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.
Annalise Brings Stardust to Sutton & the Dickson-Waddilove Tokyo 2020 Campaign
23rd March 2019 W M Nixon
Annalise Murphy’s role in raising sailing’s profile in Ireland was brought home to us last weekend when The Irish Times ran a St Patrick’s Eve Quiz. Set by Eoin Butler, it aimed to test how truly Irish we who like…
One of the most popular figures on the Dun Laoghaire waterfront, National Yacht Club outgoing Commodore Ronan Beirne, completes his two-year term of office this Saturday night with the traditional formal Commodore’s Dinner, which is only held when the role…
New American Sailing Book with Irish Input Gives a Fresh Angle on our Scene Afloat
18th March 2019 W M Nixon
Pete Brennan is an American of partially Irish ancestry who came originally from New Jersey, and now lives in Florida writes W M Nixon. For most of his life he has had steady jobs which had nothing whatever to do…
Dun Laoghaire’s Don O’Dowd Brings Multiple Talents to Staging VDLR 2019, Ireland’s Largest Regatta
16th March 2019 W M Nixon
In this week of meteorological mayhem exacerbated by an unsettling international political atmosphere, a reassuring and heartening mood of warm optimism was provided by getting together with Don O’Dowd, Chairman of the Organising Committee for Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2019…
Irish Northabout’s Great Arctic Circumnavigation to Feature at Sutton Dinghy Club on Thursday
11th March 2019 Cruising
Eight Irishmen and their 47-foot boat Northabout left Westport in June 2001 to sail the Northwest Passage north of Canada and Alaska. Nobody had ever sailed this in an East/West direction which is against the prevailing tides and winds. The…
The Different Class Associations of Sailing in Ireland are a “Benevolent Mafia”
9th March 2019 W M Nixon
They’re the sometimes well-hidden glue that holds key elements of Irish sailing together writes W M Nixon. They’re a formidable power in our sport. They might seem to outsiders like secret societies. Yet each in its own way – for…
At the height of their fame, the unrestricted Sydney Harbour 18-footers worked on the theory that the more sail you could carry, then the faster you’d go writes W M Nixon. With serious betting going on among spectator crowds following…
Irish-Built Golden Oldie’s Round Ireland Achievement – All Will Be Revealed!
5th March 2019 Historic Boats
One of the most unusual achievements of 2018’s Irish sailing season was the veteran gaff-rigged ketch Maybird’s completion of the Volvo Round Ireland Race writes W M Nixon. Built by Tyrrell of Arklow in 1937, the 43ft Maybird was superbly…
Sailing in Ireland is a sport of long-lived organisations, writes W M Nixon. It’s a vehicle sport in which a significant number of the sailing vehicles are cherished classics, sometimes passed down from one generation to the next. Like it…
Dungarvan in the west of County Waterford is in some ways one of Ireland’s best-kept secrets writes W M Nixon. It’s big enough to be considered a real town by Irish standards – it’s the County Town too - yet…
Record Seeker Thunder Child II Stirs Memories of the Legendary Turbinia From Parsons of Birr
20th February 2019 Power
There was something about the look of the reverse stem of Safehaven Marine’s new 70ft Transatlantic record-seeker Thunder Child II in Afloat.ie this week which stirred a hidden memory of ships and speed writes W M Nixon. And then it…
GP 14 Sailor Curly Morris at 75 Proves Sailing is “A Sport for Youth of All Ages”
19th February 2019 GP14
Curly Morris of East Antrim Boat Club in Larne has sailed in a number of boats over a long period, but the GP 14 has always been the love of his life writes W M Nixon. And in the GP…
Irish Sailing’s Cruising Conference in Lough Ree Yacht Club Attracts a Packed House
17th February 2019 Cruising
Lough Ree Yacht Club at Ballyglass, where the spacious waters of the great Shannon lake start to narrow back to river size for the passage south through Athlone, is already well into planning for its Quarter Millennium in 2020. Founded…
Should the Dun Laoghaire Waterfront Have Its Own Classic Wooden Boat-Building Academy?
16th February 2019 W M Nixon
Dublin Bay has an unrivalled continuous history of One-Design sailing and racing writes W M Nixon. It runs in a golden thread all the way back to 1887, when Ben Middleton launched his little class of Water Wag dinghies to…
Irish Sail Boat Tuner Has Secret & Successful Powerboat Racing Life
12th February 2019 Powerboat Racing
Most people on the inside track in cruiser-racer tuning in Ireland will know of Alan Power, who does magic things with the top Half Tonners and other sharp end boats in his fibreglass workshops in Malahide writes W M Nixon.…
“Sailors of the Year” Robert Dickson & Sean Waddilove Have Shown Special Determination From an Early Age
9th February 2019 W M Nixon
There is no other event quite like the annual Afloat.ie Volvo Irish Sailing Awards writes W M Nixon. Ireland is small enough for most of the key people in sailing ashore and afloat to know each other personally. So it…
These days we hear so much understandable negativity about the frightening lifespan of plastics that it’s like a breath of fresh air to hear more about someone who has put its longevity to good use writes W M Nixon. Deep…
Richard Colwell – Steady Hand & Visionary Outlook on ICRA’s Helm in Period of Change
2nd February 2019 W M Nixon
When time is spent with Richard Colwell, who was elected as the new Commodore of the Irish Cruiser Racing Association in November, you’re quickly reminded of the saying: “If you want anything done, and done well, then ask a busy…
Jean-Luc van den Heede safely berthed his Rustler 36 Matmut in the Vendee Marina in Les Sables-d’Olonne shortly after 1100 hrs today to confirm him in first place in convincing style in the Golden Jubilee Golden Globe Race writes W M…
With a working life in which sailing, business and friendship are so intertwined that it is difficult if not impossible to tell where one begins and another ends, it will be a sweetly sad bit of news for many folk…
