Is it a clear, cold day in April? Hold on — spring is on the way. The days are growing longer, the weak sun that pretends to be warm will soon be replaced by real heat, and the landscape will trade its wintry gray for color and life. We’re all watching for the season’s first signs: crocuses and hyacinths pushing up through the thaw, bright forsythia branches, and ranks of tulips announcing that the change has come.
To me, spring feels like more than the next calendar season. It’s the triumphant retreat of a long, stern winter — a relief that’s almost ritual. While Ecclesiastes teaches that there is a time for everything, winter often feels like a test of endurance rather than a comfort. Now that we’ve made it through, we can shrug off the heavy layers, step out of the gray and fluorescent routine, and fling open the double doors to warmer days and fresh possibilities. The air itself seems to celebrate: sunlight, birdsong and even the distant honk of a car sound like welcome notes. Yes, there may still be leftover mounds of dirty snow in the parking lot, but everything is heading in the right direction. In short: call the yard — it’s time to schedule your commissioning and launch.
We’re making some seasonal changes here at the magazine too. Our long-running Waterfront feature, which highlighted a coastal property for sale, is moving online. In its place, Local Knowledge will appear in the print magazine as a hand-delivered, insider’s introduction to visiting a terrific coastal town by boat. The first piece in that series comes from Jeff Bolster (Page 104), our knowledgeable guide to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His writing reminded me that I’m overdue for a course change and an exploratory tie-up the next time I head toward Maine.
Also new this month is Sketchbook, a column by Sam Devlin. Many of our readers already know Devlin for his elegant stitch-and-glue designs; Sketchbook (Page 70) gives a designer’s perspective on the creative process and introduces readers to his work along with other notable designs. Sketchbook will alternate with our regular Design column, which continues to showcase exciting new ideas from across the boating world. For anyone familiar with Devlin’s boats, it’s a real pleasure to welcome him to the Soundings masthead.
We’re equally pleased to introduce Tales From The Captain’s Table, by Capt. Lou Boudreau (Page 64). Some of our readers will recall the November 2016 feature on the schooner Yankee, a vessel closely associated with Irving and Exy Johnson. Boudreau’s family purchased the first Yankee from the Johnsons and ran one of the early charter operations in the Caribbean. He and his siblings grew up aboard a succession of schooners in the years before the West Indies became a tourism hub, and his recollections are full of charm and nautical detail. He’ll also share a little lagniappe for the galley — a small extra treat for readers who like to cook aboard.
We hope these additions deepen what you already value about Soundings: a strong connection to the sea, the many ways people get out on the water, an abiding curiosity about maritime traditions and lore, and a forward-looking appetite for what’s next in boating. Whether your interest lies in practical seamanship, innovative design, coastal cruising or the stories of those who live and work on the water, our pages aim to inform, inspire and entertain.
As the season changes, so do our plans for getting afloat. Expect more local knowledge, new design perspectives, and first-person maritime stories that capture the life and character of coastal communities and the vessels that serve them. We’ll keep bringing you the boats, the people who love them, and the places they take us.
Enjoy the issue, and happy spring commissioning.
This article originally appeared in the April 2017 issue.