YC has already been marked, as has the 250th of Lough Ree Yacht…
It seems the best way to make commemorations go with a buzz is to try to make it all low-key. The Sailing Into Wellness organisation, which runs the restored 1926-vintage 56ft Baltimore-built trading ketch Ilen of Conor O'Brien fame, tends…
It may have been way back in 1963 that the 43ft S&S-designed sloop Clarion of Wight won the Fastnet Race, beating gallant many-season campaigner Adlard Coles in the prototype Nicholson 36 Cohoe IV (with Keith Hunt of Kinsale in his…
Afloat.ie records with profound regret the death of American sailing writer and historian John Rousmaniere at the age of 82. He was best known on this side of the Atlantic as the author of the best-seller "Fastnet Force 10", his…
At most gatherings of classic yachts, it would be thought quite an achievement to muster a dozen boats setting proper two-yard jackyard topsails. But as in everything they do, the 1898-vintage Howth 17s are different. They simply have to signal…
The North Dublin Rogerstown Estuary in Fingal is a place of quiet attractions. But it is very different from Hawaii, and both in turn are very different from Hanko in Norway, where the Royal Norwegian Yacht Club has been hosting…
Sailing in West Cork for the past couple of weeks and more seems to have been elevated onto a new plane of meaning and enjoyment, with events around the traditional Baltimore Regatta on the Bank Holiday weekend (July 31st-August 2nd)…
Although there is not a specifically Irish boat in the 30-plus fleet starting on Sunday August 9th from Cowes in the Golden Jubilee of the 1800-mile RORC quadrennial circuit of Britain and Ireland, there are Irish crews to be found…
Gaff rig enthusiasts will find their reward this weekend on two coastlines, along Ireland’s Atlantic seaboard at Kinvara on Galway Bay, and along the East Coast at Howth. Kinvara in the southeast corner of Galway Bay will see the traditional…
Irish Polar Institute Opens Search for 2027 Polar Medal Recipient
4th August 2026 Irish Polar Institute
Do you know anyone who might be a descendant or distant relative of St Brendan the Navigator? Maybe someone little known who is comparable with ice legend Tom Crean of Kerry? Or perhaps you’ve a connection to High Latitudes explorer…
As the proposed 2026 international sailing programme began to move from the possible though the probable to the completely definite stages, the Research Unit here in the Sailing on Saturday Production Facility began to be concerned that planned big sailing…
For sailors in the greater Dublin area, as the boat size increases so too does the need to find a relatively distant well-furnished port if a proper change of scene is sought for a civilised stopover. Thus last weekend’s finishing…
With much of humanity still stunned in the sensory overload of the post-FIFA World Cup withdrawal symptoms, our ILCA sailors at home are benefitting from a dose of reality with a fleet of a hundred and more lined up for…
Irish Cruising Club Approaching Centenary With Many Of “First Fleet” Still Sailing
22nd July 2026 Historic Boats
The Irish Cruising Club – currently MG Motor “Sailing Club of the Year” under the active and imaginative leadership of Commodore Alan Markey – is approaching its Centenary in 2029 with the intriguing knowledge that many boats of the “First…
All Eyes Increasingly Towards Dun Laoghaire’s World Major As 2026 Season Progresses Through Second Half
18th July 2026 W M Nixon
The 2026 ILCA 7 Worlds in Dublin Bay from 23rd to 30th August, co-hosted by the National Yacht Club and Royal St George YC of Dun Laoghaire is by all official ratings the most important sailing event in Ireland this year. Sailing being…
The enchanting port of Roskilde – where the 100ft Irish-originating Viking longship Sea Stallion now makes her home – is the very soul of the best of Denmark’s Viking traditions. And those who would denigrate everything the Vikings did in…
The sense of land and sea interacting dynamically always seems much stronger around Cork Harbour than in most other places in Ireland, and never more so than in Cork Week with the Royal Cork Yacht Club in Crosshaven. There, the…
It’s Regatta Time in Ireland, with Competing, Haggling and Selling at Retail
27th June 2026 Royal Irish Yacht Club
It’s currently Regatta Time in a big way in Ireland at the Royal Irish YC in Dun Laoghaire and the Bangor clubs on Belfast Lough, with high stakes in terms of appropriate weather and the provision of good sailing. As…
Friday 15:30hrs – An entire week’s wind and a southerly, and all of it crammed into one Friday afternoon. That’s how it has felt as the bulk of the fleet slugged their way towards the finish of the Round Ireland…
Friday 07:30hrs – The 43 boats in the open IRC division of the Round Ireland Race 2026 from Wicklow now find themselves in four groups. The tail-enders are in the North Channel, about 15 boats in total, extending all the…
