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.
Review of the Year: Sailing in Ireland Has Thrived in 2021 Despite Pandemic Limitations
31st December 2021 W M Nixon
(First published 27/11/21): The 2021 programme for Irish sailors is still in action with winter series underway at several centres, while next Wednesday a junior squad departs for Oman and the Youth Sailing Worlds which get fully underway on December…
Ireland & The One Ton Cup - History Lives Again 47 Year On (Video)
23rd November 2021 Historic Boats
In 1974, Ireland - and particularly Cork - leapt to a new level of international sailing prominence as the fresh combination of the design talents of Ron Holland, the sailmaking skills of Johnny McWilliam, and the boat-building talents of the…
Ireland’s America’s Cup Venue Selection Agony Extended Until March 31st 2022
20th November 2021 W M Nixon
The 170-year-old America’s Cup is global sailing’s Sacred Mystery. To be most true to itself, it should be raced in boats - or more accurately sailing machines - that are about as different as possible from the craft used by…
Dunmore East’s Courageous Lifeboat Crews & Maritime Heritage To Be Celebrated In Zoom Talk
16th November 2021 RNLI Lifeboats
Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association invite participation in their next Zoom session “Dauntless Courage: The History of the RNLI Lifeboats, their crews and the Maritime Heritage of the Dunmore East Community,” which will be given by David Carroll on Thursday…
Limerick Trading Ketch Ilen Makes Best Of Gentle November Weather in Galway Bay
16th November 2021 Ilen
The Ilen Marine School of Limerick’s 56ft traditional trading ketch Ilen has been making the best of a sojourn in Galway City and the gentler periods of late Autumn weather in November, with last weekend’s ideal conditions being used for…
Galway sailmaker Yannick Lemnnier finished the Eurochef MinisTransat yesterday (Monday) in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe at 20:37:47 UTC in 16th place in the Proto Division in his 2004-vintage Manuard design Port of Galway tracker here To achieve this, he overcame a dismasting…
Galway’s Yannick Lemonnier Holding Position Towards Finish of MiniTransat 2021
14th November 2021 Solo Sailing
Pierre Le Roy’s super-scow Teamwork finished the MiniTransat 2021 in Guadeloupe on track on Friday with a good lead on the water of almost 12 hours from Fabio Muzzolini, and at noon Sunday the first seven boats of the Proto…
While everyone in Irish sailing and beyond shares in the joy of seeing Finn Lynch emerge so spectacularly from a performance drought to take Silver at this week’s Laser Worlds in Barcelona, it is really only those who have fully…
Mini Transat Leader 200 Miles From Finish, While Port of Galway Is 17th
11th November 2021 Solo Sailing
Pierre Le Roy sailing the uber-scow Teamwork has a good lead in the Euorochef Minitransat 2021 as he closes towards the finish at Saint-Francois in Guadeloupe 200 miles away, where he is expected to cross the line tomorrow (Friday) evening.…
At first light on Saturday 5th July 1980 off Wicklow, Johnny Morris of Pwllheli - who has died aged 88 - secured himself a permanent place in the story of offshore racing. In command of Force Tension, a One Tonner…
Would Tom Kneen's JPK 11.80 Sunrise have still won the Rolex Fastnet Race 2021 if it had been sailed on the old course, with Plymouth rather than Cherbourg as the finish? Imponderable it may be, but it's a question of…
Norway's Pioneering Ship Tunnel – Can It Be On Time And In Budget?
4th November 2021 Ports & Shipping
Alex Blackwell of Clew Bay is always buzzing with ideas, and his latest notion is that the destination for a future Cruise-in-Company by some seagoing club or other (he's involved in several) should be the pioneering Ship Tunnel that the…
The 55ft McGruer designed-and-built ketch Cuilaun of 1970 vintage – still renowned for her immaculate varnished topsides even after more than a half century of very active sailing life on both sides of the Atlantic – has to be Ireland's…
When Belfast Lough's Harbour Of Groomsport Acquired A Scottish Island
3rd November 2021 Historic Boats
Davaar is the conspicuous island at the entrance to Campbeltown Loch on Scotland's Mull of Kintyre, so it was entirely logical that when the local shipping company began to augment their fleet with steamships, the best-known became the Royal Mail…
October 2021 has been kind to Irish sailing in brightening our spirits, letting our crews be active with more sunshine than you'd expect, and helping to banish any thoughts of the dodgy pandemic situation ashore. Even though the Bank Holiday…
They do things differently in Limerick and along the west coast. Where other migrating birds of passage head south as winter approaches, the restored 56ft trading ketch Ilen of 1926-vintage is departing her usual base in the Shannon Estuary today…
For sixty years and more, Carmel Winkelmann was a force of nature and a power for the good in sailing in Ireland, especially in Dublin Bay. While she gave generously of her time in all areas of interest, her speciality…
There have been many reports of orcas - aka “killer whales” - attacking boats off the coast of Portugal and Spain. But large and all as they are, orcas are among the smaller whale species. And it seems that the…
Howth 17: World's Oldest One Design Keelboats Stage Closing Race of 121st Season
28th October 2021 Howth 17
The vintage Howth 17 Class have registered Annual General Meetings every year since 1898. But although 124 summers have passed since their first season of 1898 - which thereby counts as Year One and not Year Zero - they can…
Yannick Lemonnier's 'Port of Galway' Prepares for MiniTransat 2021 Second Stage on Friday with 87 Boats Still in the Race
28th October 2021 Solo Sailing
Despite being battered by storms and whales off northwest Spain, 87 boats of the originally 90-strong fleet which started from France in the Eurochef Minitransat 2021 completed the first stage to La Palma in the Canary Islands. There, life was…
