Soundings Is Approaching Its 60th Anniversary — Share Your Favorite Stories

Soundings is approaching a significant milestone: the magazine will soon turn a salty 60. To mark six decades of boating journalism, adventure and the people who make the marine world compelling, we’re planning a special celebration and retrospective. This is an invitation to readers, contributors and long-time subscribers to help us highlight the most memorable features, profiles and sea tales we’ve published over the years.

Over sixty years, Soundings has covered a wide range of topics—sail and powerboats, cruising and racing, boatbuilding, seamanship, destinations, and the personalities who shape our pastime. We have our own list of favorite pieces and a selection of standout work that we’ll be featuring in an upcoming issue. But we also want the magazine’s community to be part of the curation. Your memories, recommendations and archival finds will help shape a retrospective that reflects the broad experience and passion of our readers.

Have you ever revisited a Soundings feature and found it as gripping as the first time? Is there a particular writer whose voice you always seek out? Maybe you’ve kept a clipping from an old issue in a scrapbook, or a dog-eared page that still inspires you when you’re planning a cruise or dreaming of offshore adventure. If so, we want to know which stories have stayed with you and why they matter.

If you’re willing to share, here are the kinds of contributions we’re looking for: the titles of memorable features, the authors you’ve admired, short notes about why certain pieces resonated with you, and photographs of original clippings or pages from back issues. A clear photo of the article or a scanned image of the dog-eared page is ideal for helping our editorial team identify the piece and consider it for inclusion in the anniversary coverage. Please do not send copyrighted full-text reproductions; a photo of the clipping or a citation and your recollection are sufficient.

I began reading Soundings in the mid-1980s, so I personally missed some of the magazine’s earlier reporting and storytelling. I’m eager to learn which articles from those earlier decades readers recommend I track down. If you have old issues stashed away in a basement, garage or attic, or if you’ve preserved favorite pages in a scrapbook, please take a photo and let us know which pieces you think deserve renewed attention.

Your participation matters because Soundings has thrived for decades thanks to one of the most engaged boating communities on the water. The magazine’s history is not just our archives and bylines; it’s the recollections and passions of sailors, powerboaters, boatbuilders and editors who have been part of this shared culture. Your voice has always been our voice, and your input will help us assemble a 60th-anniversary feature that truly represents the stories readers hold dear.

To contribute, please send a photo or a note describing the story and why it’s meaningful to you to [email protected]. Include as much detail as you can—issue date (if known), feature title, author name, and any personal memories tied to the piece. We’ll review submissions as we curate material for the anniversary edition and may contact you if we need additional context or permission to republish small excerpts or images.

Whether you’re a longtime subscriber, a former contributor, or a newer reader who has discovered a classic article from our archives, we look forward to hearing which Soundings stories have stayed with you. Help us celebrate sixty years of marine reporting, storytelling and the joy of being on the water by sharing the features that inspired you, informed your voyages, or simply entertained you with tales of the sea.

Jeanne Craig, [email protected]

This article was originally published in the October 2023 issue.