Motor Boat & Yachting magazine has reached something of a milestone this year....
Motor Boat & Yachting magazine has reached something of a milestone this year. In July 2004, MBY will celebrate its 100th anniversary, and throughout MBY?s centenary year we will be marking this momentous achievement by looking back at the past 100 years of motorboating, and looking forward to the next 100 years.
For any magazine to publish continuously for 100 years is a rare achievement. Plenty haven?t, and plenty won?t. But MBY has endured and prospered. From modest beginnings not far from Fleet Street, MBY has charted the rise in popularity of motorboating from the early days of 2hp launches to modern flybridge cruisers and 100ft (30m) custom yachts.
Over the years MBY has reported on developments in motor boat manufacture and the expansion of their use, and reflected the interests and needs of the readership. Back in 1904 the magazine was 18 pages long, came out weekly and cost a penny. Over the years the number of pages has increased (by the late 1970s it was up to 400 pages!), and the frequency of publication has changed from weekly to fortnightly to monthly. But a passion for motorboating has always shone through, and this is what has made MBY such a successful and enduring magazine. The vision and the enthusiasm of the people who have put this magazine together is what has sustained MBY, along with a discerning and loyal readership.
Forgive me if I get personal for a moment. Reading through Alan Harper?s first installment of MBY?s history, I was struck by one thing ? the list of editors on page 63. There are 12 of them. In 100 years of publishing, only 12 men have been at the helm of this august magazine. And I?m one of them. Seeing that in black and white is a sobering and humbling experience. The great A. P. Chalkley guided this magazine through two world wars, and immense social and economic change, handing over the reins after more than 40 years in the editor?s chair. I can never hope to achieve what he did, or what was achieved by many of the others, but I am proud to be a part of this great magazine, I am proud to lead a team of exceptional talent, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy Motor Boat & Yachting for a good few years to come.
