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.
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…
Howth Winter-Racing Dinghies Leap Through Weather Window To Clinch A Contest
11th December 2023 Howth YC
One of the advantages of East Coast sailing is that much of the weather and winds come from the west, and thus, Race Officers at Howth trying to slice a brief but real winter contest out of any approaching weather…
The damaging tornado which tore a narrow path through County Leitrim towards lunchtime yesterday (Sunday) may have very conspicuously swept roofs off buildings while flattening many trees. But as conditions settled back into a grey winter's afternoon and the visibility…
SSE Renewables Round Ireland Race 2024 Asserts International Cred And Welcomes Female RORC Commodore
9th December 2023 W M Nixon
We know that the biennial SSE Renewables 700-mile Round Ireland Race from Wicklow is a significant fixture in the international calendar. We know it well, because since its inception through the dedication of the late Michael Jones and his voluntary…
Super-Maxi Law Connect Wins Solas As Sydney’s Sailing Programme Focuses Towards Hobart Race
6th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Christian Beck’s super-maxi Law Connect won the famed SOLAS Big Boat Challenge within Sydney Harbour in ideal conditions at the weekend, with the traditional buildup towards the Rolex Sydney Hobart race on December 26th also taking in the Cabbage Tree…
Who Was First In International Weather Handicap Input? Issue Arises Over Pioneering Use Of Weather Routing To Score Major Offshore Handicapped Events
5th December 2023 Offshore
Afloat.ie’s “Brain Test For The Day” story on Sunday about the introduction of weather routing as a new factor in scoring June 2024’s biennial CCA Newport-Bermuda Race was posted in wonderment (and maybe bewilderment) as much as being the airing…
Newport-Bermuda Race 2024 Will be Scored Using a Forecast Time Correction Factor For "Luck"
3rd December 2023 Offshore
The biennial 635-mile Newport RI-Bermuda Race in June is one of the world's offshore classics, and as its route takes the fleet across the wayward Gulf Stream while it is in the process of becoming the North Atlantic Drift, weird…
Let us begin by simply setting out the pillar events of the 2024 season in Ireland, while including the major international happenings which will be of interest to our sailing community. And then we’ll provide a further take on it…
What, you might well wonder, is a blatant billboard doing at the top of the page this Saturday morning, even if it is exactly a month to Christmas, and Christmas has come early for Ireland’s younger international sailors in 2023?…
We regret to record the death of Johnny Wedick, a stalwart of the Dubin Bay Old Gaffers Association (DBOGA) since its foundation. He held the offices of President DBOGA, and Honorary Secretary, serving on the committee for many years. He…
Did you know that LARPING, or more accurately LARPing, means Live Action Role Playing? Me neither. But then, having tended to the opinion that historical re-enactments are really history for the feeble-minded or those of limited imagination, we’ve tended to…
Shannon Estuary & Limerick Have Combined Over Centuries As Ireland’s Most Innovative Sailing Area
18th November 2023 W M Nixon
The Cruising Group can often emerge as the backbone of any sailing club, particularly in the winter. Back in the day when the new Howth Yacht Club premises opened in March 1987, fresh concepts were needed to ensure that the…
Former Kinsale sailor Steph Lyons, the Kildare horsewoman who includes experience of the Sail Training Brigantine Asgard II in her seafaring story, is continuing to add to her remarkable CV in Australia, where she works in a senior role in…
Size for size, Dalkey, aka Deilginis, must be the most story-covered island in all of Ireland. The ancient Irish monks were here. The Vikings were here. Thanks to Napoleon and Cape Mortella, it has its own MartelloTower. A dinghy cruise-in-company…
When God made time, he made a lot of it. You need a proper regard for that sense of under-stated reverence and patience when considering the very complete restoration in Crosshaven of Anthony and Sally O'Leary's unique yet universally appealing…
Alex Blackwell, the noted voyager of Clew Bay, has a thing about moorings and anchoring. In fact, he and his wife Daria, in between intervals of oceanic cruising and making a direct administrative input with both the Ocean Cruising Club…
Russell Bolger Of Dun Laoghaire Clear Winner At Junior National Championship At Schull
5th November 2023 Youth Sailing
A busy week of Team Racing focus with the Fastnet Marine & Outdoor Education Centre’s TR 3.6s - with much input from Schull Community College - concluded on Friday (November 3rd) after successfully handling a decidedly mixed bag of weather.…
A statement from Tom Dolan Racing, issued at 07:54 on the morning of Wednesday, November 1st after his anti-clockwise Round Ireland Campaign from Dublin in his Figaro 3 had been abruptly brought to a halt at Dingle on Tuesday evening…
