PUBLISHED ARTICLE ARCHIVE

Sabertooth Salmon LLC, 2020 – Present: January 2020 I struck out solo with my freelance company Sabertooth Salmon LLC. Like a true 3D chess master, I expertly coordinated this launch with The Big Sick, aka The Pandemic Depression. Somehow I’m still standing and now happily write for mostly national and Pacific Northwest-based travel/outdoor and maritime/marine-related magazines. Articles are listed chronologically, newest to oldest, as they appear online.

2022 ARTICLES (Ongoing)

PACIFIC MARITIME – Deck Machinery in 2022 [November, 2022]

The deck machinery industry directly impacts working life for maritime industry professionals. New iterations of winch models or power blocks can make the difference on the job and informs new purchasing decisions.

PACIFIC MARITIME – Vessel Profile: It Takes a Village to Build a Hybrid-Electric Ferry [October, 2022]

Seattle’s Elliott Bay Design Group shapes a new hybrid-electric, double-ended ferry for Casco Bay Lines of Maine.

PACIFIC MARITIME – More Western Shipyards: Full Steam Ahead [September, 2022]

The famous Greek historian Herodotus is credited with saying, “The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance.” Surely, Herodotus was talking to the working commercial fisherman about the importance of shipyard dock talk.

PACIFIC MARITIME – Shoebox Be Gone! Truckable Towables Incoming [August, 2022]

A new truckable tugboat collaboration between Tacoma-based aluminum commercial boatbuilder Silverback Marine and Seattle-based naval design firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) appears poised to disrupt the small tugboat niche.

PACIFIC MARITIME – Sea Change: Can a Ferry Change the World? [June, 2022]

The world’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell-powered, electric drive ferry nears working life.

PACIFIC MARITIME – Hydrogen One: A Maritime Milestone? [May, 2022]

Hydrogen One is on track to be the world’s first methanol-run hydrogen fuel cell working towboat.

VIDEO: Methanol-electric towboat set for 2023 debut - Marine Log — American built *Hydrogen One* towboat is on-schedule to be the world’s first hydrogen/methanol fueled towboat.

POWER & MOTORYACHT – Frontier of Firsts [April 27, 2022]

A summer spent cruising in Alaska offers a lifetime of first experiences for charter guests and crew alike.

Sea Star among the Northwest Glacier ice field. — I got to write about Alaska and my experience from last summer working aboard the gorgeous classic charter yacht *Sea Star*.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Give Them What They Want [April 25, 2022]

Yacht designer Jonathan Quinn Barnett sees consumer tastes changing, and says marketing needs to be far more specific.

Jonathan Quinn Barnett designed the interior of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s superyacht Octopus. — Jonathan Quinn Barnett of JQB Design is a legendary yacht designer involved with super yacht *Octopus* of Paul Allen fame. He weighs in on the industry trends of the times.

POWER & MOTORYACHT – High Seas [April 18, 2022]

Boating and cannabis, a simple reality with labyrinthine consequences.

high-seas-1080x — I dove into the current legal realities of recreational boating and cannabis use. Sources range from sailor/stoners, a US Coast Guard drug interdiction officer, and Oregon-based cannabis lawyer.

PACIFIC MARITIME – Crowley Maritime’s Newest Assist Tugboat Begins Working Life in Puget Sound [March, 2022]

Crowley Charters Cleaner, More Powerful Compact Tier IV Ship Assist Tug — I wrote about the new assist tugboat *Athena* as she started working life in Puget Sound.

FISHERMEN’S NEWS – Vessel Profile: F/V Kiska Sea [February/March, 2022]

2021 ARTICLES

PASSAGEMAKER – The Copper Conundrum [December 6, 2021]

California and Washington state are vying to lead the nation in reducing environmental harm from copper-based bottom paints.

POWER & MOTORYACHT – New Kids on the Dock [October 11, 2021]

Interrupting the school-to-prison pipeline is Tacoma Boat Builders (TBB), a nonprofit that aims to create opportunities for marginalized and court-involved youth with mentorship, woodworking and boatbuilding.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Teaching the Trades [June 1, 2021]

Seattle’s new public Maritime High School is now open.

