Meet the Crew

Darrell Nicholson, Editor

I grew up sailing in South Florida (Biscayne Bay) before setting out from Miami aboard a 60-year-old wooden William Atkin ketch named Tosca. For 11 years, I and my very tolerant wife, Theresa, explored the Caribbean, the Pacific, and Southeast Asia aboard Tosca, documenting our adventures for various travel and sailing publications. I hold a U.S. Coast Guard 100-ton masters license and have worked on a variety of commercial fishing and charter boats.

Theresa and I now live in Osprey, Florida, about three miles from the Practical Sailor offices in Sarasota. We have two young sons Ben (7) and Jake (5). Our current boat is a 14-foot O’Day Javelin, an outdated, but still pretty cool Uffa Fox design.  When I’m not camping, hiking, or out on the water with my family, I play soccer with a bunch of other over-40 guys reliving their glory days.

More than any other work I’ve done, Practical Sailor has given me the opportunity to give back to the sailing community all that it has given me, including  patience, respect for the sea, a sense of humor, and a wider view of the world and my place in it.  I hope you enjoy following my posts for Inside Practical Sailor and sincerely look forward to hearing from you.

Ann Key, Managing Editor

A waterbug from birth, I grew up swimming, boating, and fishing on Alabama’s Gulf Coast, but it wasn’t until after I graduated from the University of Alabama that I began sailing.

My first “real” job was as a news editor at The Virgin Islands Daily News on St. Thomas, USVI. Living on a 32-square-mile island meant most of my free time was spent on or in the water. And so, one warm, tradewind-filled day, I took the helm of a buddy’s Endeavour 37—surfing along at about 5 knots through crystal-clear waters with the wind and sun on my face—I was hooked. I fell in love with sailing that day and vowed to spend as much time as possible doing what I loved.

I spent the following five years working as a first mate on daysail charter boats based out of St. Thomas and cruising the Leeward and Windward islands while freelancing for The Daily News and a marine publication.

A six-month stint in St. Thomas’ Independent Boatyard, working as a hired hand on the refit of a 57-foot 1967 S&S steel ketch, gave me a trial-by-fire education on the “fine” art of varnish application and a new appreciation for do-it-yourself maintenance projects.

After relocating to Florida’s West Coast in 2005, I was fortunate enough to sign on with the Practical Sailor crew—a dream job for a sailor/writer. The post enables me to combine the two things I’m most passionate about: sailing and journalism.

When I’m not testing marine products, reporting on new gear, or sweating over the refit of PS’s Catalina 22 (Jelly), I usually can be found racing or daysailing in the waters around Sarasota aboard friends’ boats, namely a Cape Dory 25, a Stilletto 27, and an International Folk Boat.

I look forward to hearing from all of you here on Inside Practical Sailor. This blog is a great forum for PS Editor Darrell Nicholson and me to establish a dialogue with Practical Sailor’s readers. So send us your test requests, thoughts, and comments! We’ll do our best to continue the Practical Sailor tradition of producing objective reports and unique content.

Tim Cole, Publisher

I have been lucky to combine my passion for water and my interests in publishing. I grew up sailing E Scows in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. I worked at a morning daily newspaper while attending college, then arrived in 1977 at a small magazine in Darien, Connecticut called Yacht Racing. I was in august company. Bruce Kirby, the former editor, had recently developed a small singlehander called the Laser, and founder Knowles Pittman was contemplating a circumnavigation. I toiled alongside Major Hall, Dave Powlison, George Eddy, Diane Muhlfeld and George Middleton as we worked to refine the craft of marine journalism. I learned a lot, then transplanted my flag to Yachting, where I had the extreme pleasure of working with Bill Robinson, Bob Bavier and Tony Gibbs–exceptional talents all. I drifted away from marine publishing in 1984 (“You’ll be back,” Bruce Kirby told me.) After a stint at the National Broadcasting Company, I worked for several years covering science, technology and aerospace for Popular Mechanics magazine–a century-old periodical that placed a premium on adventure journalism. I covered stories at the South Pole, Novosibirsk, Siberia, at our national laboratories and flew aboard most of America’s warplane inventory–from the B1-B, to the F-16 to one memorable  day with the Blue Angels aboard an FA-18 Hornet. I also logged a catapult shot off the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. Motivated by my interest in flying, I joined Belvoir Media Group as editorial director in 1989 and developed media properties covering general aviation, powerboats, medicine and horses. But I also had the opportunity to help shape the content of Practical Sailor. Part of my job for the past 20 years has been to clear the decks and amass the resources so that some of America’s brightest talents in marine journalism can perform at their best. Nick Nicholson, Dan Spurr, Dale Nouse, Dan Dickison, Doug Logan and now Darrell Nicholson, Ralph Naranjo and Ann Key have all applied their vast experience at sea, their passion for finding out what works in the marine environment, and their abiding respect for the reader, to create a publication that’s highly valued. They know that real sailors are spending hard-earned after-tax dollars on gear for their boats, and they want to get it right. Moreover, the editors of Practical Sailor know that their ratings, recommendations and judgment calls can impact peoples’ lives. Working at Practical Sailor is a high honor, a major responsibility and a profound trust.

Popularity: 18% [?]