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.
Many people who visit Ireland's sea coasts under sail are unaware that they're really only seeing half of the story. For the unseen inland Ireland is a vast watery place of myriad lakes and winding waterways, so much so that…
Dr Mick Brogan is very much at home in the west of Ireland, with his life as a country GP in Mayo neatly balancing his life as a traditional boat sailor, home-ported in Kinvara. In fact, he is so much…
Don Street of Glandore and the Caribbean celebrated his 90th Birthday in distance-compliant-style with the Glandore Dragons in July 2020. And as he has had his writings about sailing published regularly - both in books and magazines - since 1964,…
When the "low black schooner" America won what was to become an historic race around the Isle of Wight on Friday 22nd August 1851 from a small fleet of varied English yachts, thereby winning a silver ewer which was eventually…
Quite a few of us still think of Yannick Lemonnier as the keen young French guy who came to Galway by way of Dingle, and in time became the Irish branch of Quantum Sails, with a new loft in the…
The death of Brendan Sharvin of Strangford village at the age of 95 has taken from among us a remarkable man who was a leading figure in the development of sailing and boating in the southern part of Strangford Lough,…
Orcas off Iberia – Are they Aggressive or Just too Curious & Friendly? (Video)
21st February 2021 Marine Wildlife
Late last summer and into the Autumn, there were several reports of orcas – "killer whales" if you want to be more sensational – getting decidedly friendly to the point of aggression with fishing boats and sailing cruisers off the…
Dublin Bay Old Gaffers’ Association invites all to join their next Zoom session on Shipwrecks Around Dublin Bay, which will be given by Cormac Lowth on Thursday 25th February at 20.00hrs. Following on from his extremely popular talk on the…
Dun Laoghaire Harbour’s “Save our Seafront” Group Set Up Public Meeting by Zoom
17th February 2021 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
The Save our Seafront group in Dun Laoghaire have been monitoring recent developments regarding the future of the harbour, and today issued the following statement and invitation: "The Council has hired consultants to produce plans for the future of Dún…
Ireland-Scotland Rail & Road Link Across North Channel is on the Agenda Again
15th February 2021 Northern Ireland Waters
The notion of a rail and possibly road tunnel linking Northern Ireland and Scotland is once again a matter of speculation, and a Discussion Paper will be published by the British Government “within weeks”. Eleven months ago, before Brexit had…
National Maritime Museum to Host Virtual Talk on Ernest Shackleton
15th February 2021 Historic Boats
In almost every crisis or period of exceptional and continuing difficulty - such as we're living through now - people will hope to relate to the ultimately successful example of survival to be found in the experiences of Polar explorer…
Tom Dolan: Ireland's 25th 'Sailor of the Year' Provides a Heartening Story for Our Time
13th February 2021 W M Nixon
The Figaro Solo was arguably the peak in sailing competition – both inshore and offshore – in Europe during 2020. In a truncated and contorted season, somehow the crème de la creme of international solo sailing were guided into a…
The Shackleton Endurance Antarctic Expedition Just Keeps On Giving
10th February 2021 Historic Boats
When Afloat.ie's Shipping Correspondent Jehan Ashmore scooped all other media last week with the revelation that the new Irish Research Vessel will be named Tom Crean, the wave of warmth and sheer goodwill which greeted the news was remarkable. For…
In these long-lived times, a Silver Jubilee is not what it used to be in an era when Golden Jubilees, Centenaries, Tricentenaries and whatever you're having yourself are cascading around us in an almost continuous nostalgia-fest. Nevertheless the healthy Quarter…
Dun Laoghaire Harbour Front's Thirteen Storey Block? They Can't Be Serious…..
2nd February 2021 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
When we ran the brief report yesterday about the proposed 13-storey "strategic development" apartment block plumb in the middle of a reasonably harmonious medium-rise part of Dun Laoghaire's harbour-front, there were those who thought April 1st had come early, and…
Dublin and its Port. The City and the Sea. The Culture and the Commerce. The Buzz and the Business. The sense of real working and creative life, with the romance of the ocean and the hint of salty far horizons,…
While most of us may think the actual winner of the current Vendee Globe will emerge in the next day or two from among the ranks of Charlie Dalin, Boris Herrmann, Louis Burton, Thomas Ruyant, and Yannick Bestaven as they…
The death in England of the great sailor and sailing writer Bob Fisher at the age of 85 has taken from among us one of the most vibrantly life-enhancing practitioners, innovators, expounders and promoters of our sport. He had achieved…
Royal St George & National Yacht Clubs' Laser 4.7 Youth Worlds 2021 Battle on Despite Post-Pandemic Uncertainties
23rd January 2021 W M Nixon
At one stage last Autumn, it looked for a week or two as though Irish venues might be hosting no less than five World Championships for dinghy classes during the three week period between the July 24th and August 14th…
If anyone in the Royal Ocean Racing Club's suite of race offices was bothered by the thought that the 2021 change of course in the club's core event, the biennial Fastnet Race, was going to have a detrimental effect on…
