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 continuing restoration of the Mylne-designed Dublin Bay 21 class of 1902-1908 origins, undertaken by Steve Morris of Kilrush Boatyard for Hal Sisk and Fionan de Barra, has deservedly won several awards, including recognition for the project’s use of modern…
Howth Yacht Club Invited Back To New York Invitational in September 2023
16th May 2022 New York Invitational Cup
It's one of the hottest tickets in international Corinthian sailing, and invites to take part are like gold dust. It's the biennial New York Yacht Club Invitational, raced in Mark Mill-designed IC37s in the sacred waters off Newport Rhode Island.…
The Mark Mills-designed Cape 31 is an uncompromising day-racing machine, but when two of them made their debut appearance off Howth this (Sunday) afternoon, their sheer style blew away any negative thoughts that if you're seeking any off-watch zizzes in…
You need to be several different people at once in order to thrive in Howth sailing. A classic case in point is former HYC Commodore Brian Turvey. His current highest-profile role - ahead of other deeply committed personal involvements -…
Afloat.ie joins with his extended family and many friends in sailing and the business world in wishing Sean Flood of Howth a happy 90th Birthday this week. The very epitome of enthusiasm, energy and optimism both ashore and afloat, Sean…
"Ilen came back from London so quickly we got ahead of ourselves" said Ilen Marine School Director Gary MacMahon in Baltimore today, where the Limerick trading ketch had prudently put into port yesterday (Monday)evening in acknowledgement of near-gale westerlies forecast…
The business of the City of London is business. Thus last week's visit there by the Limerick trading ketch Ilen saw many boxes being ticked in an efficient style, including a clear affirmation that The Dey of Kilcoe takes precedence…
Howth Yacht Club's Successful Dawn Patrol For "Sailing Into Light" in Support of Pieta House
9th May 2022 Howth YC
There was much movement ashore and afloat pre-dawn on Saturday, with many groups and crowds all over Ireland gathering in preparation to mark the Pieta House-supporting "Darkness into Light" initiative. At HowthYC, the nautical version was "Sailing Into Light", and…
Dubliner Paul Keogh Receives Top Honour For Voluntary Work With Community Project in Traditional Boats
8th May 2022 Dublin Bay Old Gaffers
The saga of the building and sailing of the traditional Galway Hooker Naomh Cronan by Clondalkin Community in west Dublin goes back nearly thirty years. And though the story has regularly featured in Afloat.ie,the various lockdowns had made it difficult…
The camera does not lie, they say, but it depends on how you hold it and angle it, and which lens you use. If you see the Mark Mills-designed Cape 31 sailing, you'll reckon she's a reasonably beamy and sensible…
These past few days have been purest serendipity for historic Irish boatbuilders. Just two days after the 1926-vintage West Cork-built Limerick ketch Ilen was celebrated beside the River Thames in London on Wednesday, the 1937 Tyrrell of Arklow 43ft ketch…
Fifty years after France's legendary Eric Tabarly was winning "just about everything" with his 60ft alloy ketch Pen Duick VI, his daughter Marie is "99% certain" to race the boat in the SSE Renewables Round Ireland Yacht Race 2022 from…
Any images of the award-winning restored Dublin Bay 21 Naneen show a traditional rudderhead which you'd assume to be the original, going all the way back back to first owner T. Cosby Burrows in 1905. But Afloat.iereader Richard Dixon wonders…
The River Thames in the heart of London is a lively piece of intensely tidal water, so for vessels bound for the sea-locked haven of St Katharine Docks beside Tower Bridge, it can be restless enough lying inthe waiting berth…
If you’re a coastal Dub doing a Marie Kondo on the shoe cupboard, and you’re thinking of heaving out the Cuban heels and the platform soles, just hang on a minute. Despite their exotic fashion origins, that fancy footwear might…
We hear so much about the “New Normal” in everyday life ashore that it’s becoming difficult to remember what the Old Normal was like, as employers resort to bribery (“Special Bonuses” if you insist) to entice WFH employees back into…
Limerick Ketch Ilen's Arrival In London Recalls Irish Tricolour Featured On British Stamp
28th April 2022 Ilen
Following the departure last Saturday for her 700-mile Limerick-London voyage, the trading ketch Ilen under the command of Ilen Marine School Director Gary Mac Mahon was able to sail the track as far as Land's Endin Cornwall, which she rounded…
Although she is now meeting easterly headwinds in the English Channel as she voyages towards London following her departure down the Shannon Estuary on Saturday, the 56ft Limerick Trading Ketch Ilen was able to lay the course from the Fastnet…
Ballyholme Bay in Bangor on Belfast Lough is a Jekyll-&-Hyde sort of place. For much of the time, it’s serene, with excellent sailing waters off a neat urban waterfront above a tidy esplanade on its western shoreline, while the eastern…
Conor O’Brien Circumnavigation Centenary Commemoration Postage Stamps Proposed
23rd April 2022 W M Nixon
Barry Keane and Tony Doherty of Mountaineering Ireland have formally proposed that commemorative postage stamps be issued to celebrate the up-coming Centenary of Conor O’Brien’s pioneering voyage round the world south of the Great Capes with his Irish-built 42ft ketch…