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.
They gave the offshore wannabes a real run for their money today in the Coastal Race of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, yet there was still a certain sameness about the final results, as Seamus Fitzpatrick’s attractive First 50 Mermaid IV…
Fekkes' Souped-up Beneteau First 8 is Class 3 Leader At Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta
13th July 2019 Volvo Regatta
Just in case you hadn’t noticed, it’s the glorious Twelfth of July through all classes, and northern boats at VDLR 19 have been celebrating with particular style in Class 3, where Rory Fekkes' souped-up Beneteau First 8 from Carrickfergus was…
Nigel Biggs was in top form among the Half Tonners to register 2,4, 1 with Checkmate XVIII, while Ronan and John Downing from Royal Cork were feeling their journey was very well worthwhile through now lying second overall with Miss…
Howth J/109 Storm Tops the RC35 Scoreboard at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta
12th July 2019 Volvo Regatta
Pat Kelly’s J/109 Storm continues to hold the lead in the RC 35 class at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, but John Stamp’s Corby 33 Jacob VII from Port Edgar YC on Scotland's East Coast was in good form to move…
Howth J/109 'Outrajeous' Takes the Lead of Volvo Dun Laoghaire's Class One
12th July 2019 Volvo Regatta
With a gently rising barometer and a nor’west breeze coming out of a soft grey sky (fifty shades and counting), most folk expected that the wind would fade on Day 2 of the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2019 writes W…
Greystones Grand Soleil 'Eleuthera' Stays Leader of Class Zero at Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta
12th July 2019 Volvo Regatta
Frank Whelan’s Grand Soleil 44 Eleuthera from Greystones is making hay among the biggies in the second day of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta, helped no doubt by the presence on board of sailmaker Shane Hughes, and they had 2,1,2 today with a…
Is Popularity of Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta a Welcome “Unintended Consequence”?
13th July 2019 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
When the Earl of Kildare - subsequently the Duke of Leinster – commissioned the building of his fine new townhouse in 1745 in what was then the unfashionable south side of Dublin, he can scarcely have imagined that nearly three…
It was ultra-high summer, and it was difficult sailing in Dublin Bay for the hugely varied fleet starting their racing in the Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2019 writes W M Nixon. Today’s opening racing started with so much promise –…
Historic Ketch Ilen Reaches First Port in Greenland After 11-Day Voyage from Limerick
11th July 2019 Ilen
After experiencing every sort of condition from Force 8 winds to near calms, the 56ft 1926-built restored ketch Ilen of Limerick has reached her first port in Greenland to conclude 11 days of Transatlantic ocean voyaging, having successfully negotiated the…
Limerick Ketch Ilen Nears Decision Time on Getting Past Greenland’s Cape Farewell
9th July 2019 Ilen
The Limerick ketch Ilen on her Salmons Wake voyage to southwest Greenland had got to within 200-miles of the huge island’s most southerly headland, Cape Farewell, towards midnight last night (Monday). With her speed held back to 6 knots in…
Dublin couple George and Mary Coombes have achieved the cruising dream writes W M Nixon. Having departed from an increasingly wet and windy Ireland in late July of last year, their Lagoon 450s catamaran Realta Bheag has now sailed more…
Thunder Child II’s North Atlantic Challenge is re-shaped and postponed to 2020
7th July 2019 Safehaven Marine
The North Atlantic Challenge by Safehaven Marine of Youghal’s new 70ft XSV20 Thunder Child II was originally scheduled to be underway in mid-July this year. But although the boat had her preliminary launch in February, pressure of work on other…
Limerick Ketch Ilen Makes Excellent Progress in Mid-Atlantic on Passage Towards Greenland
7th July 2019 Ilen
The 56ft Limerick traditional ketch Ilen, on her Salmon’s Wake voyage from the Shannon Estuary to Greenland (2019 is the Year of the Salmon), has been making good progress since heading seaward past Loop Head on Monday afternoon writes W…
Dun Laoghaire Regatta 2019: Olympic Medalists & World Sailing Champions Come to Town
9th July 2019 Dun Laoghaire Harbour News
The Volvo Dun Laoghaire Regatta has something for everyone at all levels of sailing writes W M Nixon. It’s an event which attracts sailors who have reached the highest levels of international competition ranging through Olympic Medalists and America’s Cup…
The long Shannon Estuary and a strong ocean-going ebb tide enabled the restored traditional trading ketch Ilen of Limerick to make good progress westward yesterday evening on the voyage to Greenland despite a near-gale from ahead which came in with…
Staging a major sailing event which best reflects the spirit of your beloved home port is not a challenge for the faint-hearted writes W M Nixon. When we consider the multiple factors involved in the completion of the complex four-day…
Historic Ketch Ilen to Depart Home Port of Limerick on Sunday for Greenland Voyage
28th June 2019 Ilen
It is 1200 nautical miles across the Atlantic from Loop Head at the north side of the long Shannon Estuary to Cape Farewell, the southernmost point of Greenland, writes W M Nixon. While the originally 1926-built ketch Ilen of Limerick…
After Storm Emma wrought extensive destruction through the seven Howth Seventeens stored in their much-damaged shed on Howth’s East Pier at the beginning of March 2018, it was feared that several of the boats – which since 1898 have been…
The atmosphere in Cowes in the days leading up to the start of the Fastnet Race inevitably provides a heightening sense of anticipation and tension writes W M Nixon. And for 2019’s race on Saturday, August 3rd, there is an added…
Who Will be King Cong in Race the Length of Lough Corrib this Saturday?
26th June 2019 Galway Harbour
Life was simpler back in 1882 when the sailing folk of Galway Bay and the stunningly beautiful Lough Corrib inaugurated the Galway to Cong race the length of the great lake writes W M Nixon. People didn’t have cars, and…
