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.

The Fireball Worlds 2022 at Lough Derg YC in August will be one of the season’s international highlights. In 1995, the event was staged in Dun Laoghaire, and the winners were John Lavery and David O’Brien of the National YC, whose boat of 26 years ago is seen here being put through her paces at Lough Ree YC in 2021 by Eoghan Duffy & Conor Paul.

The 2022 Sailing Season in Ireland is Approaching Over the Horizon With Drums Beating & Flags Flying

1st January 2022 W M Nixon

(First published 11/12/2021) Four World Championships. Two Europeans. The super-staging of our defining offshore race. A major new offshore challenge. Regattas galore. A very significant Centenary. An important Golden Jubilee. At least one new One-Design class. Established OD classes finding…

Shine kindly lights - the Limerick ketch Ilen’s new take on Christmas tree lighting for Galway Docks has come through Storm Barra with style

Limerick’s Ketch Ilen’s Christmas Lights Shone Undimmed Through Storm Barra in Galway Docks

8th December 2021 Galway Harbour

The imaginative use of the 1926-vintage 56ft Trading Ketch Ilen’s mainmast as a brightly-illuminated Christmas Tree for Galway Docks was switched on as recently as Sunday evening. Yet within 30 hours, the entire setup was being severely tested for many…

The Sea we Share……Sunday sport at Howth: Pat O’Neill’s J/80 Mojo chases the Quinn family’s J/97 Lambay Rules (sailed by Holly Quinn) past the Thulla in Howth Sound, while in foreground Dave Kirwan (Malahide) races his Laser for the finish

Howth’s Bright Motors Brass Monkeys Winter League Sails Serenely Between The Storms

6th December 2021 Howth YC

With the shortest day of the year only a fortnight away, winter leagues at a number of centres in Ireland can already look back on a satisfying collection of good races which somehow hit on magic days between storms such…

Eve McMahon on her way to Gold on Lake Garda. She is probably the only World Champion involved in the recent school exam programme in Ireland.

Golden Jubilee of Youth Sailing Worlds Recalls Earlier Irish Involvement At International Level

4th December 2021 W M Nixon

So many 50th Anniversaries in international sailing are being celebrated these days that you could be forgiven for thinking that all these major events - such as next week’s opening of the event’s Golden Jubilee celebration, and the staging of…

Conor Haughey (right) skipper on board Hibernian, a Moody 54DS with some of his crew, an Irish entry in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers that has arrived first in the cruiser division at Grenada in the Caribbean

Conor Haughey’s Hibernian Reaches Caribbean, Leading ARC 2021 + For Ireland

3rd December 2021 Cruising

Conor Haughey of Malahide’s handsome Moody 54DS Hibernian swept into the finish of the ARC 2021 in Grenada this morning to chalk up a notable international success for Ireland. Hibernian - which sailed the longer ARC + course to take…

Conor Haughey’s Hibernian is proving to be a swift sloop on the open ocean

Conor Haughey’s Hibernian Finishing Well in Atlantic Rally for Cruisers

1st December 2021 Cruising

Conor Haughey of Malahide’s handsome silver-liveried Moody 54DS Hibernian is having a very good Transatlantic race with the ARC+ division of 70 boats, which has taken in the transoceanic hop in two stages with a stop in the Cape Verdes.…

Admiral Beaufort - his method of measuring the real strength of wind might be of relevance in assessing the progress of COVID-19

What Would Admiral Beaufort Make Of The Current COVID-19 Situation?

30th November 2021 Coronavirus and Boating

The Navan-born Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort KCB FRS FRGS FRAS MRIA (1774-1857) was a man of very many interests, some of them a little startling. His work as the Hydrographer of the Navy is remembered in the name of the…

Philip Watson’s take on a colour scheme for the Watson & Jameson sails for the dB2s Decibel, which he co-owned with Joe Reynolds and John Marrow. He is seen here in the middle of the crew at the start of the 1989 Fastnet Race, in which Decibel placed third in class.

Philip Watson, Irish Sailmaker – Fifty Years On The Job

1st December 2021 Watson Sails

In November 1971, Malahide sailing enthusiast Gerry Watson journeyed with his son Philip from their comfortable home down the slow Irish roads of half a century ago to Crosshaven, where the son had signed up to join a new sailmaking…

The sailing weather of 2021 was decidedly mixed, and recollections will depend on the focus of each significant event. The Puppeteer 22s recall only idyllic Mediterranean weather for their Annual Championship at Howth, won by the McMahon family’s Shiggy-Shiggy for the second year running

Review of the Year: Sailing in Ireland Has Thrived in 2021 Despite Pandemic Limitations

31st December 2021 W M Nixon

(First published 27/11/21): The 2021 programme for Irish sailors is still in action with winter series underway at several centres, while next Wednesday a junior squad departs for Oman and the Youth Sailing Worlds which get fully underway on December…

The now-almost-mythical Cork One Tonner Golden Apple racing in 1974

Ireland & The One Ton Cup - History Lives Again 47 Year On (Video)

23rd November 2021 Historic Boats

In 1974, Ireland - and particularly Cork - leapt to a new level of international sailing prominence as the fresh combination of the design talents of Ron Holland, the sailmaking skills of Johnny McWilliam, and the boat-building talents of the…

The AC 75 American Magic in the preliminaries for the 2021 America’s Cup at Auckland. The essence of the contemporary America’s Cup is that it should be sailed in unique boats

Ireland’s America’s Cup Venue Selection Agony Extended Until March 31st 2022

20th November 2021 W M Nixon

The 170-year-old America’s Cup is global sailing’s Sacred Mystery. To be most true to itself, it should be raced in boats - or more accurately sailing machines - that are about as different as possible from the craft used by…

Selfless courage – the Dunmore East Lifeboat heads seaward

Dunmore East’s Courageous Lifeboat Crews & Maritime Heritage To Be Celebrated In Zoom Talk

16th November 2021 RNLI Lifeboats

Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association invite participation in their next Zoom session “Dauntless Courage: The History of the RNLI Lifeboats, their crews and the Maritime Heritage of the Dunmore East Community,” which will be given by David Carroll on Thursday…

November Atlantic sunset on Galway Docks Marina, with the traditional rig of the Limerick ketch Ilen in marked contrast to modern craft. Photo: Gary Mac Mahon

Limerick Trading Ketch Ilen Makes Best Of Gentle November Weather in Galway Bay

16th November 2021 Ilen

The Ilen Marine School of Limerick’s 56ft traditional trading ketch Ilen has been making the best of a sojourn in Galway City and the gentler periods of late Autumn weather in November, with last weekend’s ideal conditions being used for…

Done it! Yannick Lemonnier at the MiniTransat finish in Guadeloupe

Galway’s Yannick Lemonnier Finishes Eurochef MiniTransat

16th November 2021 Solo Sailing

Galway sailmaker Yannick Lemnnier finished the Eurochef MinisTransat yesterday (Monday) in Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe at 20:37:47 UTC in 16th place in the Proto Division in his 2004-vintage Manuard design Port of Galway tracker here To achieve this, he overcame a dismasting…