Nick Coghlan
@nicholascoghlan.bsky.social
Recovering Cdn diplomat (posted in Mexico, Colombia, Sudan, Pakistan, South Africa & South Sudan). Sails, writes books, treks; opinionated on both Sudans. Home is Salt Spring Island BC. Sailing blog www.bosunbird.com Also at (X) @NicholasCoghlan
📚💙Looking for a Christmas gift for a fellow globetrotter? Under Wide and Starry Skies should check the "exotic" box...And if you're wondering if it's actually any good, peruse these extracts and reviews: www.bosunbird.com/under-wide-a...
December 9, 2025 at 1:39 AM
📚💙Looking for a Christmas gift for a fellow globetrotter? Under Wide and Starry Skies should check the "exotic" box...And if you're wondering if it's actually any good, peruse these extracts and reviews: www.bosunbird.com/under-wide-a...
It's been raining heavily all morning on Saltspring Island BC 🇨🇦. These two guys have showed up by our deck and have so far been waiting two hours for an invitation to come in...😀
December 8, 2025 at 7:44 PM
It's been raining heavily all morning on Saltspring Island BC 🇨🇦. These two guys have showed up by our deck and have so far been waiting two hours for an invitation to come in...😀
📚💙If you aren't there already, it's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts! If your loved one likes to dream of distant and sunny places as winter sets in - try this. Review from San Francisco's Latitude 38 #sailing magazine. www.latitude38.com/issues/decem...
December 5, 2025 at 7:01 PM
📚💙If you aren't there already, it's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts! If your loved one likes to dream of distant and sunny places as winter sets in - try this. Review from San Francisco's Latitude 38 #sailing magazine. www.latitude38.com/issues/decem...
📚💙If you happen to be in the vicinity of Salt Spring Island 🇨🇦this Saturday December 6, come along! One of the destinations I'll be highlighting is in what may be the Least Travelled sea of all today: Om Dom (Crocodile Island), Blue Nile, #Sudan.
December 3, 2025 at 11:49 PM
📚💙If you happen to be in the vicinity of Salt Spring Island 🇨🇦this Saturday December 6, come along! One of the destinations I'll be highlighting is in what may be the Least Travelled sea of all today: Om Dom (Crocodile Island), Blue Nile, #Sudan.
An honour to participate in this very well-attended forum at Harvard, only hours after the latest disastrous turn of events in #Sudan (fall of Babanusa to RSF). And to meet so many concerned students & community members. Note: event starts at the 10m 40s mark. www.youtube.com/live/Y9E3z3g...
Sudan's Silent Genocide: An Unfolding Humanitarian Disaster
YouTube video by Institute of Politics Harvard Kennedy School
www.youtube.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:40 PM
An honour to participate in this very well-attended forum at Harvard, only hours after the latest disastrous turn of events in #Sudan (fall of Babanusa to RSF). And to meet so many concerned students & community members. Note: event starts at the 10m 40s mark. www.youtube.com/live/Y9E3z3g...
Valid criticism, plus concrete recommendations for 🇨🇦 to make a positive difference in #Sudan breachmedia.ca/in-the-genoc...
In the genocide in Sudan, Canada has a hand in the violence ⋆ The Breach
The massacres of civilians in Sudan are being fuelled by Canadian weapons, mining interests, and refugee restrictions. It’s time for Canada to end its complicity
breachmedia.ca
November 28, 2025 at 4:56 AM
Valid criticism, plus concrete recommendations for 🇨🇦 to make a positive difference in #Sudan breachmedia.ca/in-the-genoc...
#Sudan. Coming up on Monday, at Harvard. Tune in! iop.harvard.edu/events/sudan...
Sudan's Silent Genocide: An Unfolding Humanitarian Disaster
A panel of experts will unpack the worsening crisis in Sudan and how it evolved, where the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), is in dire conflict with the powerful paramilitary, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UN recently reported ongoing cases of starvation, bombardment, the collapse of hospitals, and the systematic and deliberate use of rape as a weapon. Join us for this urgent discussion co-sponsored by the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights, and the Center for African Studies.Featuring:
iop.harvard.edu
November 28, 2025 at 3:04 AM
#Sudan. Coming up on Monday, at Harvard. Tune in! iop.harvard.edu/events/sudan...
💙📚 "... it’s all covered with such aplomb. Incidents, narratives, stories, people met, lobsters traded, wood carvings acquired, weather and waves.. all here in technicolour." Lovely book review from no less than Oxford University alumni mag www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/article/off-...
November 27, 2025 at 11:57 PM
💙📚 "... it’s all covered with such aplomb. Incidents, narratives, stories, people met, lobsters traded, wood carvings acquired, weather and waves.. all here in technicolour." Lovely book review from no less than Oxford University alumni mag www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/article/off-...
📚💙#OTD fifty years ago, the Gales of November Came Early, and the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in eastern Lake Superior 🇨🇦. Running here under sail, in fairer winds off Michipicoten Island; as featured in Chapter 47 of "Under Wide and Starry Skies."
