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.
For more than fifty years now, the 1898-founded Howth 17s have all been located at their port of origin, and the class has been thriving, so much so that serious damage to seven of the boats in winter storage in…
Cork Harbour's Crosshaven is the Switched-On Place for Race-Winning Plastic Classics
3rd August 2021 Cork Harbour
Where other people and places see problems, down Crosshaven way they see opportunities and solutions. Thus although the sailing world generally may be getting increasingly agitated about the fact that fibreglass boats seem to last forever and eventually present a…
Dun Laoghaire Sees its Harbour in a New Light with the Return of the Dublin Bay 21s
31st July 2021 W M Nixon
There's something about the way that Steve Morris and his boat-building team in Kilrush are restoring the 1903-vintage Dublin Bay 21s that speaks to people with only a vague notion of the sea and sailing. The class association circled around…
Despite a brief gale and much rain in the night, Ireland’s east coast has been a bit lifeless as regards wind this morning as the three restored Dublin Bay 21s make their way from Arklow to their appointment with destiny…
Eve McMahon Stays in Podium Places Despite Missing Race in Laser Youth Worlds
29th July 2021 Youth Sailing
Howth’s Eve McMahon managed to stay in second overall after Thursday’s first two finals races in the Laser Youth Worlds on Lake Garda even with missing out on the first race with a DNC. She came back with a third…
Royal St. George's O'Connor on Top as SB20s Hit the Heat in Northerns at Carlingford
28th July 2021 SB20
"We'd an amazing weekend at Carlingford Marina for the SB20 Ireland Northern Championships", reports Irish SB20 President John Malone of Lough Ree YC Conditions were perfect on the very beautiful Carlingford Lough. There was wall-to-wall sunshine and a good enough…
Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon Fighting Off 108 Other Competitors to Hold Her Lead in the Laser Youth Worlds
28th July 2021 Laser
Volatile weather in northern Italy is adding to the drama in the huge fleet racing the current Laser/ILCA Youth Worlds on Lake Garda. The threat of sudden and violent winds making if difficult for competitors and organisers alike to keep…
It was considered good going in the brief season of 2020 when Paul and Laura McMahon's 1978-vintage prototype Puppeteer 22 Shiggi Shiggi (sail number #1) emerged fresh but untried from the restoration laboratories and took the national title. But in…
It's not often that universally-agreed forecasts of exceptionally good weather will cause a reduction in numbers for an upcoming sailing race. But as the week drew on and yesterday (Saturday's) annual Aqua Restaurant-sponsored Two-Hander at Howth came steadily up the…
The Resurgent Glen Keelboat & Why Local One Design Sailing Classes Have Never Been More Relevant
17th July 2021 W M Nixon
The cherished local One-Design classes of Ireland have never been more relevant than they are now, in these crazy times of soaring-graph numbers when local is good. The expectation of staying local, while making do with fairly modest socialising and…
After their first overall in the 2021 J/80 Danish Opens which acted as the preliminary for the upcoming Worlds at the same venue, Pat O’Neill of Howth and his crew knew the stakes would be much higher in the big…
Howth’s Aqua Two-Hander Open Challenge Shaping Up to Catch Saturday’s Good Weather
14th July 2021 Howth YC
With good weather in prospect for the weekend, interest is quickening in Saturday’s (July 17th) Aqua Two-Handed Challenge at Howth Yacht Club. Contrary to popular opinion, this is an open event. But over the years, the Howthmen have managed to…
The restored 56ft Limerick ketch Ilen of 1926 vintage is such an eye-catcher - when you can get a proper view of her - that she immediately arouses, in both young and old, the secretly cherished dream of running away…
When the Royal Cork Yacht Club unveiled the fresh concept of the Tony Castro-designed 1720 Sportsboat back in 1994, one of the tongue-in-cheek suggestions was that finance in developing the class could be through some grant scheme for Job Creation,…
Rocco Wright of Howth started the 9-day 2021 Optimist Worlds on Lake Garda with a race win. And he finished with another really stylish race win, as captured in this vid In between, things didn’t go quite so smoothly, and…
Ireland’s Rocco Wright Finishes with a Win in Final Race as Brazilian Becomes Optimist World Champion 2021
9th July 2021 Optimist
While Brazil’s Alex Di Francesco Kuhl continued his improving performance today on Lake Garda to topple the USA’s Gil Hackel from the overall lead to become the new Optimist World Champion, Ireland’s top helm Rocco Wright of Howth concluded with…
In Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the Sailing Show Goes On As the Ghost of the VDLR Haunts Foggy Dublin Bay
10th July 2021 W M Nixon
It has been said here before, but it's worth saying again – on Thursday evenings in normal times in summer, the Dublin Bay Sailing Club programme is so popular that the fleet out racing would be considered a splendid turnout…
Peter Coad’s Seamanlike Self-Reliance Displayed off Sherkin Island in Fastnet 500 Race
9th July 2021 Offshore
Once upon a time, it was a tradition of offshore sailing - whether racing or cruising - that self-reliance in all circumstances was the golden thread running through your every venture at sea. You’ll note we say “ventures”. The traditional…
It had been hoped to provide three races today (Thursday) at the Optimist Worlds 2021, but increasingly unstable weather over Lake Garda saw only one completed. In flukey conditions, with the wind drawing from the north for the first time…
A slowly fading southerly breeze on Lake Garda today - declining from an initial 10 knots - favoured early fleet leaders in the three day finals of the Optimist Worlds 2021, and the USA’s Gil Hackel found extra speed to…
