Sailing Magazines

[sailingforever]

What are the best sailing magazines? I used to get Ocean Navigator, but that was more about offshore cruising than small boat sailing. Are there any good small boat sailing/racing magazines? Is Messing About in Boats any good?
Thanks!

Hannah

[mstern]

I've never seen Messing About in Boats, but I have found that with few exceptions, sailing magazines target the more affluent market. Sail and Cruising World seem to reflect a world where most everyone buys their 35 plus foot boat new and sails them to Bermuda or the South Seas as a matter of course. Sailing is a little more down to earth. It has articles about cruises to more mundane areas. Sailing has a large page format that allows it to show huge photos of beautiful boats. When they do a feature on a classic yacht regatta, it is about as close as you can get to sailboat porn. The one sailing magazine that focuses on the world I live in (20-40 year old plastic boats) is Good Old Boat. It focuses more on the boats rather than the owners or their adventures. Sailing World is a racing focused magazine (never appealed to me). If you want to try a different style cruising magazine, try Latitudes and Attitudes. Very irreverent and offbeat. The columnists (especially the editor) have a very uncorporate take on sailing and cruising. A big hunk of each issue is taken up with submissions from cruisers around the world. Unfortunately, the stories of drunken debauchery in paradise start to sound the same after awhile, but taken in small doses, I find them a great antidote for the winter blahs.

[MikeinLA]

That's a very excellent summary and I would agree down the line. As the owner of a 16 year old boat , I would especially vouch for Good Old Boat. The only one I would add and recommend is Blue Water Sailing. Although there is alot about (naturally) Blue Water Sailing, there are also some very good articles on mechanics, electrics, provisioning, maintenance etc that even us lowly coastal and day sailors can benefit from. There is also a big British publication that I can't recall the name of, but it's fun to occasionally get the European perspective on things.

Mike

[PBzeer]

I'll chime in with a nod to Good Old Boat as the best all around mag for the real world. Helpful and relevant articles. Boat reviews that don't gloss over the bad points, and a definite sense of they are just one of us.

[TejasSailer]

I agree with the suggestion of Good Old Boat. Otherwise,I prefer two magazines from the UK - Yachting Monthly and Sailing Today - a bit pricy but worth it I think. I also think that British automotive magazines are better than US automotive magazines.

[sailingforever]

I've gotten two trial issues of Good Old Boat, but I am looking for a small boat magazine, not a magazine for the Good old Boats

[cardiacpaul]

I think we should all get a cut on what I'm sure is going to be the uptick in subscriptions to Good Old Boat. It really is a great little mag.

[JohnPen]

I subscribe to Sail, and usually pick up a copy of the following throughout the year, as the issue content suits me:
Good Old Boat
Boating World
Practical Sailor
Cruising World

I find that you can get much more detailed information from the net for free.

[sailingforever]

True, I have gotten most of the stuff I know about sailing from the library and online. I will look at all the sailing magazines next time I go to the Maine State Library

[mstern]

There used to be a magazine called Trailer Sailor, or something like that. I don't know if its still around. I just went to look for it on line and came up with something called Small Craft Advisor. I've never heard of it, but check out their website. Surprisingly, its www.smallcraftadvisor.com.