November 10, 2025 at 6:13 PM
📚💙#OTD fifty years ago, the Gales of November Came Early, and the Edmund Fitzgerald went down in eastern Lake Superior 🇨🇦. Running here under sail, in fairer winds off Michipicoten Island; as featured in Chapter 47 of "Under Wide and Starry Skies."
📚💙Should you happen to be passing through BC's Gulf Islands...hoping to see you! gulfislandevents.com/event/nick-j...
Nick & Jenny Coghlan – book launch
Book Launch with Nick & Jenny Coghlan – 'Under Wide and Starry Skies' - SHORTLISTED FOR THE MARITIME FOUNDATION AWARD FOR BEST BOOK
Cast off the lines and discover 50 of the most fabulous off-the-beat...
gulfislandevents.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:57 PM
📚💙Should you happen to be passing through BC's Gulf Islands...hoping to see you! gulfislandevents.com/event/nick-j...
Multi-signatory statement from Foreign Ministries on #Sudan. Explicit condemnation of the RSF (welcome). But with one reference to UN resolutions, it it would have been easy also to reference UNSC Resln 1593 - the arms embargo on #Darfur. The elephant is being ignored. www.canada.ca/en/global-af...
Joint Statement Condemning Atrocities and Violations of International Humanitarian law in Sudan - Canada.ca
The Signatories are gravely alarmed by the reports of systematic and ongoing violence against civilians during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as well as the escalati...
www.canada.ca
November 10, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Multi-signatory statement from Foreign Ministries on #Sudan. Explicit condemnation of the RSF (welcome). But with one reference to UN resolutions, it it would have been easy also to reference UNSC Resln 1593 - the arms embargo on #Darfur. The elephant is being ignored. www.canada.ca/en/global-af...
What we need to hear from Canadian PM Carney next week in the UAE #Darfur #Sudan www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nBi...
Sudan’s paramilitary force agrees to U.S. humanitarian ceasefire proposal
YouTube video by CBC News
www.youtube.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:00 PM
What we need to hear from Canadian PM Carney next week in the UAE #Darfur #Sudan www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nBi...
Well-researched deep dive into 🇨🇦 arms/weapons being used, in breach of UN sanctions, in #Darfur, #Sudan. Not just armoured vehicles but - and this is new - sniper rifles too. www.cbc.ca/news/world/s...
Sudanese fighters accused of massacres use Canadian-made rifles | CBC News
The Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, accused of civilian massacres, have posted numerous images posing with rifles bearing the logo of a small B.C. manufacturer called Sterling Cross Defense Systems. Ex...
www.cbc.ca
November 7, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Well-researched deep dive into 🇨🇦 arms/weapons being used, in breach of UN sanctions, in #Darfur, #Sudan. Not just armoured vehicles but - and this is new - sniper rifles too. www.cbc.ca/news/world/s...
180,000 still trapped in #Sudan's El Fasher. Next to no chance of a ceasefire. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Tens of thousands trapped in Sudan’s Darfur city with no safe escape after militia victory
Fate of about 180,000 people still unknown, city cut off from all communications and fully controlled by paramilitary fighters
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:20 AM
180,000 still trapped in #Sudan's El Fasher. Next to no chance of a ceasefire. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Explainer on #Sudan, #Darfur, aimed principally at a 🇨🇦 audience. Streit, arms sales, the UAE...and why nobody will take action. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKI...
Canada Urged to Take Stronger Action on Sudan
YouTube video by Forum Daily News
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Explainer on #Sudan, #Darfur, aimed principally at a 🇨🇦 audience. Streit, arms sales, the UAE...and why nobody will take action. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAKI...
Sounds familiar; #Sudan? "In a matter of weeks, 🇨🇦 moved tens of thousands of Ukrainians to safety, with chartered flights, open work permits. Amnesty reported that, as of late July, only a few dozen families have arrived from Gaza under the TRV program" www.dropsitenews.com/p/canadas-pl...
Canada's Plan to Take in Palestinians from Gaza Is a "PR Show," Families Say
The Temporary Residence Visa Program for Palestinians in Gaza with family ties in Canada was “seemingly designed to fail.”
www.dropsitenews.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Sounds familiar; #Sudan? "In a matter of weeks, 🇨🇦 moved tens of thousands of Ukrainians to safety, with chartered flights, open work permits. Amnesty reported that, as of late July, only a few dozen families have arrived from Gaza under the TRV program" www.dropsitenews.com/p/canadas-pl...
