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.
Conor O’Brien’s Pioneering Saoirse Circumnavigation Centenary Will Be Honoured by Irish Cruising
18th February 2023 W M Nixon
The magnificent pioneering voyage round the world south of the Great Capes in 1923-1925 by Conor O’Brien (1880-1952) of Foynes, sailing his new-built engine-less 42ft Baltimore ketch Saoirse, was of such heroic proportions that any attempts at a re-enactment to…
Atlantic Coast’s Clew Bay Has New Speciality Coffee Range Funding Marine Restoration
13th February 2023 Aquaculture
Clew Bay on the Mayo coast is in a league of its own. Outstandingly beautiful, with the serene peak of Croagh Patrick rising above Ireland’s most intricate and dynamic inter-mingling of sea and islands through many inlets large and small,…
Daria Blackwell Of Clew Bay Brings Top International Voyaging Honour To Western Ireland
8th February 2023 Cruising
Daria and Alex Blackwell of County Mayo have been a significant power couple in global voyaging for many years now, operating from their base at Port Aleria among the many islands of the inner reaches of Clew Bay, and voyaging…
The America's Cup and Quietly Accepting Ireland’s Sensible Place in the Sailing World
4th February 2023 W M Nixon
Be careful what you wish for - it might just come to happen. This was the feeling that emerged in much of the rest of Ireland’s sailing community a year or so back, when “America’s Cup Venue Mania” was taking…
Has Ireland’s “Clash Of The Sailing Fixtures” Become Part Of The Programme?
28th January 2023 W M Nixon
There are cruiser-racing enthusiasts in Ireland who dream of living in a world of non-stop activity in 2023, making the most of a dedicated traditional schedule in which they swing into action with the Scottish Series - back on Loch…
When the brief notice of the death of Brian Murphy at the age of 77 was posted on the Howth YC Facebook page recently, the response from members said everything about a remarkable - indeed a unique - sailing enthusiast…
Cruising Club of America Blue Water Medallist Paddy Barry and Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association President Adrian Spence have taken on the Arctic cruising challenge in a variety of craft over the years. But in 2022, they combined forces to…
The long saga of the future of the former Galway to Aran Islands ferry ship Naomh Eanna entered a new chapter during the recent cold snap, when she began to take on a list through the ingress of water into…
You can tell a lot about someone’s personality through the way in which they react generously – or not – to the fact that for 2022, the Post-Pandemic Year in which Life Afloat With All Its Apres Sailing Ashore Was…
Irish boat restoration projects are no strangers to the annual International Classic Boat Awards, the most recent being April 2022's accolade for Stephen Morris of Kilrush and his work on the Dublin Bay 21s for Fionan de Barra and Hal…
The latest entry to register for the Simply Blue Sovereign's Cup 2023 at Kinsale from 21st to 24th June is a prime example of one of the most enduringly-successful designs in modern offshore racing. In fact, the Cookson 50 dates…
Time was in sailing when the Golden Jubilee of any One Design Class was a matter of extra-special celebration. But it’s now more than fifty years since glassfibre construction became mainstream. Thus instead of fleets dominated by timber boats which…
Afloat.ie regrets to record the death of Brian Murphy of Howth. A popular sailor of multiple interests, he was renowned for his ingenious solutions to many challenges of marine engineering in all its forms. A veteran of the first Round…
Howth Yacht Club Gets “Sailing Club Of The Year 2023” from MG Motor, “Car of the Year 2023”
7th January 2023 W M Nixon
The selection of Howth Yacht Club as Ireland’s latest MG Motor “Sailing Club of the Year Award” represents a remarkable harmony of achievement between the competition winners and the sponsors, with Howth Yacht Club becoming “Sailing Club of the Year…
Looking back on the season of 2022, it has to be said that the East Coast keelboats had the edge on the Cork Harbour fleet in terms of national overall success in the majors, what with taking the best place…
Royal Western of Ireland Yacht Club of Kilrush Returns to Sydney-Hobart Podium
1st January 2023 Sydney to Hobart
It's seventeen years since the Royal Western of Ireland YC of Kilrush on the Shannon Estuary was represented on the Sydney-Hobart Race Prizewinners Podium. Back in 2005, Ger O'Rourke with his then-new Cookson 50 Chieftain RWIYC took an impressive first…
Sailing In Ireland’s Diversity, Dedication & Continuity Is Shown In Afloat.ie’s Latest “Sailors Of The Month”
31st December 2022 W M Nixon
We reach the end of 2022 with sailing in Ireland in good heart. Weatherwise, it was by no means a perfect season. For sure, there were periods of heatwave, but heatwaves can be bad news for good steady sailing breezes.…
Sydney-Hobart Race: Limerick’s Condell Takes Second In Two-Handed Class, Sunrise & Cahalane Win Div 3
30th December 2022 Sydney to Hobart
After the strong north winds which provided a rugged finish yesterday off Hobart - particularly for the winning group of TP52s – conditions eased during the night, and the morning sun brought gentler sailing for the smaller boats, which now…
Sydney Hobart Race: Maguire Wins Class, Condell Leads Two-Handers
29th December 2022 Sydney to Hobart
While the TP 52s in general and Sam Haynes’ Celestial (NSW) in particular have fulfilled expectations by dominating the overall top positions for the supreme Corrected Time champions’ Tattersall Cup in the Sydney-Hobart Race, for three hours in Hobart last…
The utterly stellar Sydney-Hobart course record set by Irish-Australian Jim Cooney (his people are from Ballivor in County Meath) and Samantha Grant, racing the super-maxi LDV Comanche in 2017, is staying firmly in place for another year. Five years ago,…
