Here in Seattle, the temperature is dipping as we catch a dry day between rainstorms. As we get ready to close down the office for the holidays I went to file away the stack of magazines from this past year that I have kept on my desk. Eight issues full of stories and pictures we’ve brought you over the past year. As I went to shelve 2018 I found myself leafing through the issues. And maybe it is the warmth and adventure some of the photos elicited in me or maybe it is the nostalgia of not wanting to close out the year, but I found myself admiring many of the photos that we published this past year. The below gallery highlights some of my favorite shots from this past year, what I find compelling about them, and a link to the story if you are looking to revisit some of our work from this past year. Enjoy.
The story of Astra, a converted lifeboat turned passagemaking yacht, was our most read story online this past year. From the photo alone you can tell why, it is unique, it is a passagemaker, and it makes you want to explore.
Cecilia Kiely did a great piece in our September issue about the rise of Early Marine Radio, inspired by this photo that Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Cooper shot onboard the Swiftsure Lightship. However, my favorite part of this photo was our realization that it might not be a VHF radio which led us on a hunt for what this radio was. Learn what we found here.
For many people in the US seeing a bald eagle is a rare sighting. Paul Lawrence snapped this stunning photo along the ICW just north of Turner Butler Bridge in Jacksonville Beach from his Grand Alaskan 53, Sonas.
Maybe it is because I grew up along the Hudson River, but this black and white shot of a Tug pushing a barge by Louis Medina really caught my eye. Louis captured this shot while cruising up the Hudson River as part of his journey around the Great Loop.
Burton Smith of Two of Us Photography in Tortola, British Virgin Islands caught this shot on Old Year’s Evening (12/29/2017). Burton was shooting aOld Year’s Evening party at Foxy’s and caught this beautiful shot. Just after Hurricane Irma, the BVIs were just starting to rebuild. Burton found hope in this shot that showed so many returning boats, back in their favorite cruising grounds despite the devastation of the hurricane.
To be fair this is a stock image I bought for advertising our return to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor this past year for TrawlerFest. It was a fantastic success and well attended. We can’t wait to return in 2019, we hope you’ll join us!
One piece we couldn’t fit in our April Canada Issue was Cheryl Barr’s story on cruising in remote Newfoundland. Luckily we found a home for it in our May/June issue. This photo captures for me what we all seek in cruising, finding that far away place, that is rarely visited. Newfoundland, as I found through Cheryl’s story offers just that, which is why I encouraged my sister to take her honeymoon there this past summer (which she did!). This is another place I’ve added to my cruising bucket list.
Tom Zydler’s story on cruising in Indonesia, that was in our July/August Bluewater Issue, was another story that truly gets at the essence of passagemaking. His trip through Indonesia and beyond captured a real sense of adventure and discovery. There is something very inviting to me about this photo of Sawai on Seram Island. While it hasn’t made it on my bucket list, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to go!
The Livingston 24 isn’t for everyone, I recently saw it torn apart as a “silly ship” amongst some trawler diehards. Again, maybe it is the nostalgia that comes with this time of year, but I just love the retro look of this boat. I really enjoyed Dag Pike’s review of this boat in our Bluewater Issue. It is designed to be a true passagemaker and it could hold the hull of a more traditional trawler or modern design, but instead it harkens back to the days of steamships and ocean travel. This photo of a Livingstone 24 cruising through northern Holland, with an old world, backdrop is just the sort of photo that makes me want to get onboard and order a martini from the butler (it must come with one of those, right?)
We’ve had Jean Mackay illustrate several stories from us and we always appreciate her watercolors. I really enjoyed this opening illustration she did for her historic article she did on the Erie Canal. Jean works for the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and brought together her knowledge of this centerpiece of the Great Loop with her stunning artwork.
It’s not always easy to find engaging artwork for technical stories, especially about understanding compass deviation and variation. We lucked out with this story as Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Cooper had just photographed a compass adjuster using this vintage portable alidade to adjust the compass on a boat he was writing a future story on.
While joining the 10,000 mile tour, a trip that Aspen 40, Knot Wafflen‘ took from Alaska to Annapolis, Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Cooper snapped this shot of Nick Graf, Aspen Power Cat Sales Manager and son of owner Larry Graf, takes a plunge into the Sea of Cortez at sunset. This is another photo that reminds me what it is I love about cruising – being out in nature, enjoying the water, and not taking life too seriously. Read Jonathan Cooper’s story on Larry Graf here.
I’ll be honest, the real reason I love this photo is because it bit my boss. I mean no ill will or harm upon Jonathan Cooper. But how do you not love hearing how a pig chased him out of the dinghy and bit him right on the butt. Turns out that is only a small (and painful) part of his trip to the Exuma Cays this past summer. But this photo will always make me chuckle.
This photo is from Denise and Don Bermant story on cruising in the Bahamas and in Cuba. It is often hard when you see and photograph boats regularly to come up with a unique and different photo. I really love how this photo does just that. Capturing both the view of the photo being taken as well as the warmth of the boat. It is a reminder of where a boat can take you and the special moments that exist there.
This photo graced the cover of our Canada issue this past April. It is a classic Northwest photo that just makes you want to step into the photo to be in the wild and rustic environment of wherever this is. Craig Hougen and Mark Tanner provided us a great story on cruising Haida Gwaii in British Columbia. Their story, and photos, especially this photo, put Haida Gwaii on cruising bucket list and it a place I hope I can visit soon.
Peter Swanson stirred up some controversy with his article on the science behind “Rig for Red” and why “Dim White at Night” is a more accurate configuration for night time navigation. And while he provides the science to back it up, it was easy enough to find this compelling shot of the USCG who are still “Rigging for Red” despite the science.
This is a photo that I think really captures the essence of PassageMaker magazine. A unique fireboat converted into a modest yacht in desolate waters surrounded by nature. This is the sort of boat and conversion I dream of doing and it was a special treat to read about someone who is doing it, with the unique perspective of how difficult a conversion really can be. This photo and this story, I think ties up the ethos of PassageMaker in one neat package.
Tony Fleming is someone who is well known for the passages he makes on his boat, Venture. This photo of Venture maneuvering through the pack ice of Harvard Glacier in Alaska strikes me as a great photo of the sophistication and beauty of a classic trawler in the harsh splendor of nature. Tony brings the reader right along in his article on returning to Prince William Sound.
I really enjoyed the article I got to write this past year on Peter Langley, owner and operator of the Port Townsend Foundry in Port Townsend, Washington. What I love about this photo, of photos from his youth, is how it represents Pete. I considered writing the article not on the foundry but simply on the sea stories he shared with us during our visits there. Pete is an amazing story teller and the stories he would tell about growing up on M/V Catalyst with his family could fill a book.
This shipwreck in the Aleutian Islands reminds me of how I felt about learning about this story. I had no real knowledge of how an entire theater of World War II was fought on American soil in the Aleutian Islands. This photo of the bow of a boat sticking up out of an otherwise serene, natural landscape reminds me of how easily history can be forgotten. I learned a lot from this great article on the discovery of a missing section of a US Naval Destroyer.
This photo still amazes me, and I am the one who took it. Seeing the devastation of all of the boats in Paraquita Bay in the British Virgin Islands, was unfathomable. I took this picture three months after Hurricane Irma destroyed this trusted hurricane hole. And while many of the boats had been taken away, as may as could be repaired as possible, still three months later the bay was full and sunken boats were being salvaged from the bottom. Visiting the BVI right after Hurricane Irma and seeing how quickly the maritime community was rebounding was impressive. This photo, to me, illustrates the immensity of that process.