🇨🇦 citizen, former adviser to #Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, arrested in Chad (use Translate feature if necessary) . sudantribune.net/article/306833
السلطات التشادية تعتقل المستشار السابق لقائد الدعم السريع - سودان تربيون
انجمينا 5 نوفمبر 2025 – اعتقلت السلطات التشادية المستشار السابق لقائد الدعم السريع، يوسف عزت، طبقا لمصادر أسرية تحدثت لسودان تربيون. وأفادت المصادر أن عزت اقتيد في 11 أكتوبر الماضي برفقة شخصين آخرين م...
sudantribune.net
November 5, 2025 at 8:53 PM
🇨🇦 citizen, former adviser to #Sudan's Rapid Support Forces, arrested in Chad (use Translate feature if necessary) . sudantribune.net/article/306833
Spending the morning searching out pix for an illustrated talk that will touch on the colonial era in #Sudan: General Gordon's Last Stand in the Palace; Sir Herbert Kitchener; the gunboat HMS Melik, HQ of the Blue Nile Sailing Club (est 1926)
November 5, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Spending the morning searching out pix for an illustrated talk that will touch on the colonial era in #Sudan: General Gordon's Last Stand in the Palace; Sir Herbert Kitchener; the gunboat HMS Melik, HQ of the Blue Nile Sailing Club (est 1926)
🇨🇦 aid cuts: "By weakening health systems in fragile countries worldwide, the Canadian cuts will heighten the risk of another pandemic, while also damaging the chances of building the global stability that would boost Canadian trade" www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
November 5, 2025 at 4:56 PM
🇨🇦 aid cuts: "By weakening health systems in fragile countries worldwide, the Canadian cuts will heighten the risk of another pandemic, while also damaging the chances of building the global stability that would boost Canadian trade" www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Reposted by Nick Coghlan
From one of Canada’s former diplomats in Sudan, South Sudan, Pakistan, South Africa, Colombia, and Mexico. Me, I’m buying, natch.
💙📚 As winter draws in, time to console yourself with the thought that it could be worse - you could be in mountainous seas off Cape Horn...50% off Christmas Special: just apply the code iA25 at the checkout stage... ualbertapress.ca/978088864547...
Winter in Fireland - University of Alberta Press
After tough assignments as a Canadian diplomat abroad, Nicholas Coghlan and his wife Jenny unwind by sailing Bosun Bird, a 27foot sailboat, from Cape Town, S...
ualbertapress.ca
November 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
From one of Canada’s former diplomats in Sudan, South Sudan, Pakistan, South Africa, Colombia, and Mexico. Me, I’m buying, natch.
💙📚 As winter draws in, time to console yourself with the thought that it could be worse - you could be in mountainous seas off Cape Horn...50% off Christmas Special: just apply the code iA25 at the checkout stage... ualbertapress.ca/978088864547...
Winter in Fireland - University of Alberta Press
After tough assignments as a Canadian diplomat abroad, Nicholas Coghlan and his wife Jenny unwind by sailing Bosun Bird, a 27foot sailboat, from Cape Town, S...
ualbertapress.ca
November 5, 2025 at 3:55 PM
💙📚 As winter draws in, time to console yourself with the thought that it could be worse - you could be in mountainous seas off Cape Horn...50% off Christmas Special: just apply the code iA25 at the checkout stage... ualbertapress.ca/978088864547...
I don't know whether to be relieved or shocked - turns out it has been bureaucrats rather than the Minister who've been dragging their feet on the infamously sluggish 🇨🇦 humanitarian visa programme for #Sudan. An important expose; poses a serious question www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
Former immigration minister rejected officials’ advice to shelve Sudan humanitarian program
Officials argued that bringing Sudanese out of civil war and into Canada could affect government’s immigration levels plan
www.theglobeandmail.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:36 PM
I don't know whether to be relieved or shocked - turns out it has been bureaucrats rather than the Minister who've been dragging their feet on the infamously sluggish 🇨🇦 humanitarian visa programme for #Sudan. An important expose; poses a serious question www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
📚💙 It's like fishing in a pond where you're not sure there are any fish...Sent out a copy of "Under Wide & Starry Skies" to a New Zealand #sailing mag 6 months ago. Silence. Then a random Google search last week shows: "A remarkable work...an inspirational book" 😃 www.boatingnz.co.nz/2025/10/book...
Book reviews: A selection of new titles recommended by Boating New Zealand
Under wide and starry skies – 50 sailing destinations in seas less travelled By Nicholas Coghlan – Adlard Coles Do you know of the fine anchorages in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, off the north...
www.boatingnz.co.nz
November 2, 2025 at 10:43 PM
📚💙 It's like fishing in a pond where you're not sure there are any fish...Sent out a copy of "Under Wide & Starry Skies" to a New Zealand #sailing mag 6 months ago. Silence. Then a random Google search last week shows: "A remarkable work...an inspirational book" 😃 www.boatingnz.co.nz/2025/10/book...
Why Gaza may be easier to fix than #Sudan . "For all its horror and complications, Gaza presented a more amenable set of circumstances: near-total alignment between key regional players. Sudan presents the inverse of these conditions." responsiblestatecraft.org/sudan-el-fas...
Sudan's bloody war is immune to Trump's art of the deal
El Fasher's fall exposes the failure of Washington’s reliance on regional power brokers — many who are directly involved — to end the conflict
responsiblestatecraft.org
November 2, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Why Gaza may be easier to fix than #Sudan . "For all its horror and complications, Gaza presented a more amenable set of circumstances: near-total alignment between key regional players. Sudan presents the inverse of these conditions." responsiblestatecraft.org/sudan-el-fas...