Sailing on Saturday with WM Nixon
#icra – The Irish Cruiser Racing Association's (ICRA) annual conference today is in a place better known for its hurling prowess. But over the years Kilkenny has proven a popular venue for the meeting - ICRA has an understandable fondness…
#isaf – Kites or sailboards to be highlighted the most exciting form of sailing in the 2016 Olympics? If you're waiting for a clearcut answer from the continuing deliberations of the International Sailing Federation currently under way at their Annual…
#sywoc – When something seems just too good to be true, it usually is. But just now and again, though only very occasionally, it is good and it is true. On Wednesday evening, followers of the Irish team in the…
#sywoc – An all-Ireland squad represents us in the Student Yachting Worlds getting under way in La Rochelle in France with the practice race today, the team drawn from Sligo, Mayo, Belfast, Wicklow, Dublin, Cork and Antrim. At the end…
#sailing – Kiteboarding anyone? Or perhaps you'd prefer a spot of kitesurfing? They're arguably one and the same thing, and what they're called depends on which part of the world you're doing it in, and the sea state. Whatever, beachwalkers…
#corkharbour – Back in 1992, we were sailing a true cruiser-racer which was moderately competitive despite going off for a proper cruise or two each year. In that year we did Cork Week and lived aboard the boat in true…
#helmsmans – The stakes are raised in this weekend's All Ireland Senior Sailing Championship at Dromineer on Lough Derg following the success of the Junior Championship in Schull a fortnight ago. In some of the best sailing conditions of 2012,…
Arise, Schull, and take your place among the great sailing centres of the world. Move over Sydney. Newport stand aside. Cowes make room. The port in West Cork is punching way above its weight, and last weekend it hosted a…
#sailing – Time was when mid-September saw sailing clubs making the final arrangements for their special end-of-season events, while boats based in the less-sheltered anchorages were already being hauled out to comply with insurance restrictions in face of the approaching…
#mod70–When Steve Fossett's 60ft trimaran Lakota came into Dun Laoghaire Harbour after setting a well nigh unbeatable Round Ireland record in September 1993, it was Dublin Bay's first introduction to the new generation of ultra-light speed machines, which were sweeping…
#sailor of the month – Annalise Murphy of the National YC in Dun Laoghaire is the Irish Afloat.ie/Irish Independent "Sailor of the Month" for August following her outstanding performance in the London Olympics. The talented and dedicated 22-year-old had the…
The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. Most of us would probably have thought this was an item of pseudo philosophy which has been no nearer the sands of the desert than the beach at Tramore. But it will…
The Cool Captain from Carlow is Sailor of the Month, Meanwhile Ainslie is at it Again
4th August 2012 W M Nixon
#sailingonsaturday – Captain Cool of Carlow is the Afloat.ie/Irish Independent "Sailor of the Month" for July. Captain Cool is Finn Lynch, winner of the Silver Medal at the Youth Worlds 2012, and he's just sixteen. So maybe it would be…
#olympicsailing – There's a hierarchy in Olympic sailing which reflects the pecking order in the shoreside athletics. In the stadium, the various specialities will stake their claims for attention. The further down the scale they are, the more vigorously they'll…
#isafyw12 – Sailing folk are getting worried about this summer's weather in northwest Europe. There's a real chance that it might be going to improve, particularly in northern France and southern England. And that might mean gentle conditions spreading in…
#sailing on Saturday – How many of the hundreds of contestants in the Four Star Pizza Youth Worlds getting under way in Dun Laoghaire this weekend will go on to achieve adult fulfillment as international sailing stars? As with other…
