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.
Mystery of Orca Whale Attacks on Boats Continues off Spanish Coast
26th September 2020 Marine Wildlife Stories of whales attacking boats at sea and sometimes sinking them go back a long way in maritime history, and as often as not it has happened in such a sudden and frightening way that identifying the precise species has…
West Cork Mini-Workboat Was a Key Link in Ilen's South Atlantic Shepherd Role
25th September 2020 Ilen When we contemplate the 56ft 1926-vintage Limerick ketch Ilen today in her superbly-restored form, making her stylish way along rugged coastlines and across oceans on voyages of cultural and trading significance between places as evocative as Nuuk in West Greenland…
At midnight on Friday, the lockdown shutters came down on the million-plus inhabitants of a place that no longer exists. And no, we don't mean that Dublin has obviously become a ghost town. But what we do mean is that…
Double Vision? Cork Harbour's Late Summer Brings Twin Versions of Classic Yachts
21st September 2020 Cork Harbour Those who have been rewarded for their careful adherence to social distancing and crew-pod rules by getting some sailing in the Indian summer which has been at its very best on Cork Harbour can be forgiven for wondering if, despite…
Ireland's Classic & Traditional Boats Give Us Hope in Challenging Times
19th September 2020 W M Nixon In this time of increasing uncertainty with its frustration of sailing plans, we find reassurance in soothing thoughts of well-restored or new-built classic boats. And traditional vessels in handsome and workmanlike order have the same heartening effect. We've an instinct…
Noted ocean voyager Vera Quinlan has joined the Irish Sailing Board of Directors, where she will head up the Cruising Policy Group. Vera (of Galway Bay Sailing Club) began sailing at the age of 10 on Lough Derg. She started…
With a turnout of 24 boats keen to enjoy the benefit of sunshine at sea while the mist gloomed over the land, the Dublin Bay Water Wags continued to push the truncated 2020 season to its limits on Wednesday evening.…
Transatlantic Un-Crewed Ship? Why Not Ocean-Crossing Unmanned Nuclear Submarines?
16th September 2020 News Update Today (Wednesday) in Plymouth in England, the Mayflower Autonomous Ship is expected to have her official launch, though the word is she has been test floated in advance. If that's the case, it was a prudent move, for although un-manned…
Congratulations Pour in for 69th Wedding Anniversary of Sailing legends Neville & Jean Maguire of Howth
16th September 2020 Howth YC Congratulations have been pouring in for sailing legends Neville and Jean Maguire of Howth, who celebrated their 69th Wedding Anniversary in yesterday’s balmy weather aboard their Seaward 23 motor-cruiser Two Much in Howth Marina. These days, they’re best-known internationally as…
Howth Yacht Club's Special End-of-Summer Series off to Winning Start with 79 boats
14th September 2020 Howth YC The Irish sailing community's response to the pandemic-induced prohibition on open events has seen some inspiring out-of-the-box thinking where there are significant local fleets. So although Howth Yacht Club has weathered two major setbacks in 2020 in being unable to…
Dublin Bay Sailing Club has Navigated with Style Over COVID-19's Challenging Seas
12th September 2020 W M Nixon Even Dublin Bay Sailing Club, with all its remarkable expertise and sheer firepower, has been unable to slow Planet Earth in its daily rotation, let alone alter the steady changing of our little solar satellite's endlessly shifting tilt as it…
Wicklow Superyacht Designer Mark Mills Wins Another International Award
10th September 2020 News Update County Wicklow-based international superyacht designer Mark Mills has scooped another major trophy at the stratospheric end of the global sailboat design spectrum. Back in April, he was an Afloat.ie "Sailor of the Month" awardee when his very advanced prototype Wally…
Limerick Ketch Ilen's "Cargo Cruise" Delivers the Goods on Ireland's Atlantic Coast
8th September 2020 Ilen The restored 1926-built Conor O'Brien-designed 56ft ketch Ilen of Limerick found the Atlantic in a challenging mood last week as she undertook a combined educational, cultural, and commercial cargo voyage. Yet despite the vagaries of the Irish weather and the…
The Olympic sailing dream is of competition on a sterile racing area with weak to non-existent tides, well clear of any special wind effects that a nearby coastline and an island or two might provide, while of course using a…
Viking Marine of Dun Laoghaire See Opportunities in the Post-Pandemic Changes
5th September 2020 W M Nixon The only way to face the future is with optimism, energy and enthusiasm. That's the philosophy of Ian O'Meara and the team at Viking Marine in Dun Laoghaire, as they implement the re-shaping of a business which is noted for…
After 36 Years, Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Pansy Blooms Again in National Yacht Club 150th Anniversary
4th September 2020 Water Wag The 1906-built Dublin Bay Water Wag Pansy has been in the ownership of the Delany family since 1939. But while she has won many trophies, the absence of medals as prizes in local One Design racing has meant that winning…
Although the Puppeteer 22 first appeared from Chris Boyd of Killyleagh on Strangford Lough in 1978, it was 1983 by the time some keen-to-upsize Squib sailors in Howth saw the potential of this user-friendly little sloop, with her sparse but…
Ilen Crosses Shannon Estuary from Kilrush Through Tarbert’s “Waterspout Way” on Historic Return to Foynes
29th August 2020 Ilen The 56ft Trading Ketch Ilen has had a busy couple of days of cultural and educational activities in Kilrush during her current two-week cargo cruise, with performances including shows and workshops with noted Limerick Boy and contemporary dancer Tobi Omoteso.…
Ireland's Quirky Lake Regattas Provide "Great Sailing Sport Behind Closed Doors"
28th August 2020 W M Nixon "The seas is for sailing and the lakes are for fishing". Quite. It's a gross over-simplification to put any analysis of the Irish public perception of our use of waterways into such crude terms. But we didn't get where we…
Water-skiing is just about the only waterborne activity for which the Afloat.ie style-book permits the use of exclamation marks (or screamers as we call them in the trade, and there are much rougher words with crude canine associations, but we…
