Sailing Magazines

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Palarran

The problem with the actual cruising articles is they don't provide much info on cruising. They are a documentation of that persons trip, who they where with, what they did, and worst of all, how they felt about it. I don't care!! What I want to know is where's the best anchorage, what was involved with clearance, etc. Give me some facts, info I can use, like where to go for happy hour

And this goes to show how difficult it is for magazines to target their audience.

I like the personal touch, as long as it has relevance to the story. For example, one of my favorite cruising books is the "The Voyage of the Northern Magic" but this is very short on details about the technicalities of their voyage. Another example is the story by a teenager in BWS about what life is like growing up on a cruising boat.

I typically like stories that provide personal point of view but also addresses the technical points. I would say a 60/40 split of personal reporting vs technical details. Too much either way and it is either fluff or tedious. I don't subscribe to CW any more because it seems mostly fluff.

I guess it depends on where you are in your own journey but we have to keep in mind that magazines exist to sell a dream. If you want technical explanations, read a book or come to CF and related sites.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by zeehag

glossies are not fun.
i like lat 38 until they start saying not to visit some place due to the violence that is occurring between narcos and the drug enforcement folks and narcos and other narcos and between cartels. dont place hand in spidey's nest and spidey wont bite.

I'm not sure I get what you mean. Either someone has told you spidey is in the nest, or you accidently put hand in and get a bite. That is more the info I WOULD want.

"Don't sail into Orient Bay and anchor next to the pirate ship because 5 previous boats have been robbed at gun point. Instead, anchor in Anse Marcel" (example)

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by Billy Higgins

Who cares about your teenage daughter and her cute friends - not me!

It is funny how we each referred to the same article with opposing points of view. As I have children who sail with me it is perhaps that is why the article in BWS was more relevant for my situation.

[Soundbounder]

I agree strongly that the content of boating/sailing magazines has deteriorated significantly in the past decade or two. It's really a shame.

But LimeJucer and Don Lucas' examples are not fair.
December and January issues of sailing magazines have always been the weakest of the year. Even 40 years ago they were poor; the December issues were thin and the January issues were just a bunch of boat show ads and "buyers guides".

Meanwhile, ski magazines traditionally been bad in June/July/August as well.

A better comparison is to look at the issues from the rest of the year.

[Anzo]

Lats & Atts the only subscription I've kept. Way too much clutter with the others. Besides, I've got every issue and don't want to break the streak. And when it gets cold here, it's the only one that gets the juices flowing.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by ADMPRTR

Another example is the story by a teenager in BWS about what life is like growing up on a cruising boat.

Crap. I got caught on that one. That article I did give to my teenage daughter to read. Ok, 70/30 split and I'm happy.

[ADMPRTR]

What I would like is a magazine that sells the cruising dream for those on budget (i.e. 20-30 year old boats) that actually are going places. The problem is, no one wants to read about fixing a pesky leak that drips on the pilot berth when underway (as an example). People are attracted, and will pay, for the fantasy, not the reality. And it is the new boat manufacturers that pay to advertise.

[cabo_sailor]

I used to subscribe to just about every sailing magazine out there. The I found that many were being put away without being read. Now the only sailing magazine I get, and read, is Good Old Boat. There is usually at least one article that applies to some project or another on my boat.

Rich

[ADMPRTR]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

... the only sailing magazine I get, and read, is Good Old Boat. There is usually at least one article that applies to some project or another on my boat.

GOB is a good read, and is a keeper, but it is more about doing projects on your boat and less about using the boat. That is the role the other magazines offer.

[svHannabel]

I spend far more time reading blogs and personal (non-commercial) websites these days than I do actually reading the magazines. I also enjoy watching quality YouTube cruising videos.

However, I still get multiple magazines and enjoy paging through them. I'm also admittedly biased as I occasionally write for at least 3 of them. While most of the boats that get reviewed are not my style nor in my budget, I do find useful tips, gear and personal stories that are worth reading. I also have a strange fascination with browsing the boats-for-sale broker ads in the back.

I'm currently working on putting together a website where cruising sailors can post/archive cruising tips (anchoring, customs, happy hour deals, etc.) that will be name and map searchable. Hopefully I'll have it up and running before too long.

[sailorboy1]

Has anyone other than me noticed that if you have subscriptions to multiple mags that you come across an article from a writer in mag X and realize you read the same basic story 1.5 years ago in mag Y from the same writer?

Far as Dec being a bad month for comparing a mags worth because that is the "poor" sailing mag month; lets be real it didn't really look different than the April edition.

Latts & Atts recently cut the number of issues per year. They followed this with the LARGEST issue ever! Too bad the reason was all the pages filled with junk jewerly, old books and videos, and multiple sections of the standard ships stores. So in the end I got 1 less edition of sailing/cruising stories in exchange for the LARGEST issue even of crappy ads.

[Steve W]

It seems to me that if the writers actually provided honest criticism and review of the boat/product/performance or bareboat charter boat/destination/anchorage, the free junkets to test them would dry up pretty fast. The CW bareboat charter articles drive me nuts...non-stop Mooring plugs and boring.

[s/vfootloose]

If you want cruising info join the SSCA and get the monthly newsletter. It probably has more current cruising info than all the other mags together. I get CW but only because I get a free subscription when I go to the Miami Boat Show. I get Lats & Atts but they went from 12 to 10 issues last year and the ads seem to have gone from maybe 40% per issue to about 75%. I don't know if I will renew it when it expires.

[limejucer]

Soundbounder
Why not fair?
my writing is not so good (Dyslexic)
but i meant to say 130 pages 89 of them had useful information.
I listed hints, tips, how to's, reviews and cookery at sea.
I thought a good magazine.
Better than the fashion mag stile look at my 100' er with polished stainless rockna advert types.

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Has anyone other than me noticed that if you have subscriptions to multiple mags that you come across an article from a writer in mag X and realize you read the same basic story 1.5 years ago in mag Y from the same writer?

Well, yes I have.

Hannibal brings up a good subject, which is quality youtube sailing video's. I have been using Google Earth to research and dream for my coming trip. The youtube video links in Earth are a nice addition. Unfortunately, 75% of them are very, very poorly done.