s/v Gemini Dreams: April 2013

Thursday, April 4, 2013

From Davy Jones Locker And Back Up The Main Halyard

While we were waiting on a bus last week we were killing time in Barnes and Nobel. Picking random magazines to kill the next 50 minutes until time for the bus I made it to the transportation section. There on the lower shelf it sat. I could tell before ever bending down the roots of this publication. For better or worse, the reincarnation of Lats & Atts in all it's commercialized glory was among us. Just in case you missed issue one like us, or even issue two so far, Bob Bitchen survives after the Lats & Atts sellout and closure. You can get to the online site here... http://cruisingoutpost.com/. You can also do a search in Flipboard and add it to you list. But to get the whole magazine you must currently pay for it! Gone are the days when you could get the issues of Lats & Atts for free online and the multitude of commercial advertisements paid the bills. You are not stuck with paying and dealing with the countless advertisements.

When you first get to the website you are bombarded by advertisements in all the key locations. One third the column width is complete with advertisements. The obligatory header is contains three more "buy me" "pay me" links. All the content is lost in this blitzkrieg of commercialization. There is nothing visually interesting, compelling or demanding of attention like the covers of the print magazines. It is more like trying to find anything useful in the last 20 pages of the Lats & Atts magazine.

As for the magazine itself, it is reminiscent of the predecessor. And we found "Cruising Cuba" to be as good a read on logically laid out as when Addison made the presentation at Boot Key Harbor this winter. He also penned this article or was it Pat I don't remember but we appreciate their insight. s/v Three Penny Opera

I guess it does what it is supposed to do. Give those that don't cruise hope. Give those that cruise with the crowd power. And for the rest of us a place to get a random photo published. Hmmmm Maybe I should think about that more often and actually send one in.

w