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.
The life story of Sean Flood, who has died at the age of 91, is in many ways the story of modern Ireland as seen through a sailing and business lens. From a family of traditionally and strongly patriotic outlook,…
He brought new life afloat and ashore. And there was and is so much in the story of the late Mick Hunt “of Howth and Connacht” that thousands of words could be written about him. Yet we can get a…
The sailing scene in Ireland has lost three significant figures this past week with the deaths of Liam Shanahan of Dun Laoghaire, Mick Hunt of Howth, and Sean Flood of The Baily overlooking Dublin Bay. They were very much distinctive…
We regret to announce the death at the age of 91 of Sean Flood of Howth, originally of Clontarf. In a long and active life, he played a leading and popular role in business in Dublin, and in many areas…
The Boyne Yacht Club at Mornington towards the entrance to Drogheda Port on the history-laden River Boyne came into being in 1954, when sailing was beginning its expansion thanks in part to the increasing availability of “Build-Her-Yourself” designs such as…
Afloat.ie regret to record the death at the age of 83 of Mick Hunt of Howth and Connacht, who was best known for his restorations and sailing of traditional craft, but was equally adept at bringing new life to old…
New Life For Ireland’s Ancient Local Classes As Top Sailors Learn to Value Neighbourhood Sport
16th September 2023 W M Nixon
They’ve been part of our sailing furniture for so long that you could be forgiven for thinking Ireland’s historic local classes might just quietly fade away through being barely noticed. But you’d be very much mistaken. 2023 has been a…
Outrajeous Provides Popular Overall Winner as Monday.com ICRA Nats 2023 Reach a Conclusion At Howth
10th September 2023 ICRA
"Schizoid" or "Schizophrenic" are not words you'll find to describe weather conditions in any meteorological textbooks. But how else are we to convey the flavour of the racing situations which ran through the gamut of experiences in the three-day Monday.com…
The 39ft Danish-built ketch Teddy is a familiar sight in the heart of the Connacht coast, snugly berthed along the tidal quayside at Clifden in Connemara. And when she’s not there, we can usually be sure that owner-skipper Nick Kats…
ICRA Class I is billed as John Minnis's A35 Final Call II from Belfast Lough being in with more than a shout against the "monstrous regiment" of J/109s. But in the end today, she had to be content with reaching…
Wobble-Free Performance from Royal Cork's 'Jelly Baby' in Class Zero of Howth's ICRA Nationals
9th September 2023 ICRA
With a building breeze promising livelier conditions later in the day, you might have expected the slipper, smaller craft to set the pace in the opening salvo of Class 0's delayed series of the Monday.com ICRA National Championships at Howth…
Monday.com ICRA Nats 2023 At Howth Are A Modern Take On A Time-Honoured Tradition
8th September 2023 W M Nixon
When the three-day Irish Cruiser-Racing Association monday.com-sponsored annual National Championship gets underway today (Friday) at Howth, it will be the combination of a modern innovation in Irish sailing, which is barely twenty years old, and a local regatta tradition of…
Simon Revill is something of a Force of Nature in the racing of the historic IDRA 14 class. But then, that’s what you’d probably expect from someone who is a potent mixture of Irish and Yorkshire ancestry. While he has…
The leaders in the Solitaire Figaro Paprec 2023 came round the turning point off the North Brittany coast at 0215 this morning with Tom Dolan very much among them, and after a brief period of windward work along the Breton…
Ireland’s Tom Dolan And Figaro Fleet Start 54th Annual Solo Contest Towards Kinsale on Sunday
26th August 2023 W M Nixon
The Solitaire du Figaro has been a significant feature of the European sailing scene for 54 years now, and today it is well established as La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec, supported by the 1985-founded French re-cycling and green energy conglomerate.…
Howth’s Young Solo Sailors Maintain MG Motor “Club of Year” Spirit With Two National Titles
21st August 2023 Howth YC
It would have been easy to make two quick assumptions in advance of the past weekend’s sailing. The first would have been the reasonable expectation that Storm Betty, accurately forecast as she was, and sweeping right across Ireland in an…
J Boats Riding High Towards First J Cup Ireland In Dublin Bay In A Week’s Time
19th August 2023 W M Nixon
The international J Boat fleet, with its many variants, fills a special role in world sailing, with an underlying sense of family permeating this attractive no-nonsense craft. For it all of course, stems from the initial creative introduction – explosion,…
Kinvara’s Tradition-Celebrating Cruinnui na mBad Is Becoming Symbolic Of Change
16th August 2023 Galway Hookers
When the late Tony Moylan and his friends got together 44 years ago to inaugurate the Cruinnui na mBad at Kinvara in order to celebrate and help the preservation of the traditional sailing boats of Connemara and Galway Bay, most…
Howth 17 Quasquicentennial Celebrations See 125th Anniversary Nationals Taken by “Sutton Squad”
13th August 2023 Howth 17
While the Howth 17s have continued with their usual club fixtures throughout their 125th Year – the Quasquicentennial – with regular events such as the Single-Handed Race (won in 2023 by 2022 National Champion Davy Jones sailing Rosemary), innovative Class…
Dublin Port's New Heritage Centre Will Set The Standard For Heritage Week With Cormac Lowth Lecture
12th August 2023 Dublin Port
With Heritage Week upon us, the well-archived history of Dublin Port places the opening of its new Heritage Centre on Alexandra Road at the forefront of events, and with Cormac Lowth, they have the ideal maritime history enthusiast to put…
