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.
Environmentally-Friendly Boat Construction? Are Aluminium Boats an Answer?
6th November 2020 Boatyards
When glassfibre boat construction started becoming mainstream, there were those who said it would never last as a manufacturing trend, for in those days plastic and longevity somehow weren't associated concepts. But then, as the builders overcame problems such as…
You can take the boy out of West Cork, but you can't take West Cork - and its boats and sailing - out of the boy. That's especially so if he's one of the O'Keeffes, whose great names in sailing…
Marcus Hutchinson of Kinsale & Howth in the Thick of it in Vendee Globe Management
31st October 2020 W M Nixon
Marcus Hutchinson has been having a good Autumn in his role as a sort of benign marine Svengali with an Irish flavour, operating largely behind the scenes at the sharp end of the French big-time offshore racing scene. But it…
National Yacht Club's Main Man in California Provides Link to Match Racing Worlds
29th October 2020 National YC
Global sailing's focus of attention this week is on Bermuda, where the 70th Annual Bermuda Gold Cup and 2020 Open Match Racing World Championship is underway with GBR's Ian Williams the defending title-holder against fifteen other top drivers, Williams having…
When the 56ft Conor O'Brien-designed trading ketch Ilen - built in Baltimore in West Cork in 1926 - was retrieved and brought back to Ireland by Gary MacMahon of Limerick from the Falkland Islands in November 1997, it was the…
Ireland's High Performance & Olympic Sailors: The Ultimate Self-Isolating Bubble
24th October 2020 W M Nixon
The process of intense training, endlessly learning, and continually practising in the hope and expectation of improving your game does not come easily to many Irish sailors. The fact of our being an island nation, and having a very long…
Class One Win for Nin O'Leary as Elusive 2 Maintains IRC Overall Lead to Finish of Middle Sea Race
22nd October 2020 Middle Sea Race
A strengthening breeze from the southeast has brought the key middle group of top handicap win contenders in the 41st Rolex Middle Sea Race from Lampedusa through the night and the early hours of this morning to the finish at…
Middle Sea Race Defending Champion Elusive 2 Takes the Lead on IRC
21st October 2020 Middle Sea Race
After an excellent Pantellaria to Lampedusa leg, Middle Sea Race defending champion Elusive 2 (Podesta family, Royal Malta YC) has just corrected into the overall lead, and up ahead the Volvo 70 I Love Poland (Konrad Lipski) has finally made…
Everyone in Dingle - and beyond too, in a much wider world of shared joy in his existence - everyone knew that some day, it was going to happen. Some day, the sad but inevitable feeling was going to take…
If you know it's going to be a light airs Middle Sea offshore race, you'd reckon a stripped out and race-proven TP52 would be a good all-round bet, with her ability to comfortably outsail anything smaller, yet with an uncanny…
Racing offshore in the Mediterranean is usually quite a quirky experience, but although the 606-mile 41st Rolex Middle Sea Race has been in progress for just a few hours over two days, it is already excelling many of its predecessors…
Crosshaven's Nin O'Leary Gives Aragon the Rock-Star Glitter in Ace Start to Middle Sea Race
19th October 2020 Middle Sea Race
Nice one, Nin. With a sailing rockstar recruited into your crew, it's reasonable to expect a 22-carat gold rockstar introduction to the on-stage performance. And Crosshaven super-helm Nin O'Leary certainly came up with the goods at the start of the…
Pam Lee & Cat Hunt's Superb New Female Two-Handed Round Ireland Mono-hull Record Could Stand for Years
17th October 2020 Round Ireland Speed Record
Female Two-handed Round Ireland Speed Record: The Iarracht Maigeanta Two-Handed Round Ireland Record Challenge by Pamela Lee and Cat Hunt of Greystones Harbour Sailing Club just got better and better through yesterday evening and last night as they swept – with…
The Force is With Them Again – Female Crew in Maigeanta Iarracht May Make it Round Ireland Within Four Days
16th October 2020 Offshore
Female Two-handed Round Ireland Record Day Four 2100hrs: The situation became transformed. It was like the clicking of a switch. Or so it seemed to those on the edge of their seats ashore, as they watched on screen as the Figaro…
High Profile Sailing Events like the Rolex Middle Sea Race Need to Become Invisible if Sailing is to Continue Through Pandemic
17th October 2020 Middle Sea Race
People have been unobtrusively getting on with sailing in many places during the pandemic, determinedly maintaining social distance afloat and ashore, reducing their interaction with outsiders to such a minimum it's almost non-existent, and doing it all thoughtfully, with properly-located…
More Uphill Work for Round Ireland's Pam Lee & Cat Hunt
16th October 2020 Round Ireland Speed Record
Female Two-handed Round Ireland Record Day Four 1500hrs: The North Channel is one very unforgiving bit of water to go sailing on. It only gives you the gift of a fair tide for just long enough to begin to think that…
Tide Strongly in Favour of Magenta Round Ireland Duo as They Sweep past Rathlin after a Challenging Night
16th October 2020 Round Ireland Speed Record
Female Two-handed Round Ireland Record Day Four 0900hrs: When Pam Lee and Cat Hunt entered Day 3 of their Magenta Project Round Ireland Challenge at 0745 hrs this morning (Friday), they were nearer the Scottish coast than they were to…
It's Pay-up Time for Iarracht Maigeanta in Tackling Headwinds & Strong Tides on Ireland's North Coast
15th October 2020 Round Ireland Speed Record
Female Two-handed Round Ireland Record Day Three 2000hrs: When the going is good, the good get going - and they get going fast. This has been the mantra of Pam Lee and Cat Hunt, who brought their Beneteau Figaro 3 in…
Buildup to Middle Sea Challenge Sees Favourites at Front of the Fleet in Malta Coastal Race
15th October 2020 Middle Sea Race
The buildup to the 41st edition of the Rolex Middle Sea Offshore Race from Malta on Saturday (October 17th) continues in Valetta in muted style in line with pandemic restrictions, and while yesterday's traditional preview event, the Yachting Malta Coastal…
Favourable Conditions Continue for Female Two-Handed Round Ireland Challenge
15th October 2020 Round Ireland Speed Record
Female Two-handed Round Ireland Record Day Three 0900hrs: At 0745 hours this morning, Pamela Lee and Catherine Hunt in the Beneteau Figaro 3 Iarracht Maigeanta had put County Mayo's northwest headlands of Eagle Island and Erris Head well astern, and were…
