Winchester High School alum named editor-in-chief of SAIL Magazine

The following was submitted by SAIL Magazine:

Firecrown Media has announced the promotion of Lydia Mullan to editor-in-chief of SAIL Magazine.

Mullan has been with SAIL for nearly eight years, most recently as managing editor. She has twice been named the marine industry’s best adventure writer by Boating Writers International (2023, 2024), as well as being recognized for her articles about seamanship, the environment, and women in boating.

Mullan is a lifelong sailor, with a particular passion for offshore racing. She first learned to sail at the Winchester Boat Club where she went on to coach for two summers. She was a captain of the Winchester High School sailing team during the 2013 season.

In recent years, she has taken on several roles outside the magazine, including as the race commentator for the 2025 Transpac and 2025 Marblehead-Halifax races, a 2024 Magenta Project graduate, and the media manager for Cole Brauer’s viral 2023-24 circumnavigation.

Mullan’s own adventures at sea have been chronicled in SAIL Magazine over the years, including the 2024 shipwreck that left her and eight crewmates in a life raft hundreds of miles from shore.

“It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch Lydia grow into both an accomplished blue-water sailor and an award-winning marine journalist,” says Editorial Director Daniel Harding. “Her deep respect for and understanding of the SAIL brand, along with her strong digital skill set, will no doubt allow her to grow and expand the brand while staying true to its mission.”

“I’m so grateful for my predecessor Wendy Mitman Clarke’s mentorship and for the lessons learned from all the editors I’ve had the opportunity to work with,” says Mullan. “I know how much this magazine means to our readers, and I’m both humbled and excited to be charting our course forward. On a personal note, I used to read SAIL when I was still in school, dreaming of someday writing about sailing professionally, and it’s surreal to be here now, responsible for the publication that started it all for me."

SAIL magazine, now in continuous publication for 55 years, was the most awarded marine publication by Boating Writers International in both 2023 and 2024.

For more information about SAIL Magazine, visit sailmagazine.com.