Editor-in-Chief Dan Harding reflects on the navigational challenges of operating in this time of uncertainty and of Power & Motoryacht’s course ahead.
I keep a collection of the magazines I’ve been a part of in the basement of my house. I’m fairly OCD about this collection. Whenever a new issue would arrive at our office, I would pack two copies in my bag to bring home. One copy I show my wife before it marches around the house, inevitably ending up crinkly and worn and ultimately finding its way into the recycling bin. The other copy stays pristine and falls right in line on a bookshelf that’s now just about as wide as my wingspan.
I’m proud of this collection. To me, of course, they’re more than just boating magazines. To me they’re memories of adventures and good times past. Every so often, like a kid with an antique baseball card collection, I dust one off and study it. I always enjoy revisiting past issues, even if I inevitably find a story I wish I had tackled differently or come across a headline I wish I could take a second crack at.
I regret to say that because of the economic hardships that have befallen our industry in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, we won’t be publishing a June or August issue this year, but rather we’ll be rolling them into a single summer issue. It’s important to note that this is not a permanent course deviation but what I hope will be just a short No Wake Zone on our way to better times ahead.
Power & Motoryacht consumes such an important part of my life that not being able to produce these issues is a bitter pill to swallow. When I start getting down about it, I remind myself that there are much more difficult separations in the world today. Husbands and wives, parents and children, friends, coworkers—separation has become our way of life for now. So, what choice do we have? We can A) give up to despair. In these trying times I won’t pass judgment. But the far better option, option B, is to adapt. Technology, while once the biggest determent to personal communication, is now its savior.
Old friends who lost touch calling one another; extended family members jumping on Zoom calls that resemble a warped, alcohol-fueled episode of the Brady Bunch; children trying to teach their parents how to FaceTime. Yes, technology is helping bridge the biggest gap of all: Loneliness.
Like a kiss, hug or handshake, the experience of enjoying a magazine can’t be replicated digitally. Not really. But we can do the next best thing. We can continue to deliver the kind of stories you’ve come to expect from us in our digital offerings, through our website, social channels, and of course our e-newsletter. We’ve also launched a Virtual Boat Show where your favorite editors discuss new boats, old stories and just about everything in between. I hope, just like in our magazine, that our digital content teaches you, inspires you, makes you reflect and makes you laugh. I hope it transports you and makes you dream about better days.
I’ve always believed that absence makes the heart grow fonder. With that in mind my colleagues and I are going back to work on our summer issue. I think you’re really going to enjoy it. After all, who doesn’t love a good comeback?
