As this issue came together, I had the chance to get more face time with my colleagues. And what a refreshing experience that was, particularly since those in-person interactions were on boats.
Our company, Active Interest Media, went remote a few years ago, as many businesses did in the wake of the pandemic. While I appreciate the benefits of working from home, there is a downside—namely, that occasional feeling of disconnection from coworkers. In short, there are days when I really miss my office peeps. Sure, we do what we can to keep communication open and interesting—regular Teams calls, more thoughtfully worded emails, the sharing of silly memes. But there’s no substitute for sitting across from the people you value professionally, particularly if you can do so on the water.
To produce the cover story for this issue, Deputy Editor Pim Van Hemmen and I went to South Florida to run the Fjord 39 XP. Pim and I usually meet in person once or twice a year at a major boat show, and on those occasions, we’re often moving in different directions. On this trip, though, we spent a full day on the ICW and the New River, checking out the Fjord and eyeballing Fort Lauderdale from another angle. Typically, we visit this city in the fall for the international show, where vessels are tied up and we rarely get off the dock. Not this time. We put miles on the Mercury motors powering our test boat, and in the process had good talks and many laughs.
A week later, I was back in Fort Lauderdale, this time with a large group of colleagues, including staffers from sister publications Passagemaker, Power & Motoryacht, Yachts International and Soundings Trade Only. Gary
DeSanctis, president at Active Interest Media, had organized a tour of local dock and dines, and to make the experience special, he provided sweet transportation: a new Formula 457 Center Console Sport and the Four Winns TH36 catamaran. Technically, it was a workday because we were producing content throughout the afternoon, but did it feel like a job? Hell, no. As we powered around from restaurant to restaurant—sampling food, savoring views and simply catching up with each other—I realized that even though it had been a while since we’d all been together in one cockpit, the effect of wind and saltwater had made it feel as if no time had slipped by.
This article was originally published in the August 2024 issue.
