Thirty Days at Wide Open Throttle – Loose Cannon
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Dear Readers, The past 30 days have seen Loose Cannon running on all cylinders. Gosh, I hardly know where to start. Two adult men ordered me to “cease and desist” in connection with my reporting on the downfall of Catalina Yachts (and the character who briefly owned the company). You’ve got to read the Q&A via text with “boatbuilder extraordinaire” Michael Reardon, if you haven’t already. What a hoot! It’s as if saying cease and desist was like some kind of magic spell to banish a demon. Abracadabra! Be Gone! Reardon wanted me to stop, but he couldn’t stop himself from talking. This is a trait common among fast-talkers who really do think they are the smartest person in the room. (Journalism may not pay, but it does teach you some things.) At one point, Reardon called me “negative-news man.” Then, there’s the latest on Wally Moran, another piece of work who now resides in an ICE detainment facility in Louisiana, where he is plotting to blackmail his way to freedom. This information came through a sketchy fellow Canadian, a YouTube sailor named Michael Potts, who recorded a phone call from Moran then posted it on his Patreon channel after telling Moran he wouldn’t—“you have my word.” Those two dudes deserve each other. After my story, Potts sent me an AI definition of copyright infringement because I posted a portion of his video of him talking to Moran over the phone. I replied to him with an AI definition of “Fair Use,” the exception to copyright laws that pretty much summed up my use of his back-stab video. While were on the topic of threats, I thought I’d share a nasty message Moran left for me a few years ago.
In less “negative” .news, Loose Cannon covered two new nautically themed books with author Q&As. One was with Steve Thomas on the occasion of the re-release of “The Last Navigator.” Another was with James Evenson, author of the most excellent “Be the Captain: A Field Manual.” A Coast Guard Safety Bulletin on the Sea-Doo Switch fully corroborated Loose Cannon’s reporting on this flawed jetski-pontoon boat hybrid. Finding the answer to why these things were flipping over forward on deceleration began a year ago with my Google query: “How much does a gallon of water weigh?” These a just a few of the 22 stories published here since mid-October, by me or some of my outstanding writer-friends. Substack RulesSubstack is a wonderful platform for me. It handles the business end of this enterprise and keeps track of all kinds of stuff. I don’t force anyone to subscribe by putting any of my latest work behind a paywall, but I was curious how many of my free subscribers had been with me for three years—aka since the “early days.” Substack counted 1,905, more than 500 of whom were very active over the past month for email opens and web views of Loose Cannon stories. Consider this a pitch to those 500. Obviously, you like the product. No one else is publishing these kinds of stories. My business model assumes my free people are fair-minded, well intentioned and will eventually upgrade to paid. Consider this a passive-aggressive reminder. A satisfying number of you have already upgraded to paid. Thank you all. But it sure would be nice to have more people fully on board because, in the parlance of my youth, I am working my ass off. Feliz Navidad, PapiMeanwhile, I recently announced having recruited a single commercial sponsor—a boutique tequila brand. Another way you can support the Loose Cannon newsroom is to travel to the Bellagave sales website and buy a couple bottles just in time for Feliz Navidad. For free shipping, use the promo code LCFREESHIP (which saves you $19.95). LOOSE CANNON is a reader-supported publication. Support the work. Upgrade to become a paid subscriber.
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