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.
Day 4 0900: As Afloat reported last night, Dmitry Rybolovlev's ClubSwan 125 Skorpios took line honours in the Rolex Fastnet Race yesterday (Tuesday) evening, after crossing the finish line in Cherbourg at 2015 BST. Their total elapsed time for completing the…
Irish Fastnet Race Contender Nieulargo from Royal Cork is Ahead of the Game for Souped-up Performance
10th August 2021 Fastnet
Day 3 1900: The early stages of the Fastnet Race 2021 on Sunday went from rugged to very rugged, and not surprisingly there were many retirals before the day was out. But aboard Nieulargo from Crosshaven, ace sailor Nicholas "Nin"…
Day 3 0900: The Rolex Fastnet Race 2021 has been continuing its theme of conditions seeming to favour the largest or the fastest boats. This may not mean that every biggie is doing well – far from it – but…
Fastnet Race: Developing Weather Pattern Continues to Favour Larger Boats as Pata Negra Gets Back on Top
9th August 2021 Fastnet
Fastnet Race Day 2 2000 - While offshore racers may learn to take things as they come, in the Fastnet Race it’s rather less than a barrel of laughs to slug to windward from Land’s End out to the Rock, and…
John B Kearney's Mavis – Built Ringsend 1925 - Gets Podium Place in Maine in Her First Race Since Restoration
9th August 2021 Historic Boats
The noted Irish yacht designer and builder John B Kearney (1879-1968) was a real grafter. His day job was as shipwright and later superintendent of the workshops of the Dublin Port & Docks board. But when he decided to build…
Desert Star is Best Irish for Class Place as France's IMOCA 60 Apivia Demonstrates Success of Broad Thinking
9th August 2021 Fastnet
Fastnet Race Day 2 0830 - Irish Offshore Sailing’s school ship, the veteran Sunfast 37 Desert Star from Dun Laoghaire sailed by Ronan O’Siochru and Conor Totterdell, emerges this morning with the best current Irish class place in the Rolex…
Heading into the hyper challenging first night of the Rolex Fastnet Race 2021, noted ISORA skipper Andrew Hall of Pwllheli with the Lombard 45 Pata Negra - a boat which has brought success to Irish crews in major races on…
With a strong west-south-west headwind against a burgeoning but favourable ebb tide, the start today in the Rolex Fastnet Race 2021 of IRC3 - the biggest class numerically - was going to be a very tricky one to call and…
With a rising westerly of notably dense air today (Saturday), Race Officer Scorie Walls did well to get three contests completed for the vintage Howth 17s annual championship at their home port, with the fleet benefiting from the class having…
Fastnet Race Memories of 50 Years Ago as Irish Interest Focuses on 11 Yachts in Sunday's 2021 Edition
7th August 2021 W M Nixon
Time was when doing the Fastnet Race seemed a natural part of sailing life. The world was young, yet we'd sufficient maturity (no sniggering at the back, please) to appreciate the full meaning of the experience as a uniquely significant…
For more than fifty years now, the 1898-founded Howth 17s have all been located at their port of origin, and the class has been thriving, so much so that serious damage to seven of the boats in winter storage in…
Cork Harbour's Crosshaven is the Switched-On Place for Race-Winning Plastic Classics
3rd August 2021 Cork Harbour
Where other people and places see problems, down Crosshaven way they see opportunities and solutions. Thus although the sailing world generally may be getting increasingly agitated about the fact that fibreglass boats seem to last forever and eventually present a…
Dun Laoghaire Sees its Harbour in a New Light with the Return of the Dublin Bay 21s
31st July 2021 W M Nixon
There's something about the way that Steve Morris and his boat-building team in Kilrush are restoring the 1903-vintage Dublin Bay 21s that speaks to people with only a vague notion of the sea and sailing. The class association circled around…
Despite a brief gale and much rain in the night, Ireland’s east coast has been a bit lifeless as regards wind this morning as the three restored Dublin Bay 21s make their way from Arklow to their appointment with destiny…
Eve McMahon Stays in Podium Places Despite Missing Race in Laser Youth Worlds
29th July 2021 Eve McMahon
Howth’s Eve McMahon managed to stay in second overall after Thursday’s first two finals races in the Laser Youth Worlds on Lake Garda even with missing out on the first race with a DNC. She came back with a third…
Royal St. George's O'Connor on Top as SB20s Hit the Heat in Northerns at Carlingford
28th July 2021 SB20
"We'd an amazing weekend at Carlingford Marina for the SB20 Ireland Northern Championships", reports Irish SB20 President John Malone of Lough Ree YC Conditions were perfect on the very beautiful Carlingford Lough. There was wall-to-wall sunshine and a good enough…
Howth Yacht Club's Eve McMahon Fighting Off 108 Other Competitors to Hold Her Lead in the Laser Youth Worlds
28th July 2021 Eve McMahon
Volatile weather in northern Italy is adding to the drama in the huge fleet racing the current Laser/ILCA Youth Worlds on Lake Garda. The threat of sudden and violent winds making if difficult for competitors and organisers alike to keep…
It was considered good going in the brief season of 2020 when Paul and Laura McMahon's 1978-vintage prototype Puppeteer 22 Shiggi Shiggi (sail number #1) emerged fresh but untried from the restoration laboratories and took the national title. But in…
It's not often that universally-agreed forecasts of exceptionally good weather will cause a reduction in numbers for an upcoming sailing race. But as the week drew on and yesterday (Saturday's) annual Aqua Restaurant-sponsored Two-Hander at Howth came steadily up the…
The Resurgent Glen Keelboat & Why Local One Design Sailing Classes Have Never Been More Relevant
17th July 2021 W M Nixon
The cherished local One-Design classes of Ireland have never been more relevant than they are now, in these crazy times of soaring-graph numbers when local is good. The expectation of staying local, while making do with fairly modest socialising and…
