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.
Monday Was a Good Day at the Office for Golden Globe Racer Pat Lawless
15th September 2026 Golden Globe Race
Leader Damien Guillou of France in his Rustler 36 and second-placed Pat Lawless of Ireland in the Saga 36 Silvermines Hydro may have opened out a lead of 205 miles on the rest of the fleet in the Golden Globe…
It doesn’t seem at all like ten years ago since the O’Brien Kennedy-designed Dragonfly Class of Waldringfield in Suffolk sent one of their boats to represent them at Clontarf in the 70th Anniversary festivities of their near sisters, the Irish…
Damian Guillou of France and Pat Lawless of Ireland are facing into the fifth night at sea in the Golden Globe non-stop round the world race by lengthening away from the rest of the fleet as they benefit from the…
Although several leading members of the Cruising Association of Ireland were in Les Sables d’Olonne last weekend as part of Pat Lawless’s large support team for the start of the Golden Globe 2026, CAI Commodore Mike Kelly was still able…
France's Damien Guilliou racing a Rustler 36 benefitted from stronger wind close inshore off northwest Spain today (Wednesday) while still being able to lay the course without having to tack. He has thereby consolidated his lead in the Golden Globe…
Limerick's Pat Lawless Continues in Second Place in Golden Globe
8th September 2026 Golden Globe Race
Pat Lawless with his Saltram Saga 36 cutter Silvermines Hydro continues to sail a tactically brilliant race in the early stages of the Golden Globe 2026, and on Day 3 he lies second in the overall placings, bested only by…
Alan Carr and Orlaith Connolly racing Starfish (Sutton DC) have secured the 2026 IDRA 14 National Championship at Lough Erne Yacht Club after a closely fought six-race series was decided on countback. Sixteen boats of this 1946-founded lapstrake-built class travelled…
Forget your Cape Horners, Fastnet winners and Arctic circumnavigators. We’ve always thought that family cruising is among the most challenging forms of sailing or boating known to mankind. It’s certainly a demanding activity even with a cruising boat of adequate…
ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds Being Contested In A Dublin Bay For All Sailors
5th September 2026 ILCA Worlds 2026
The attention of the sailing community is understandably focused this weekend on the opening stages of the ILCA 6 Women’s Worlds 2026 in Dublin Bay, and the wonders of the ways in which the National Yacht Club and the neighbouring…
One of the odder stories to emerge from the weird and wonderful history of Dublin port is the near-legend of the Ouzel galley. It seems that in 1695 a group of the city’s merchants funded a sailing cargo ship called…
We regret to record the death of Johnny Hooper of the National Yacht Club and Royal Irish Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire, who for many decades was in the forefront of Irish sailing performance and boat class development. The son…
The current star-studded ILCA 7 Worlds in Dublin Bay, featuring a remarkable 142-boat 43-nation championship project co-hosted by the Royal St George YC and the National YC, has further focused international sailing’s attention on a venue which is already well-lodged…
The educational, career and family-starting demands of modern life are such that many sailing enthusiasts find they have very little time, resources and energy left for their favourite sport when they should be enjoying it fully. Not least among these are…
“We find the little fishing village of Rush has already fitted out four vessels, one of them is now at Rogerson’s Quay, ready to sail, being completely armed and manned, carrying 14 carriage guns and 60 of as brave hands…
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…
