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.
His many sailing friends on both sides of the Irish Sea have been saddened to learn of the death of Richard Tudor of Pwllheli, an inspirational figure in sailing and across a wide spectrum of interests in boats. He was…
Howth and Pwllheli Crews Will Sail For Irish Sea in RORC Caribbean 600
1st January 2024 Caribbean 600
Howth Yacht Club J/109 skipper Simon Knowles – the inshore and offshore campaigner of Indian in Irish waters – and noted Pwllheli father-and-son offshore team of Andrew and Sam Hall, will be ensuring that the Irish Sea is well represented with…
We'll be carrying a full review of the Irish in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2023 in due course, but meanwhile, this sunny photo shows that the weather is on the mend down in Tasmania and that Kinsale YC members…
Kinsale's Cinnamon Girl Finishes Fourth Overall, First Corinthian, and First Overseas In Hobart Race's Two-Handed Division
30th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
On this cool Saturday evening in Hobart, Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt of Kinsale brought their chartered Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl-Eden Capital in at 9:11 pm local time to the Tasmanian port city's waterfront to finish fourth on water and…
Sydney Hobart Race: Fortunes Wax And Wane As Small Boats Close In On Finish
29th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
It's Saturday morning in Hobart, and out at sea the smaller boats in the big race from Sydney are still punching it out with a sou'wester which gives them a beat round the convoluted peninsula that ends at Tasman Island,…
Afloat.ie’s “Sailors of the Month” Highlight Variety of 2023’s Achievements In Selecting “Irish Sailor of the Year 2023”
30th December 2023 W M Nixon
Afloat.ie has already clocked 2.1 million readers during 2023, so we’re communicating with a large and often international readership, although the core of our regular visitors is still very much in Ireland. And now, with just one day to go…
Caro Gets To Hobart First In TP52s, But Slips To Third or Fourth In Class On Corrected Time
29th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Anyone who tracked Max Klink's special Botin 52 in the Middle Sea Race will know how her fractionally extra speed potential can eventually perform a demolition job on the on-water lead of any sister-ships ahead. Thus, in the Middle Sea,…
With the Sydney Hobart Race home favourite Alive safely in port in Hobart and looking better by the hour to retain the overall IRC lead and thereby put another feather in navigator/tactician Adrienne Cahalane's sailing hat, Tasmanian sentiment is probably…
Cahalane's Alive Finishes Sydney-Hobart Race as Overall Leader After Line Honours Slow-Moving Drama
28th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Early morning in summer with the sunshine gradually strengthening on the Hobart in Tasmania waterfront, and the Derwent Estuary off it, should be a time for gently wakening into the new day. But Thursday, December 28th 2023 has had bouts…
Sydney Hobart Race 2023 Has Been Reluctant To Provide Idyllic Sailing
27th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
With the warmth of the new Thursday morning beginning to make its presence felt in Tasmania, the chances are increasing of a favourable breeze to bring the Super-Maxi Andoo Comanche (John Winning) to the line honours victory in this often…
Caro Back In Reckoning In Sydney Hobart Race As Track To East Is Rewarded
27th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Max Klink's "Super TP52", the Botin 52 Caro with Gordon Maguire (ex-Howth) and Cian Guilfoyle (Dun Laoghaire) on the strength, and racing for New Zeland where she was built - even though her sail number says Cayman Islands, while her…
Adrienne Cahalane Best of Irish as Sydney-Hobart Race Goes Through First Night
26th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
We cast the net wide in assessing just who might be thought of as Irish in the hundred crews still contesting the 2023 Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race as it emerges from its first night at sea. So even though navigator/tactician Adrienne…
Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt of Kinsale, racing the Sun Fast 3300 Cinnamon Girl-Eden Capital, were leading the 628-mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Race's two-handed division of 15 starters after nine hours of racing, and are the top-placed small boat overall,…
Irish in Big Boats Hitting The International Sea Road For Hobart
24th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Although the only totally Irish entry in Tuesday's Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2023 is the Kinsale YC duo of Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt with the chartered Sun Fast 3300 Cinnamon Girl-Eden Capital, further Irish representation has emerged at the…
Afloat.ie regrets to record the death of Cormac McHenry, for many years a leading figure in the Irish Cruising Club. He also served as a Trustee and was a Life Member of the National Yacht Club in Dun Laoghaire. An…
For sure, it’s very easy to make too much of the power of the Irish global diaspora. After all, these days just about everybody in the creative arts – particularly writing, acting and music – will determinedly claim an Irish…
Those intrepid spirits who venture westward on the road from the Most Serene Republic of Howth through Sutton Cross, and on into the wilds of nearby Ireland, always used to look forward to the first glimmering glimpse of Sutton Creek…
A week ago, the Howth Yacht Club Frostbite multi-dinghy racers were pinching themselves to be sure that they really did manage to slip a race in under the radar, despite the rest of the country being battened down in threatened…
Ireland’s Cruising And Voyaging Continues To Develop The Rich Legacy And International Friendship Radiating From Cork
16th December 2023 W M Nixon
In a week’s time, Sailing on Saturday will resume normal service with a preview on December 23rd of the up-coming Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race on December 26th, both generally and from an Irish angle, for we…
Arctic Voyager Jarlath Cunnane Wants To Put The Record Straight On Shackleton Achievement
13th December 2023 Cruising
Arctic circumnavigator Jarlath Cunnane of Mayo has a bee in his bonnet about the Ernest Shackleton story. While most of his voyaging has been in the high Arctic, he also has extensive experience in Antarctica. And he feels that the…
