Who doesn’t love the fresh start of a new year? Boat folk certainly do, and I always join the chorus. Winter may persist for months to come, but the days are already getting longer, and there’s no better time to make plans.

Maybe it’s the year to buy your next boat, or your first. Perhaps it’s gear upgrades, repairs to make, or new knowledge you’ll pursue that will define the coming season. It could be your year to sail away for a long while… or for good!

The promise of a year on the water in the Pacific Northwest awaits, and what joy to dwell and dream and chart out the possibilities. This is the year. This is your year. And in the immortal words of the voice of skiing, Warren Miller, who was an accomplished and passionate Orcas Island sailor as well, “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.” 2026 is a ‘let’s do it’ kind of year.

I’m legitimately stoked about some of 48° North’s resolutions for the coming year. There’s a lot of big new stuff in the works—from a burgeoning video initiative to a couple new supplemental publications we hope will engage, serve, and grow our audience. These efforts simultaneously renew our commitment to all the things you’ve come to expect and rely on from 48° North. From our monthly print flagship filled with stories that inform, inspire, and entertain; to our digital presence at 48north.com and our weekly e-newsletter; to the SARC that’s enclosed in this issue, something I’m more proud of each year; to the planning of another terrific cruising rally with our readers (Aug 2-7, 2026, registration opens January 9).

While my excitement is genuine and I sincerely mean everything I said in the paragraph above, work-related resolutions inevitably risk ringing a little hollow. Typically, resonant resolutions are found in the realm of the personal. I guess by sharing this, I’m inviting you to be accountability partners… Why not? Here are a couple waypoints in my personal navigation software for 2026.

Take a cruise, even a short one, with my family. Bringing my three-year-old sailing for the first time was a standalone highlight of 2025, and I want more. I hope to have more day-trip experiences with both of my kids this year, but I have this lingering vision of waking up on a boat with our littles—of having a lazy family morning aboard. Our now-four-year-old daughter still talks about “our cabin” from a simple two-night trip to a mountain VRBO last winter. At this time next year, I hope she’s talking about “our boat” in the same way. To top it off, my wife’s parents recently moved to the area, and my father-in-law has suggested in no uncertain terms that he would like me to take everyone cruising. Let’s do it. This is the year.

Re-join a regular race team. Since we had our second child in April of 2024, I’ve disavowed commitments of every stripe—other than those to family and my job—including long-term positions with race programs I have loved. It’s been an indescribably special time, and has felt completely right for this phase. But this phase is evolving, and I miss racing and the community of a team. Will it be the J/70 fleet that’s been dosing me with hallucinogenic levels of FOMO (fear of missing out) since it exploded on almost exactly the timeline of my paternal hiatus from racing? Or maybe it’s the J/105s, a fleet that’s also growing with new energy as they build toward a North American Championship this fall? Distance? Buoys? Or perhaps just an earnest effort to sail more regularly with old friends? There’s no wrong answer, and I guess I’m a free agent. But I’m in. It’s time, and I’m excited.

Whatever your plans, preparations, or premonitions, I’ll be your cheerleader for this new year on the water. You got this. Go chase it. This is your year.

Editor's letter