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.
Royal Cork’s New Admiral Demonstrates Sailing In Ireland’s Leading Role In Gender Equality Process
27th January 2024 W M Nixon
This week’s election of Annamarie Fegan as Admiral of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, the first woman sailor to fill the top posting in this extraordinary organisation’s 304-year history, is remarkable in that it doesn’t seem to have been seen…
Carrigaholt on the south-facing shore of the Outer Shannon Estuary is one of the sweetest places in all Clare, a refreshingly leisurely contrast to the over-busy northwest of the county, where the once tiny port of Doolin finds itself swamped…
Dun Laoghaire Will Welcome J/109 Euros To Royal Irish YC’s Late Season Array Of Cruiser/Racer Championships
20th January 2024 W M Nixon
The latest news on the Dun Laoghaire waterfront is that the J/109 Europeans 2024 will be part of this year’s intense series of cruiser/racer regattas at the Royal Irish YC in late August and early September. It’s an organisational breakthrough…
The Slow Food Movement started in Italy many years ago, with its admirable ideal in the notion that the gentle preparation and leisurely cooking - preferably of locally sourced ingredients - was best complemented by then eating the simple feast…
Once upon a time, as Sutton Creek developed in the northerly corner of Dublin Bay, some bright spark councillor suggested the new and very tidal waterway should be called the Blue Lagoon. The idea of such a name was aired…
Who gets your vote for the Irish Sailor of the Year 2023? Over 40 Afloat Sailors of the Month in 2023 demonstrate the strength and diversity of the sport of sailing in Ireland. Afloat's review of individual sailors, pairings and…
There’s something about the annual 628-mile Rolex-Sydney Hobart Race that lends it to endless angles of speculation and re-analysis long after the event. We’re already a fortnight clear of the final postings of the results, yet the real anoraks and…
“Seal meat tastes strong and is best eaten, we found, with plenty of onions and curry”. You better believe it. For it comes from an even more reliable source than the proverbial horse’s mouth. It’s one of the many conclusions…
Dublin Bay Lifeboat History Starts New Maritime Talks Series
11th January 2024 Dublin Bay Old Gaffers
The indefatigable maritime polymath Cormac Lowth is among the first back into presentation mode in 2024, with the fascinating and often heart-warming story of Dublin Bay's lifeboats told - and very well illustrated - in his renowned inimitable style. The…
Crosshaven ex-Pat Jamie McWilliam Going Well In Australian Etchells 22 Nationals
9th January 2024 Etchells
Nearly fourteen years have elapsed since America's Cup winning helm John Bertrand from Australia brought his Etchells 22 to Ireland for six weeks of preparation for the Etchells 22 Worlds at Howth. He said that success in this would be…
Howth Yacht Club Bids Cheerful Farewell To Twelve Days of Christmas With Celebratory Achievers Party
7th January 2024 Howth YC
What with the lockdowns and other upsets to the regular progression of sailing life, three years have passed since Howth Yacht Club has been able to make a thorough-going job of hosting its annual winter-time Achievers Awards ceremony. But all…
National Yacht Club and Ruffian Association Share MG Motor “Sailing Club of the Year 2024” Award
6th January 2024 Sailing Club of the Year
It is not unprecedented for leading clubs and one of the key class organisations within their ambit to share the MG Motor Sailing Club of the Year Award. It began with an added convention (the informal contest has been based…
Cormac McHenry of Dun Laoghaire, who died on December 22nd at the age of 87, was a highly-regarded sailing enthusiast with a particular interest in short-handed long-distance cruising, a quietly determined enthusiast who had many other interests including Leinster rugby,…
His many sailing friends on both sides of the Irish Sea have been saddened to learn of the death of Richard Tudor of Pwllheli, an inspirational figure in sailing and across a wide spectrum of interests in boats. He was…
Howth and Pwllheli Crews Will Sail For Irish Sea in RORC Caribbean 600
1st January 2024 Caribbean 600
Howth Yacht Club J/109 skipper Simon Knowles – the inshore and offshore campaigner of Indian in Irish waters – and noted Pwllheli father-and-son offshore team of Andrew and Sam Hall, will be ensuring that the Irish Sea is well represented with…
We'll be carrying a full review of the Irish in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2023 in due course, but meanwhile, this sunny photo shows that the weather is on the mend down in Tasmania and that Kinsale YC members…
Kinsale's Cinnamon Girl Finishes Fourth Overall, First Corinthian, and First Overseas In Hobart Race's Two-Handed Division
30th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
On this cool Saturday evening in Hobart, Cian McCarthy and Sam Hunt of Kinsale brought their chartered Sunfast 3300 Cinnamon Girl-Eden Capital in at 9:11 pm local time to the Tasmanian port city's waterfront to finish fourth on water and…
Sydney Hobart Race: Fortunes Wax And Wane As Small Boats Close In On Finish
29th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
It's Saturday morning in Hobart, and out at sea the smaller boats in the big race from Sydney are still punching it out with a sou'wester which gives them a beat round the convoluted peninsula that ends at Tasman Island,…
Afloat.ie’s “Sailors of the Month” Highlight Variety of 2023’s Achievements In Selecting “Irish Sailor of the Year 2023”
30th December 2023 W M Nixon
Afloat.ie has already clocked 2.1 million readers during 2023, so we’re communicating with a large and often international readership, although the core of our regular visitors is still very much in Ireland. And now, with just one day to go…
Caro Gets To Hobart First In TP52s, But Slips To Third or Fourth In Class On Corrected Time
29th December 2023 Sydney to Hobart
Anyone who tracked Max Klink's special Botin 52 in the Middle Sea Race will know how her fractionally extra speed potential can eventually perform a demolition job on the on-water lead of any sister-ships ahead. Thus, in the Middle Sea,…
