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Well, it was a hectic business, getting the second
issue of MarineZine put together and onto the website. Having
achieved that ambition, it was a little daunting to discover that it had
been obliterated by a technician's mistake. The second issue you see is
not exactly the same as the one that was prepared in the first place, but
we hope it will pass muster. For readers as kind and encouraging as letters have shown
ours to be, it was a
pleasure.
Events conspired to force the removal of
the original version of this nautical magazine from the Internet for a
while and to drop the first half of the original name, which also
happened to be the name of the domain, making matters somewhat difficult,
temporarily.
As the new domain is named after me, I defy any Yankee lawyer to
tell me I can't use this name! MarineZine is a term I
coined in 1972. I first used MarineZine online in 1998. Having
documentary evidence to prove those facts, I feel confident to insist on
my right to the name online as well as offline. So there.
I would like to thank everyone who took the time
and effort to write and tell us that the first issue was to their
liking. It brought a feeling of pride and, yes, I'll gladly admit it,
relief, that we hadn't got it all too badly wrong. You can't please
everyone and we're grateful both for the positive and helpful criticisms
and the flattering compliments.
To the best of my very limited ability, I have tried
and am still trying, to
attend to the criticisms and create viable solutions.
I rather think that the main qualities of this magazine are that it is
fun, informative and even educational; serious when it really matters
but still able to see the humour in any place where there might be some
and, perhaps most importantly, free. I like to think that, when there
are enough readers to show an audience for individual pages, advertisers
will decide to place their business with us so that we can afford the
luxury of continuing to produce MarineZine for friends old and new to
enjoy. Being practical, though, we realise that we have to try and make
ends meet in the meantime, so we'd really appreciate it if you were to
contribute whatever you feel able to help out with, or purchase
something through this website, to help us keep going in the meantime.
The idea that underlies MarineZine was that of creating a place where people can
come whenever they want to and enjoy each other's ideas, stories and
advice. A place that can be accessed no matter where you are, or what
time of day or night you want to be there. A place that is like a crossroads, with signposts to lots of other places that could be of
interest to those who share our interests and each others'. A place
where you can be certain of a warm reception and where somebody will help you
express your thoughts and ideas if writing isn't one of your greatest
talents.
I would like to thank everyone who sent something in for
publication. We appreciate the time you have taken to write in and hope
you like what we have done with your contributions. We also hope you'll write
again soon! I'd also like to thank the people who have put links to MarineZine
on their sites and welcome the people who have volunteered to
help us with the workload of creating the next and future issues.
Already, a good deal of the mail we have received
suggests that people who do not sail, and have never sailed, are
enjoying MarineZine at least as much as people who do. That is very
gratifying for us. We love meeting people, whether physically or on the
Internet, who are different from ourselves and can show us ideas,
possibilities and lifestyles that are new to us.
One of the mistakes we never want to make is to fall into the trap of
thinking that people who like boating aren't interested in anything
else.
We live and work aboard our boat, we have no other home.
We sail far and wide, but we still buy the same food, drink,
shampoo, clothes, publications, you name it, as people who live ashore
or sail part-time. We have to deal with banks and insurance companies,
bureaucrats (of every nationality, but that's O.K. they're all
remarkably similar!), medical problems and people who feel that they
deserve our possessions more than we do. Just as you have to deal with
all those things, and everybody else in the major portion of the world
does too.
Like you, we'd like to try to help ensure there is a
world worth leaving to the children of today.
As you do, we like to have fun as often as possible; relax when the
opportunity arises; lend a hand when we see someone struggling and avoid
making the same mistake twice if it's humanly possible.
That, to my way of thinking, is the wonder of life. How
different we all are and yet how similar. It is our similarities that
make us interested in each other and our differences that make us
interesting to one another.
I wish you fair winds and following
seas or whatever weather brings you joy. See you in the next issue, I
hope! Let's give the French, a nation with a great number of adventurous
sailors amongst her citizens, the last word...Víve le differčnce!
Linnet Woods
Managing Editor
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