Approaching Six Thousand

by Craig Leweck, Scuttlebutt Sailing News
If you are old enough, you were a teenager during a time when a car’s odometer could be unplugged. This was well before the internet and YouTube taught us how to do such nefarious acts, but when your parents went out of town with the instructions to not use the car, you figured out how to do things.

Conversely, I always found it momentous when the car odometer rolled into a new thousand. Often you see it coming, and dreadful when you miss the occurrence. But when I see all the numbers turn, it’s like the slot machine payout (though far less lucrative). Time stands still for the moment.

These thoughts come to mind as the Scuttlebutt newsletter approaches Issue 6000. With 2022 being the publication’s 25th year, this milestone comes with a lot of hours on the engine, but it only occurred because there was a community of sailors that believed in Scuttlebutt.

Considering the publication was never intended to be nothing more than something to keep Tom Leweck busy during his retirement years (and likely out of my mom’s way), it is somewhat remarkable how it rode that first crest of the internet wave to today’s shoreline.

As we approach this next milestone, we will share stories from a thousand issues ago, plus we’d love to share any of your stories from the past too. Send to editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com.