In the beginning…

It began as an idea in a "What if" bar conversation between Chuck Streatch and Dan Schworer. Appropriately, the bar was the Sloop Tavern, and the conversation centered around producing a new boating magazine. It was in late June 1981, and Streatch, a veteran of 20 years in the newspaper business, could see that Cast Off, then the only boating magazine in town, was quickly fading.
      "Just from looking at the magazine I knew they were in serious trouble," Streatch said. (Quotes from Chuck are from the 10th Anniversary article by Jeff Briggs) "Dan and I thought there was room for a good boating magazine to make it in Seattle. Our unemployment was running out, and being over 50, I was unemployable. So after checking around with some different printers and potential advertisers, we decided to go for it."
      With the financial backing of David V. Harris, who was given the title of Publisher for his $10,000 loan, the two publishing entrepreneurs set about reating a Northwest sailing magazine. Less than six weeks after the conversation in the Sloop, the first issue of what was to become 48° North appeared in the brokerages and chandleries of Seattle. The debut issue was called Latitude 48.
      "I did most of the production," Streatch said, "and Dan did the editorial. It was a miracle that we got the first magazine out. We put the first issue out for $5,000. We didn't get paid."
      Prophetically, Streatch was right. The first issue of the new magazine was also the last month of the old – Cast Off ceased publication that August. Printed on newsprint and offered to the boating community for free, Latitude 48 made its debut with 48 pages and a black-and-white photograph cover. Eight thousand copies of the magazine were printed, compared to today's circulation of about 25,000, with the premiere issue offering glimpses of the future.
      The first issue featured many aspects that would set the tone for years to come. Columnists Bruce Hedrick and Stef Clarke wrote on racing and sails; respectively, John Carson drew on his vast sailing experiences to write another column. The section "Lowtide," still a staple in 48° North, was a "potpourri of sailing." It is now the place to look for news and events, classes and rendezvous and other goings on in the sailing world. The familiar slogans, "The Northwest Sailing Magazine" and "Just Like The Wind...It's Free," were on the cover. The tone was folksy, personal and slightly irreverent.
      One reason the magazine is still going strong is that from the very first issue it contained a focus and a philosophy that has remained constant throughout the years. Rather than take a shotgun approach to boating, trying to offer something for everyone on the water, it concentrated from the beginning on sailors and sailing. Streatch, who readily admits he had never been on a sailboat until after the publication of the first issue, saw the decision as making good business sense. "We weren't competing with any other magazines, and that market niche of "sail only" seemed to give us a better chance of getting off the ground. It made us the only sailing magazine."
      With a focus, the philosophy for the magazine was easy, and it directly reflects the approach to sailing taken by the magazine's staff. Sailing is fun.
      Michael Collins, who joined the staff shortly after the magazine's inception, reiterated the early approach: "We wanted to show people having fun while sailing. That has been the 48° North philosophy throughout the years, both in editorial and advertising."
      Current editor Hazelton carries on that philosophy: "If you're not having fun, get off the water so the rest of us can have fun. If you're not having fun, why are you doing it? Unless you're sailing professionally, which very few people are, you're doing it for fun. It's a leisure activity. The magazine is designed to reflect that attitude."
      For two months, Streatch and Schworer published the magazine as Latitude 48, but the threat of a lawsuit from the Seattle restaurant Latitude 47, who objected to the word "Latitude" in the new magazine's title, prompted the two to quickly look for a new name. No, it had nothing to do with Latitude 38, the boating magazine in California, they were cool. In October 1981, the magazine appeared for the first time under the title 48° North. "Progress," Herbert Spencer once wrote, "is not an accident, but a necessity. It is part of nature. To change is to live; to stay the same is to die." Like boat design and marine electronics, like the sailing needs of its readers, 48° North has evolved through the years to better reflect its readers and to offer readers a better magazine.
      The first step in the evolutionary process came in creating a distinctive image for the magazine. Streatch wanted a look that was immediately identifiable to readers. The April 1982 cover parted with the previous black-and-white format and featured a four-color photo. But the real change came the next month in May 1982 when an original piece of art appeared for the first time on the cover of 48° North. It was the work of local artist and sailor Kathy Donehay. Her original art on the covers of the next two months created the distinctive 48° North look that continues today. "Mostly, I just liked the artwork," said Streatch, who for years scoured local galleries for an appropriate cover. "They were so well received I saw it as a way for the magazine to be distinct, and at the same time support some of the many fine maritime artists who are living and painting in the Northwest."
      "Our growth really started when Michael came on board," Streatch noted. "The real foundation that created 48° North was the blood, sweat and tears of Michael, Dan and myself. We used labor instead of money, we couldn't afford extra people so we worked extra shifts." Fifty to 60-hour weeks were the norm and would surpass 70 during deadlines.

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