PASSAGEMAKER – Trawler Appeal: What Makes a Marina Great for Long-Range Cruisers [May 13, 2021]

View from the award winning Port of Everett, Washington.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Middleweight Champs [March 29, 2021]

I profiled three mid-size marine suppliers who not only have survived, but even thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic: Fisheries Supply, Western Marine Co., and Defender Marine.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Built for Outdoor Adventure [February 26, 2021]

This piece looks at the intersection of the RV and marine industries via The Dometic Group’s approach.

PASSAGEMAKER – Sea Trial Report: Helmsman 43E Pilothouse [February 5, 2021]

I hopped board the brand new Helmsman 43E Pilothouse for a ride n’ review. Picture by Jonathan Cooper.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – U.S. Trade Relationships to Watch in 2021 [February 1, 2021]

U.S. boat industry professionals would be wise to keep their eyes on trade relations between Canada, the European Union, and China [with special interest in the growing Taiwanese tensions] in 2021. I took this picture in Kaohsiung, Taiwan of the Alexander Marine boatyards.

PASSAGEMAKER – Sea Trial Report: Aspen Power Catamarans C108 [January 8, 2021]

I got to hop aboard hull 1 of Aspen Catamarans new C108 for a ride n’ review out of Anacortes.

2020 ARTICLES

POWER & MOTORYACHT – New Boat: Life Proof Yachtline 33 [October 27, 2020]

I did a ride n’ review of Life Proof’s new Yachtline 33. Wicked fast! Took this picture in Bremerton, Washington.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Rethinking Vacation Travel [October 27, 2020]

PASSAGEMAKER – Soul of a Workboat [October 1, 2020]

The Cape Ross, a Canadian-built workboat turns yacht conversation, underway.

PACIFIC YACHTING – The Future of Lakebay [September 15, 2020]

Lakebay Marina back when it was a poultry co-op in 1963.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – The Robots Are Coming [August 28, 2020]

I took a look at automation’s role in contemporary American boat building.

PASSAGEMAKER – Refit or Ruin: The Story of the Arthur Foss [August 17, 2020]

*Marine archaeologist Saxon Bisbee is leading the charge to restore the Arthur Foss. Here, he takes a break on the deck with afternoon tugboat painting ahead of him.* Photo by Jonathan Cooper.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Washington State: A Case Study [August 1, 2020]

During the grips of the Pandemic, Washington state’s COVID-19 approach saved lives while keeping its boating industry afloat.

PASSAGEMAKER – Consigned, Sealed and Delivered [June 18, 2020]

*Aaron Wenholz (left) and Nico Jensen (right) put everything they had on the line to give Longship Marine a second life. Photo by my talented friend and colleague Jonathan Cooper.*

PACIFIC YACHTING – Dating Dinghies [June 5, 2020]

Image of a Bullfrog Boats dinghy underway in the piece. I did not take this picture.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Staying Connected [May 1, 2020]

An array of companies offer various levels of vessel integration and remote monitoring. I took a look at a few notable brands in this technology space.

SOUNDINGS TRADE ONLY TODAY – Boating Advocacy on Capitol Hill [April 1, 2020]

The American boating industry geared up for an exciting annual American Boating Congress event in 2020. Unfortunately, the in-person conference was cancelled after I wrote this piece about the lineup.

Northwest Yachting Managing Editor Years, 2015 – 2019: I was the managing editor of Seattle-based Northwest Yachting magazine for around four years. I wrote 100,000s of words for the magazine during my tenure there, many of them part of features that I’m very proud of. I should dig through my files someday and post the gems.

First Writing Steps, 2012 – 2014: I began writing for my college newspaper, Eckerd College’s The Current, as a senior with my science column Drunk on Science, Learn Responsibly. Most of the articles used me drinking with my science buddies as the launch point for lighthearted science-related journalism.

Infamously, I was recruited to start writing at a “Pitchers with Professors” student-teacher beer mixer by author, speaker, and writing instructor Tracy Crow. To my surprise and honor, my column won Best News Column 2013 during the paper’s annual awards. Another awakening experience was attending the college-hosted Writers in Paradise annual writer’s conference.

After graduating with my B.S. in Marine Science in June 2013, I stuck around St. Petersburg, Florida, and lived on my first sailboat while nudging my undergraduate oil spill related research forward with the University of South Florida. I worked as the writer/editor at ilovetheburg.com, a popular local interest blog owned by marketing company rkc.me. I wrote two 500-word local interest stories per day with pictures covering topics from local politics to new bars to eccentric characters like treasure hunters.