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 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…
#VOR It's a cruel world. The Volvo 70 racers arrive in to Galway next week, and it's their last hurrah. A week today, around lunchtime, they'll become utterly obsolete after their final race of the current series, an in-port event…
#roundireland – The Galwegians are rattling the round Ireland cages. Tomorrow's noon start of the biennial Round Ireland Race from Wicklow will see a strong mid-fleet challenge from Galway University with a college-crewed Reflex 38, boosted by a front-of-the-pack show…
#genuineprospects – If you're contemplating a gentle summer holiday in the south of England in August, forget it. Unless, that is, you see wind and rain of the kind experienced there during the past fortnight as being an essential part…
#HYC – When you've been staging a successful sailing race annually since 1899 or thereabouts, it's something which has will have acquired its own momentum with a significant amount of baggage in the nostalgia stakes. And its enduring popularity inevitably…
#SATURDAYSAILING – Eternal optimists among the cruiser-racer community had hoped that the success of the ICRA Championship might make the final difference to the emergence of enough enthusiasm to generate a team to defend the Commodores Cup in July. But…
#SAILING – With the Olympic torch burning its way through Ireland in ten days' time and the countdown to London 2012 well under way, the Irish squad for the sailing events in Weymouth has little enough time to adjust to…
#STAR SAILING – The last time anyone said the Olympic buildup is great crack for the participants must have been way back in the previous millennium. That's if it was ever said at all at any time since the first…
#VOLVO OCEAN RACE – How long can City Fathers maintain their Welcoming Committee smiles for incoming race boats? It's a question which was uppermost in Miami earlier this week, as the great and the good awaited the arrival of the…
#SAILING ON SATURDAY – The Volvo Ocean Racers were at last feeling the benefit of the northeast trade winds on Thursday on the final 1600 miles to Miami from Brazil as the three leaders recorded speeds above 20 knots, but…
#OLYMPIC SAILING – Ireland's Olympic Star Class crew of Peter O'Leary (Cork) and David Burrows (Malahide) have kept themselves in the frame with sixth overall in a class of 25 boats racing at the French Olympic Week at Hyeres on…
West's Awake as Galway Student Sailors Make Bid for Round Ireland Race
21st April 2012 Round Ireland
#SAILING – It will be coast-to-coast coverage for Galway sailing in late June, as global interest starts to focus on the western port city and the finish of the Volvo Ocean Race in early July, while the student sailors of…
#ISAYOUTHNATS – Dublin Bay is the national sailing focus this weekend, with more than 400 junior sailors hitting the water for the ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals. On the threshold of the season, it's always an event alive with anticipation. And…
In his Irish Independent Sailing Column today WM Nixon says the new Tall Ships Race from Dublin will give an intense flavour of the world of Tall Ship sailing. It's a novel way to get to a football match, but…
