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.
After their first overall in the 2021 J/80 Danish Opens which acted as the preliminary for the upcoming Worlds at the same venue, Pat O’Neill of Howth and his crew knew the stakes would be much higher in the big…
Howth’s Aqua Two-Hander Open Challenge Shaping Up to Catch Saturday’s Good Weather
14th July 2021 Howth YC
With good weather in prospect for the weekend, interest is quickening in Saturday’s (July 17th) Aqua Two-Handed Challenge at Howth Yacht Club. Contrary to popular opinion, this is an open event. But over the years, the Howthmen have managed to…
The restored 56ft Limerick ketch Ilen of 1926 vintage is such an eye-catcher - when you can get a proper view of her - that she immediately arouses, in both young and old, the secretly cherished dream of running away…
When the Royal Cork Yacht Club unveiled the fresh concept of the Tony Castro-designed 1720 Sportsboat back in 1994, one of the tongue-in-cheek suggestions was that finance in developing the class could be through some grant scheme for Job Creation,…
Rocco Wright of Howth started the 9-day 2021 Optimist Worlds on Lake Garda with a race win. And he finished with another really stylish race win, as captured in this vid In between, things didn’t go quite so smoothly, and…
Ireland’s Rocco Wright Finishes with a Win in Final Race as Brazilian Becomes Optimist World Champion 2021
9th July 2021 Optimist
While Brazil’s Alex Di Francesco Kuhl continued his improving performance today on Lake Garda to topple the USA’s Gil Hackel from the overall lead to become the new Optimist World Champion, Ireland’s top helm Rocco Wright of Howth concluded with…
In Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the Sailing Show Goes On As the Ghost of the VDLR Haunts Foggy Dublin Bay
10th July 2021 W M Nixon
It has been said here before, but it's worth saying again – on Thursday evenings in normal times in summer, the Dublin Bay Sailing Club programme is so popular that the fleet out racing would be considered a splendid turnout…
Peter Coad’s Seamanlike Self-Reliance Displayed off Sherkin Island in Fastnet 500 Race
9th July 2021 Offshore
Once upon a time, it was a tradition of offshore sailing - whether racing or cruising - that self-reliance in all circumstances was the golden thread running through your every venture at sea. You’ll note we say “ventures”. The traditional…
It had been hoped to provide three races today (Thursday) at the Optimist Worlds 2021, but increasingly unstable weather over Lake Garda saw only one completed. In flukey conditions, with the wind drawing from the north for the first time…
A slowly fading southerly breeze on Lake Garda today - declining from an initial 10 knots - favoured early fleet leaders in the three day finals of the Optimist Worlds 2021, and the USA’s Gil Hackel found extra speed to…
The two-day 48-country Team Racing sector of the Optimist Worlds at Lake Garda concluded this evening (Tuesday) with host nation Italy retaining the title against Thailand in a straight 2-0 victory, while Portugal took the bronze against USA. The Italian…
In the recent spell of northerly winds, the 56ft restored Limerick trading ketch Ilen had some superb sailing from a successful civic visit to Galway (where she was much admired) back to her alternative summer base of Kinsale, with two…
Optimist Worlds Keep Up the Marathon Pressure with a Two Day International Team Racing “Break”
5th July 2021 Optimist
The nine-day Optimist Worlds currently under way on the marvellous Lake Garda have a programme which would be demanding for mature athletes at the peak of their career-developing stamina curve. But the young sailors seem game for it all, as…
With the healthy sailing season bursting into life all around us - and doing so almost regardless of the various stages of pandemic-emergence ashore - there’s a shortage of quality used boats available worldwide, and particularly in Ireland. So news…
Howth’s Rocco Wright is continuing his successful countdown to the Optimist Worlds 2021 with a runaway big-fleet win on Lake Garda. Promoted as the best warmup opportunity before this week’s World Championships, the 46th Trofeo Optimist d’Argento ended on Sunday…
Killaloe Sailing Coach Rory Miley is a Good Man to have Around When Things go Wrong on Lough Derg
28th June 2021 Rescue
The man of the moment at Killaloe Sailing Club on Lough Derg is their sailing coach Rory Miley, who was instructing on the adult course on Sunday afternoon when he spotted a small cruiser up the lake with the crew…
Kinsale Can Do It! Successful Sovereigns Classic Moves Irish Sailing Along the Road to Post-Pandemic Recovery
27th June 2021 Sovereign's Cup
It took steady nerves among the Kinsale Yacht Club officer board and Anthony O'Neill and his Sovereigns Cup Organising Committee to keep to their carefully planned staging of the biennial Sovereigns Cup 2021, continuing a 1995-founded pillar event of Irish…
The National YC's Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race of Wednesday, June 9th – just two days after such things became permissible on June 7th - may have been hailed here as "a spectacular pillar event to launch the 2021 Irish…
The largest boat currently racing in the Sovereigns Cup series at Kinsale is Conor Doyle's locally-based Xp50 Freya. For most of us, she's a biggy, and an elegant one at that. But if you were to exit Kinsale Yacht Club…
Dublin Bay 21s’ Restoration Will See the Sleeping Beauties Awake Again In Dun Laoghaire on July 30th
22nd June 2021 Dublin Bay 21
Although the more energetic clubs managed successful if very compressed programmes in the brief permitted sailing season of 2020, the pandemic shut-down was so all-encompassing for life in general that it’s taking quite some time to get a proper feeling…
