Story Ideas

Thank you in advance for your contributions to Currents. Here’s how you can submit your articles:

Submit Your Article

You can submit articles in two ways:

• Use our simple online form and attach your photos there. This is the easiest both for our Editors and you since it captures all the details we need and reduces the emails needed to finalise and article for publication.
• Alternatively, word documents and photos can be sent to the Managing Editor by email.

News contributors can also use the online news item form to send in their reports.

Content Guidelines

Letters from Offshore and Postcards are the life-blood of our publication. As well as your letters and postcards, we welcome your submissions to other sections of Currents. Items for Galley Watch, Lessons Learned, and All Hands on Tech, and reports about what’s happening in your chapter are always welcome. Here are a few tips for deciding on what to write:

1. Choose details that will interest your fellow members. Focus on the unusual, on the challenging aspects of your journey. The cruising community is small – the world’s oceans are large – let us know who you meet and where you meet them.
2. We can’t get enough of the technical aspects of sailing: equipment, weather, repairs, best buys, worst buys, favourite toys, etc.
3. Please do not format your story. Simple text in Word is easiest to edit. This means: single-spaced; no indents at the beginning of a paragraph; no hard returns except at the end of a paragraph; and no fancy word art.
4. Please include a short ‘bio’, e.g., your name (and partner’s name, if applicable); boat name and type; how long you’ve been a member of BCA; and a couple of sentences about where you’ve cruised and where you’re headed. Also remember to include a photo of yourself (see author photo guideline below)!

Photo Guidelines

1. Photographs bring life and colour to all stories.
2. Featured images (the ‘cover’ photo for the article) should be in a 4:3 ratio, ideally 1200×900 pixels, and minimum 800×600.
3. Author images should be square, ideally 600×600 pixels and minimum 400×400.
4. Images within the article should be square or landscape format, not portrait, and a minimum 800-pixel width.
5. Jpeg (.jpeg or .jpg) is the preferred format for all photo submissions.
6. Please send photographs as separate attachments (i.e., do not embed them in your article) and provide a brief but descriptive caption (who, what, when, where).

Incentives

Bluewater Cruising Association members whose articles are published can earn up to $70 credit towards their annual membership dues.  A “postcard” of 500-1000 words earns $5, a “short” article (1000-1500 words) earns $10, and a “long” article (1500+ words) earns $20.  Long articles may, at the discretion of the Managing Editor, be subdivided and published as multiple articles, i.e. Part I, Part II, etc, but the total credit earned is $20, regardless.

The Currents editorial team reserves the right to only publish submissions that are aligned with the mission and vision of the association and meet the magazine standards.

The Currents editorial team reserves the right to edit all submissions in accordance with association policy.