Time flies! YBW.com was launched in 1997 at the Southampton Boat Show making 2017 our 20th anniversary.

Come and wish us Happy Birthday on stand E001 where you’ll also be able to buy a copy of Yachting World, PBO, Yachting Monthly and MBY for just £2 each! What’s more when you buy a yearly subscription to your favourite marine magazines you will receive a FREE bottle of Goslings rum! If that’s not enough, at our stand you’ll also be able to enter a competition to win quatix^® 5 Sapphire Smartwatch worth £729.99.

So much has happened since YBW was launched 20 years ago, when the idea of online magazines was in its infancy and internet connection was not quite what it is these days (remember that dial up tone?).

Since 1997 we’ve brought you the latest news, boat launches, expert advice, new gear, sailing destinations, covered six America’s Cup races, six editions of the Whitbread Round the World Race/Volvo Ocean Race, six Vendée Globe races, nine Clipper Round The World Yacht Races, 19 Southampton Boat Shows, 19 London Boat Shows, nine Fastnet Races, 19 editions of Cowes Week and the list goes on!

So much has changed in the last 20 years. Who can forget when in 1999 former YBW associate publisher Kim Hollamby undertook a five month circumnavigation of Britain and blogged (before blogging even existed!) from his boat, wiring a mobile phone into a laptop? Thankfully technology has hugely advanced since then, making things much easier for the YBW team!

“It’s brilliant to see the site not only survive but still maintain its position as a leading website portal for the marine community.”, says Kim Hollamby.
“Two decades is a bit like a century for any website! So well done all of those involved throughout that 20 years and to the current team.”

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“It’s really exciting to celebrate YBW’s 20th birthday at the Southampton Boat Show this year.”, says YBW’s Editor Stef Bottinelli.
“It’s a double celebration for me, as I took the helm of Yachting and Boating World two years ago, just before the show. I remember how excited (and a little nervous!) I was to become the editor of such an iconic website. There is so much I love about it and I’m proud of, but first and foremost it has to be our readers, Forum users and the team. YBW is a true community for yachters and boaters and their passion for everything marine is nothing short of inspiring”.

Motor Boat and Yachting Editor Hugo Andreae also remember the early days of YBW: “I’ve watched YBW grow from a seed pearl of an idea into the go-to destination for the very latest yachting and motor boating news.”

Paul Ashton, Editor of Superyacht World comments: “I was present at those early YBW foundation meetings where the magazine teams fussed over the internet and what it could mean for print. Everyone in those days – when modems sounded like bad techno music and no one had heard of Freeserve – was pretty relaxed about what could be offered digitally. It has been wonderful to watch YBW grow into an all-singing, all-dancing market leader with so many unique features to interest boaters, and to see that the team of professionals who put it together have never lost their journalistic edge. It’s a daily go-to for me, and so are the Forums, where I always like to catch up with who has been having a go at whom”.

We will celebrate YBW’s 20th anniversary where it all started in 1997, at the Southampton Boat Show! Don’t forget to get yourself a ticket and come and visit us on our stand. Ahead of the event, make sure you check YBW as we’ll have competitions and giveaway to celebrate our 20th birthday in style.