Welcome to the new Soundings.
We’ve spent more than a winter’s worth of time chipping ice and shoveling snow — we’ve been reinventing the magazine. From our base in Essex, Conn., we’re excited to introduce a refreshed Soundings that feels right for today and ready for tomorrow. The new format measures 9 by 10-7/8 inches, a size we believe works well for readers and for the stories we want to tell.
One of the most visible changes is how we’ve left the old newspaper model behind. For decades we carried vestiges of zoned sections, separate folios and varied paper grades. Now, for the first time in 48 years, Soundings is printed entirely on a single paper stock. That unified approach — from stem to stern — gives the magazine a more cohesive look and a more satisfying reading experience.
Redesigning meant rethinking nearly everything: how the magazine fits with our digital work, how stories flow from page to screen, and how to sharpen the focus of our coverage. You’ll find new features and fresh voices, updated fonts, headers and color palettes, and a clearer editorial direction. Our goal was to enhance readability and to make both the print magazine and our online presence feel like parts of the same brand — complementary and consistent.
We’ve always believed that Soundings has been defined by its content and by the people who make it — the writers, editors, photographers and contributors who care about boats, seamanship and maritime life. Our physical size has never been the defining characteristic; the heart of the magazine is the storytelling and the point of view we bring to what makes a good boat or what good seamanship looks like. We aim to stay lively, occasionally offbeat, but never dull or predictable.
At our core we remain storytellers and boat enthusiasts. That won’t change. Our journalistic roots go back to Jack Turner, who launched this publication with two partners over a kitchen table and, famously, a bottle of gin. Their intention in 1963 was to challenge convention. Turner described the founders as “wildcatters — the Flying Tigers of marine publishing,” and we honor that spirit: bold, independent, and curious.
Jack Turner was many things — boatbuilder, sailor, woodworker, fiction writer, chef, publisher and gardener — and he relished doing things his own way. I like to imagine him, peering over his glasses at this redesign, growling with a grin, “What took you so damn long?” His example taught us to embrace change, to be nimble and willing to experiment — essential qualities for any publication navigating both print and digital waters today.
Revisiting a magazine’s design and purpose is a healthy, sometimes challenging process. It forces you to confront sacred cows, to streamline legacy practices and to define who you are as a publication and a brand. Change brings “creative tension” and spirited debate, and this redesign was no exception. But when a team trusts one another, those debates lead to better work and, ultimately, to a stronger magazine.
We expect — and welcome — your feedback. We know a loyal and vocal group of readers will speak up: regulars from the Bay State, Long Island, Miami, boatyards and marinas, longtime subscribers and even family members who have strong opinions about “their” magazine. Tell us what you like, what you miss and what you’d like to see more of. This is, after all, your magazine.
If there’s a single sentiment that captures what we strive for at Soundings, it’s this: to leave you with a taste of salt. That phrase conjures the texture of life at sea — blown-out deck shoes, a favorite varnish brush, a towel dried stiff from wind and sun. It speaks to authenticity, to objects and experiences with patina and staying power, and to the vast, unfathomable breadth of the sea.
Enjoy the voyage.
“It was when I was anchored in the lonely places that a feeling of awe came over me.”
– Joshua Slocum
This article originally appeared in the May 2011 issue.