What Have I Done?

“Uh-oh, she looks altogether too happy,” I reflected, as Rosario Passos handed me the official Currents Editor badge. Admittedly, that glee might have been more about her impending departure for foreign shores than about divesting herself of the editing job, or at least I hoped so. As I said at the time, she left behind some large deck shoes for me to step into.

Three quarters of a year later, while I may have tripped over my laces now and again, the Managing Editor footwear is fitting better. My team* at Currents has been an immense help throughout my learning process and in the day-to-day work needed to ensure we are publishing a great magazine every month. I am grateful for them and all of their work. Of course, no matter how awesome the team, we cannot make-do without our authors, so I offer an additional thanks to all those who have contributed articles since I took on this job.

What’s New

The more I learn about this job, the more I can see that a lot of careful thought and development went into moving Currents to an online format. The foundation is very solid. Nonetheless, over the next year or so, to continue functioning well, we may need to upgrade some of the technical aspects, or what I think of as the behind-the-scenes magic, with the help of our resident wizard, Nick Ward, of the Update Company.

That solid foundation has meant we have not needed to significantly change the style, format or content of Currents. We continue to publish interesting articles on a diverse range of topics about offshore adventures and challenges. We are, however, enriching our magazine, by creating more deliberate space to address issues about the climate crisis as it relates to cruising, and by making it easier to search for articles with an environmental focus.

My Request

A part of my job is to encourage folks to continue sending in articles. Keep them coming! I’d also like to give an extra nudge to the many readers who have never submitted material. Give it a try! If you have questions, many answers can be found here, but if that doesn’t do the trick, send me an email. I’m happy to consult.

Final Thoughts

So, what was really behind Rosario’s big grin?  Well, you’ll have to ask her, but I can honestly say that managing Currents has been both interesting and fulfilling.  I do have one final thought – maybe those deck shoes should have been ballet pointe shoes, because the job has also kept me on my toes.

*The Currents team consists of:

• News & Events Editor: Jennifer Handley
• Article Editors: Glenda McDonald, Karina McQueen (and Ann Lange until recently)
  
• Copy Editor: Sally Holland
• Technical Support: Nick Ward