Blogs
Cork Rowing Celebrates 160th Anniversary with Saturday's Middle Harbour Race
25th April 2019 Tom MacSweeney
Over the years, rowing has had its highs and lows in Cork Harbour, where the history of the sport on Leeside as the River Lee wends its way from the city towards the harbour mouth, can be traced to the…
Limerick’s Ketch Ilen to Be Put in Focus With “Salmons Wake” Voyage to Greenland
19th April 2019 W M Nixon
The historic ketch Ilen of Limerick puts to sea again from her home port this weekend at the beginning of a complex 2019 sailing programme which will see the restored ship voyage in July towards southwest Greenland writes W M…
“We write to remind you that, due to the age of your vessel, Underwriters require an update of the last survey and valuation report, to be carried out ashore by a qualified marine surveyor who carries professional indemnity cover, prior…
The miraculous years of 2016 and 2017 provided a magic time in Irish sailing writes W M Nixon. Annalise won her Olympic Silver Medal. Shane McCarthy won the GP14 Worlds. And the most glamorous Round Ireland Race ever staged saw…
I remember when I first saw the Puffin seabirds. It was my first time sailing along the Kerry coastline and it was off Portmagee, on the appropriately named Puffin Island. We had closed the small Island south of Valentia which…
Cork Harbour sailors are being offered a different opportunity this season – to turn left rather than right when they leave Roches’ Point at the mouth of the harbour… This will be a new departure for Cork Harbour boats. Apart…
Irish Cruising Club Fulfill Idealistic Objectives Set By Founders 90 Years Ago
29th March 2019 W M Nixon
When the Irish Cruising Club was established in Glengarriff at the head of Bantry Bay on Saturday 13th July 1929, the friendly gathering of the crews from a modest flotilla of five decidedly varied sailing yachts – mostly small craft…
I don’t particularly like the ‘macho’ element which crept into sailing during the past few years. “Macho” has been defined as “behaving in a way that is thought to be typical of a man, especially by seeming strong and powerful…
Annalise Brings Stardust to Sutton & the Dickson-Waddilove Tokyo 2020 Campaign
23rd March 2019 W M Nixon
Annalise Murphy’s role in raising sailing’s profile in Ireland was brought home to us last weekend when The Irish Times ran a St Patrick’s Eve Quiz. Set by Eoin Butler, it aimed to test how truly Irish we who like…
The last competitor still at sea of the eighteen yachts which started the Golden Globe Race last July is not expected to finish back in France until the middle of May. Finnish sailor Tapio Lehtinen is in fifth place in…
New American Sailing Book with Irish Input Gives a Fresh Angle on our Scene Afloat
18th March 2019 W M Nixon
Pete Brennan is an American of partially Irish ancestry who came originally from New Jersey, and now lives in Florida writes W M Nixon. For most of his life he has had steady jobs which had nothing whatever to do…
Cork Port Company says that mooring and boating fees for use of the harbour will all be reinvested in the marine leisure sector. They are being increased for this year. The port has increased the charges for having a mooring…
The Different Class Associations of Sailing in Ireland are a “Benevolent Mafia”
9th March 2019 W M Nixon
They’re the sometimes well-hidden glue that holds key elements of Irish sailing together writes W M Nixon. They’re a formidable power in our sport. They might seem to outsiders like secret societies. Yet each in its own way – for…
Sailing and yacht clubs should start appointing Sustainability Officers and every club and boat should immediately “kick out” single-use plastics from every aspect of their sport – both aboard and ashore. That is the view of one of Ireland’s top…
Sailing in Ireland is a sport of long-lived organisations, writes W M Nixon. It’s a vehicle sport in which a significant number of the sailing vehicles are cherished classics, sometimes passed down from one generation to the next. Like it…
Dragons To Race in the Sovereign's Cup For The First Time at Kinsale
27th February 2019 Tom MacSweeney
For the first time, Dragons will sail in the Sovereigns Cup at Kinsale this June, even though they have been part of the club for over 20 years. “Yes, it’s surprising that they haven’t been in it before, but they…