Pleasures

 

We are regularly and thoroughly flattered by comments we get from readers about our magazine. People talk about savoring each issue, waiting by the mailbox, and the good feeling they get from reading and even re-reading a copy. I’m so close to it that it’s difficult for me to relate. While I find each issue very satisfying, having struggled to produce it, it’s impossible for me turn the pages with the fresh eyes of our typical reader.

When I hear from a passionate subscriber I sometimes wonder if there are publications, productions or programs in my own life for which I have this same kind of enthusiasm. Craig and I are both big fans of Old Time Radio, and I know we both enjoy broadcasts of AM radio programs like When Radio Was and internet stations like Antioch AM 1710  and Yesterday USA. Another of my favorite things is the CBC broadcast Vinyl Cafe, an entertaining hour of music and storytelling—and a wonderful live show if they pass through your town.

Although none of these has anything to do with boats or sailing, they’re good examples of niche productions that I enjoy and am thankful exist. All of them also happen to be “escapes” of one kind or another—well removed from the din of television news cycles and the stress of the modern world.

We trade subscriptions with a half dozen or so other sailing magazines. I very much enjoy several of them and usually take away something from all of them, but obviously our own magazine is the only one that suits me entirely.

One sailing production that gives me a really warm feeling, and speaks to our specific niche, is Dylan Winter’s Keep Turning Left video blog. The camera work and narration are spectacular, and each episode has historical bits, humor, and the slow pace of a little sloop wending her way through a muddy tidal passageway. If you haven’t yet seen one of his films, I recommend you have a look.  A new installment called “Ore Spit” is posted at his site now.—JC