Editor’s Letter: Halcyon Days
October 2026, the sailing community is going to miss you. November, we love you too, and you’ve got some things we’re really looking forward to. But dang. Ok, ok, weather is the exemplar of mundane subject matter, but…
48° North Cruising Rally Recap
Spinning on the hook, the variable breeze was light and lightly smoky. I could see friends gathered ashore. A surprise midday hoolie had blown, seemingly localized at the Bedwell Harbour Customs dock. It had momentarily…
Editor’s Letter: Tell Your Story
In the weeks before the October edition went to press, 48° North had the good fortune to be at both the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival and the Fall Boats Afloat Show. These two very different and very special gatherings…
WBF Panel: Lifestyle To A Living—YouTube and Other Boat-Related Revenue, Hosted By 48N’s Joe Cline
Have you ever asked yourself something like this: Should I start a YouTube Channel to support my boat-habit? If I chronicle the restoration of an old boat, could it help fund the project? Could I share stories of a big…
Editor’s Letter: Cruisers Exchanging Prudence
I have been known to extol the virtues of group cruising… well, ad nauseam. I’m still doing it, but it’s not for lack of new ideas. My inspiration to raise the topic this month is precisely the opposite—cruising in a group…
Editor’s Letter: 45 Years, and Lots More to Come!
What makes a milestone? Everybody loves a round number, but the quantity merely prompts the occasion to mark what’s come before and what it says about the present and future. Of course, I’m talking about this fine magazine.…
Race Report: J/70 National Championship
“Mrrrzzz.” Shaking off a sublime summer Saturday stupor, I pulled out the buzzing phone. Would I be interested and available to join a team for the J/70 National Championship in Santa Barbara in just under two weeks? Um……
Editor’s Letter: Not My Boat
Is it all sunset cocktail cruises and rippin’ downwinders and rainbows and kumbaya? Well, not exactly… But of the many positives that come with my cherished role at 48° North, the opportunity and privilege to sail different…
Excess 11 Catamaran Test Sail
Having sailed a variety of boats from 10 to 100 feet, my default preference is a small-to-midsize monohull keelboat with performance chops. Cruising catamarans are seldom at the front of my mind, though I know they intrigue…
Editor’s Letter: Northbound
As a devoted summer camp kid growing up in Minnesota, I can easily recall every sensory input—scents, sounds, and sights—that instinctively readied me for my annual journey to the northwoods and border lakes. Decades later…