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.
Galway-Lorient Cruise-in-Company in July to Strengthen Bonds Between Atlantic Ports
8th May 2019 Cruising Lorient in Brittany was the first city to sign up as a twin to the proud citizens of Galway as far back as 1975. It was a statement of friendship and a commitment to exchange cultural experiences between the people…
Howth Yacht Club’s Mitsubishi Motors “Club of the Year” Award Honours a Very Special Organisation
4th May 2019 W M Nixon Environmental awareness and sailing success to top international level were dynamically intertwined at this week’s official presentation of the Mitsubishi Motors “Sailing Club of the Year 2019” award to Howth Yacht Club writes W M Nixon The announcement that Howth…
An event which was once a major highlight of the Belfast Lough programme in times past found a new and very active lease of life when Bangor Town Regatta was re-introduced as a major biennial event in July 2018. The…
The Golden Globe Race: Re-enactments of Great Sailing Achievements & Should The Past Be Left in Peace?
27th April 2019 W M Nixon For those of us who find historical re-enactments to be slightly spooky, following the twists and turns of the Golden Globe Golden Jubilee Race through the latter half of 2018 and into the early months of 2019 has been -…
Kinsale in the summertime…..If you set out to create the dream harbour as the perfect location for a regatta which captures the essence of the many pleasures of sailing and racing on Ireland’s south coast, then you’d end up with…
Limerick’s Ketch Ilen to Be Put in Focus With “Salmons Wake” Voyage to Greenland
19th April 2019 W M Nixon The historic ketch Ilen of Limerick puts to sea again from her home port this weekend at the beginning of a complex 2019 sailing programme which will see the restored ship voyage in July towards southwest Greenland writes W M…
Irish GP14s to Start National Season at Mullingar Sailing Club in Last Weekend of April
18th April 2019 GP14 The keenly-run GP14 Ireland Association starts its national season in the final weekend of April (27th & 28th) in the central location of Lough Owel at Mullingar Sailing Club with the prestigious O’Tiarnaigh Trophy championship writes W M Nixon. The…
The heartfelt sympathies of all those with extensive interests in the culture and history of the maritime world are with Cormac Lowth of Dublin and his sons on the sad loss of his wife and their mother Barbara, writes W…
The miraculous years of 2016 and 2017 provided a magic time in Irish sailing writes W M Nixon. Annalise won her Olympic Silver Medal. Shane McCarthy won the GP14 Worlds. And the most glamorous Round Ireland Race ever staged saw…
Smurfit Kappa, the new Figaro 3 being raced in the current Sardinha Cup series in France by Tom Dolan and Damian Foxall, has been comfortably in the top ten since the start of the 320-mile Leg 3 off St Gillles…
The start of the Sardinha Cup Stage 3 for the new Beneteau Figaro 3 fleet has now been reset for 1330hrs local time tomorrow, Thursday, April 11th off St Gilles Croix de Ville, following a massive effort by the shore…
After the heavy going experienced for much of the first two stages of the Sardinha Cup for the brand new Figaro 3 boats, a significant part of the fleet had sustained such serious rig problems that the long-distance Leg 3…
Reassuring News for Dun Laoghaire Harbour’s Future as VDLR 2019 is Launched in Style
5th April 2019 W M Nixon In the years to come, Thursday, April 4th 2019 will be remembered as a pivotal date in the development of Dun Laoghaire Harbour as a maritime, recreational and community amenity, a key moment in the significant growth of a shared…
Kinsale’s James Dwyer Matthews Wins British Optimist Spring Opens from 155 Boats, While Howth’s Luke Turvey is third
1st April 2019 Optimist James Dwyer Matthews (15) of Kinsale and Luke Turvey (13) of Howth have led the charge for Ireland in the 155-boat International Optimist British Spring Opens at Lymington, with both on the podium at the finish yesterday evening – Matthews…
The annual selection trials for the Irish team for the Student Yachting Worlds in France this Autumn has seen two days of superb racing over the weekend in Howth, with no complaints of lack of wind for the Howth YC…
Irish Cruising Club Fulfill Idealistic Objectives Set By Founders 90 Years Ago
29th March 2019 W M Nixon When the Irish Cruising Club was established in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay on Saturday 13th July 1929, the friendly gathering of the crews from a modest flotilla of five decidedly varied sailing yachts – mostly small craft…
A long time ago when I brought the first very second-hand Squib to Howth Yacht Club in 1979, things were different writes WM Nixon. After all, it was forty years ago (there’s another local class anniversary for you), and I’d spent…
The unavoidably-postponed show in March by owner-skipper (and restorer) Darryl Hughes, of the classic 1937 43ft Tyrrell of Arklow ketch Maybird’s remarkable achievement in becoming (in 2018) the first gaff-rigged (and oldest) boat to complete the Round Ireland Race, has…
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…
