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.
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…
Limerick Trading Ketch Ilen Illuminates the Meaning of the Mighty Shannon Estuary
27th August 2020 Ilen
The Shannon Estuary is king size and clearly defined. Where some other great rivers gradually broaden as they near the sea, sometimes dissipating further into a delta, the Shannon Estuary affirms its individuality with a rapid change as it emerges…
When the Dublin Bay Water Wags started racing 133 years ago in 1887, every boat had a Spinnaker Guy, and a vital role he played too in dealing with the eternal contest with Tidal Eddy. So far, however, there’s no…
The dedicated and detailed process whereby Hal Sisk and Fionan de Barra are restoring the historic Dublin Bay 21 Class (founded 1903) for a meaningful role in the 21st century has taken a major step forward with the 1903 Portrush-built…
Howth Yacht Club Flag Kept Flying in Cork by Simon Knowles & His Indian Braves in Fastnet 450
26th August 2020 Fastnet 450 Race
Ireland's sports organisations are taking a battering during the pandemic, and the operating model of sailing clubs, in particular, makes them especially vulnerable to a downturn in all activities afloat and ashore. Afloat.ie's W M Nixon wrote this piece yesterday…
Fastnet 450: Nieulargo Wins, Aurelia Takes Line Honours, & Cinnamon Girl is Right There Despite it not Being Her Weather
25th August 2020 Fastnet 450 Race
Day 3, Monday, 1600 hrs: The demanding Fastnet 450 course kept crews working very hard indeed until the last couple of miles running in towards the finish in the entrance to Cork Harbour under the iconic Roche's Point Lighthouse this…
When - on August 4th - we previewed the planned eco-friendly "cargo cruise" by the restored Limerick trading ketch Ilen on Afloat.ie, it was emphasised that speed would not be of the essence as the 1926 Conor O'Brien-designed and Oldcourt…
