On Watch with TIM SIMPSON
END OF AN ERA It is with a heavy heart that I write this final editorial. Trade-a-Boat will continue online, so you’ll still be able to stay up-to-date with the latest in Australian and international boating developments, however, this will be the last printed edition of this esteemed publication. It signifies the end of one era, and the beginning of another. The spread of the COVID-19 outbreak since early 2020 sounded a death knell to many printed magazines, my own BlueWater Boats & Gamefishing among them – which originally started back in September 1997 as an offshoot of Trade-a-Boat magazine. Several factors have conspired to make the printing and distribution of many magazines unviable; they are expensive to produce, particularly with steep increases in the costs of paper and distribution, and marine businesses…