Yachting for the Upper Crust

I have in front of me 2 issues of Yachting magazine. I have owned 2 motorboats, one we sold about 3 years ago. I live on the water and dream of some day owning another one. Of course nothing we ever own will compare to either of the boats on the covers of the February 2002 or March 2002 issues. I will review the March issue in particular. The magazines average about 270 pages and have similar topic contents: "Features," "Departments" and "Also Inside." The magazines are very pretty to look at. The cover is glossy and the yachts are beautiful.

The cover story in March’s issue is “Summer Charter…Bahamas, Pacific Northwest, Main Plus: Exclusive Charter Broker Guide."

The Magazine:

~After wading through pages, not sure what were ads and what weren’t ads in the March issue, I came to a 1-page article that made me cringe. "Mane Event" by Jay Coyle was, perhaps, cleverly written and would be considered funny by some but “the vehicle’s commander, a petite woman with big, two tone blonde hair…” Maybe we need to know she was a small woman to understand the article but we certainly don’t need to know the color of her hair and why do I think her actions had something to do with the color of it?

~There is an excellent article by Bruce Van San, a published author, on “Playing the Lees.” It is an in-depth article on understanding wind and about every type of wind and its effect you can image. There are also a couple of nice pictures in color to illustrate the various winds. I enjoyed this article, although I do think that if you are reading this magazine (as opposed to reviewing it) you probably own a boat and should know about winds and currents. My husband and I both took a Coast Guard Course and a sailing course. I can’t imagine driving a car without knowing how to steer and brake in ice and snow. I feel the same way about boats.

~There is a 4-page article under electronics displaying and discussing the newest trends in electronic navigation. This article is only for the person in the know. I didn’t understand more than a word or two! But it sure does look like there are some neat gizmos on the market if you happen to own a yacht. This isn’t an advertisement per se` but it does advertise the products.

~There are 2 articles that encompass 12 pages of breathtaking pictures of two yachts. The articles are actually test drives, or reviews you might say, with the author of one saying, “I found the instrument panel a bit high when I was seated…”

~The cover story, "Summer Charters" is 18 pages detailing various charter options. Each one is written by a different person although that really doesn’t take away from the beauty of the pictures which will want to make you read the articles and charter a 100 foot Katania for an excursion of the Pacific Northwest.

Ads

Much of this magazine is made up of ads: ads for yacht shows, ads for brokerage firms, ads for boats for sale at marinas. I would think that if you run in these circles you wouldn’t utilize a magazine to spend $500,000 for a boat, but right now I just want a $200 rowboat so what do I know!

The Price:

~The cover price is a whopping $5.00 and I guess if you are buying a boat for $500,000 the $5.00 doesn’t sound like a lot. I am not sure why you would want to read this magazine though. It is certainly only for the yachting aficionado and not even for the boat hobbyist, in my opinion, and perhaps having it on board your boat to look through while relaxing with your martini is a good thing to do so I will recommend it for that purpose. Since that is not the general epinions readers, however, I will not be recommending this magazine.

The website and promotions:

~The website is http://www.yachtingnet.com/yachting/ and even if this magazine may not be for you, me or anyone we know, the website is nice. In fact, if the magazine sounds like one you would want to look at, just go to the website and save the $5.00. For $3.99 you can get MotorBoating magazine, a very similar magazine with fewer pages but more information. In fact at the site you can try MotorBoating magazine for free.

~Both magazines are published by Time 4 Media which is why MotorBoating is plugged on Yachting's website.

~The website has a great deal now. You can get 12 issues for $15.97 online which is an amazing $1.33 an issue. You also will get a free watch with your subscription. This may be the best online subscription deal I have seen. An 80% savings and a watch.

My final thoughts:

Yachting addresses the interests of both sail and powerboat owners. Each issue features a calendar of boating events and listings of new products including hulls, engines, sailing equipment, and clothing. (from the website).

~Personally I would recommend you save your money. I don’t think you will learn much more from this magazine than you will from the website. Of course if you think you will even buy 2 or 3 issue in one year, take advantage of the website offer. I don’t care for the magazine. There are too many ads; not enough information and I wonder how many people actually buy their yachts from this magazine.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment or e-mail me.

MotorBoating Magazine review can be found at http://www.epinions.com/content_39574867588