One thousand voyages

It all began in San Diego in 1971 when former newsman William O. Roberts decided to fill the need for a boating newspaper reporting news about the waterfront, boaters and sailors in a newspaper format. Working from table at The Red Sails Inn in San Diego — where he conducted interviews and meetings from a table reserved just for him — Roberts wrote many of the articles himself as well as found advertisers, freelancers, distributed and laid out the paper.

Whereas other media focused on boaters first accounts and feature stories, San Diego Log, now The Log, covered hard news and issues pertinent to readers. The monthly publication averaged 16 pages, covering everything nautical from sailboat races and harbor projects to new boats and breaking news. 

By the time Roberts sold the paper to Louis Gerlinger in 1975, the new editor and publisher was ready to expand the paper’s coverage to include the Orange County edition in 1978 and the Los Angeles County edition in 1979. The paper was published twice monthly in June 1979 in order to provide readers with more current information. 

The Log provides the reader factual news of the boating community and gives advertisers an opportunity to reach the majority of boaters in the Southern California community,”Gerlinger said in July 1983. “Our goal is to keep people of the waterfront community, whether they are yachtsmen, fishermen or merchants, informed of the events pertinent to them.”

In the Sept. 21, 1990 edition of The Log, it was announced The Log and San Diego Log had been acquired by Independent News Corporation in July. By 2004, the Duncan McIntosh Co. purchased the paper that to this day continues to serve the boating community with the latest in maritime news. 

Join us as we delve into The Log’s archives, pulling some of the publication’s most memorable, quirky and interesting elements published through the years. 

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