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NEVER-ENDING VOYAGE

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dventure. The word conjures up myriad images. For some, it’s a singular

event, such as climbing a peak or crossing an ocean. For others, it’s a

lifetime of adrenaline rushes. ¶ In this issue, we look at yachts outfi tted

for adventure: one refi tted to cruise Antarctica, and one built to search the

world for novel-worthy pelagics. We also explore a growing trend in personal

submarines, which yachtsmen are using to explore under the sea in luxury.

¶ All of these things are worthy of the name adventure, but for me, the term is open-ended.

When I was 2 years old, my parents put me on our boat. I didn’t like the sound of the

engines starting, but I enjoyed leaving the slip. Our adventures consisted of heading

into the bay and drifting or dropping the hook. My parents would place me and my

siblings in PFDs and tie us to the tuna-tower legs so we had the option of sitting on an

engine box or walking around the cockpit, but so we couldn’t get close to the gunwale

or reach over the side. ¶ By the time I was 9, our cruises went beyond the inlet and the

sight of land. That’s when the hooks sunk into me. I found something relaxing about

watching the coastline disappear into the wake and seeing only the next horizon ahead.

¶ During college, my brother and I would venture to the northeast canyons on charter

boats or as crew for private owners to see what was beyond the range of my dad’s boat.

We had some memorable adventures in the deep, ranging from epic fish battles to

sagalike weather yarns. Each trip left me both satisfi ed and yearning to do and see more.

¶ In my late 20s, I found myself covering the marine industry as a journalist. And during the

past two decades, the adventure has continued in amazing ways. I’ve cruised the fj ords in

Sweden. Run a 96-footer off Tangalooma Island in Australia. Experienced the rough water

in the Mona Passage between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Skirted a hurricane

off the mid-Atlantic. Cruised the British Virgin Islands and snorkeled the teeming reefs off

Anegada. Watched a 350-foot superyacht being built. Fished for marlin in the waters off

Costa Rica, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Been aboard hundreds of yachts of all shapes and

sizes. And so many more—and so many more to go. ¶ What will your next adventure be? It

doesn’t matter if it’s the local bay or a far-fl ung destination. The important part is to go.

When I was 2 years old, my parents put me on our boat. I didn’t like the sound

of the engines starting, but I enjoyed leaving the slip.

patrick sciacca

Editor-in-Chief

[email protected]

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EDITOR’S LETTER