Northern Breezes Sailing Schl
Northern Breezes, Inc. is a small private company founded in 1998 that operates a regional online sailing magazine, a sailing school at Lake Minnetonka, a youth sailing foundation, and a boat marketplace serving the Great Lakes and Midwest sailing community.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersMinneapolis, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Northern Breezes Sailing Schl does
Northern Breezes, Inc. (operating as Northern Breezes Sailing School and Sailing Breezes Online Magazine) is a small private company founded in 1998 and headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, with a mailing address in Rutledge, MN. It operates a regional online sailing magazine focused on the Great Lakes and Midwest sailing community, a sailing school at Lake Minnetonka, and the Northern Breezes Youth Sailing Foundation, which runs youth sailing programs. The company's leadership comprises Thom Burns as Publisher and Alan Kretzschmar as Managing Editor, supported by a lean team of 8 employees.
The business runs an integrated property stack centered on its sailing magazine. Alongside editorial content, the company has built commerce infrastructure including a Boat Multi-List marketplace aggregating 500+ boat listings and a Marketplace Store for marine products. The technology footprint is a conventional web publishing and listings platform with a Google-powered site search, no disclosed AI/ML components, and no external funding.
Revenue is generated through a mix of advertising, classified listings, marketplace sales, and small contributor payments for articles ($50–$150 per article) and book reviews ($25), supplemented by sailing school tuition and donations to the youth foundation. The company is a privately held corporation with no disclosed venture or institutional capital, and operates as a lifestyle-scale niche media and services business rather than a venture-backed growth company.
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Northern Breezes Sailing Schl
- Legal name
- Northern Breezes, Inc.
- Website
- https://sailingbreezes.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Northern Breezes, Inc. is a small private company founded in 1998 that operates a regional online sailing magazine, a sailing school at Lake Minnetonka, a youth sailing foundation, and a boat marketplace serving the Great Lakes and Midwest sailing community.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sailing Media and Education
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sailing Experiences (Lessons, Regattas, Day Sails) (THAJAJAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sailing & Rigging Retail (Sailboats, Sails, Hardware) (CRAMAIAG)
Keywords
Where Northern Breezes Sailing Schl is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minneapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Online Advertising: The magazine sells online advertisement space to marine-related businesses and product manufacturers.
- Classified Advertisements: Fees collected for classified ads featuring boats, books, charters, instruction, and parts for sale.
- Marketplace Sales: The company operates a marketplace selling marine-related products.
- Article Submissions: Writers submit manuscripts for publication consideration. Payment for accepted articles ranges from $50 to $150 per article, with most book reviews receiving a flat fee of $25.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Classified Advertisements |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Article Payment Rates |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Northern Breezes operates Sailing Breezes, an online regional sailing magazine covering the Great Lakes and Midwest sailing community, offering news, articles, boat and product reviews, classified ads, and a Boat Multi-List marketplace with over 500 boat listings. The company also runs the Northern Breezes Sailing School at Sailor's World Marina on Lake Minnetonka, providing ASA-certified sailing instruction and youth sailing programs through the Northern Breezes Youth Sailing Foundation.
Product overview
Northern Breezes is primarily a regional sailing magazine publishing company offering the Sailing Breezes Online Magazine as its core content product, along with related sailing education services including Northern Breezes Sailing School and Youth Sailing Programs. The company also operates complementary listing services including a Boat Multi-List marketplace with over 500 boats and a Marketplace store for marine products. Additional content offerings include boat reviews, product reviews, and book/music reviews, along with classified advertising services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sailing Breezes Online Magazine Free online regional sailing magazine covering the Great Lakes and Midwest, featuring news, feature articles, boat and product reviews, classified ads, and a searchable archive. Targeted at recreational sailors in the Great Lakes/Midwest region.
- Northern Breezes Sailing School ASA-certified sailing instruction offered at Sailor's World Marina on Lake Minnetonka, serving adults and aspiring sailors in the Minneapolis/Minnesota region.
- Boat Multi-List Marketplace Online boat marketplace integral to the Sailing Breezes publication, featuring over 500 boat listings for buyers and sellers in the Great Lakes/Midwest region.
- Youth Sailing Programs Youth sailing instruction offered through the Northern Breezes Youth Sailing Foundation, supporting the sailing school's broader education mission at Lake Minnetonka.
Companies that use Northern Breezes Sailing Schl
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Boat Trader: Major online boat listings marketplace owned by Boats Group. Comparable to the Boat Multi-List and classified ads section of Sailing Breezes in monetizing sailboat listings through dealer and private seller leads at national scale.
- Soundings Trade Only: Established U.S. recreational boating industry trade publication covering the broader marine market (boats, engines, electronics, dealers). Comparable to Sailing Breezes as a marine-focused publishing outlet, but B2B across the entire boating industry rather than sailing-only.
- YachtWorld: Largest global online boat listings marketplace and a division of Boats Group. Comparable to Northern Breezes' Boat Multi-List as a centralized platform for buying and selling boats, but operating at vastly greater scale across all U.S. sailing markets.
Direct peers
- Sail Magazine: Long-running U.S. national sailing magazine covering racing, cruising, and gear. Closest direct peer to Sailing Breezes at a national scale, competing for the same boating reader and advertiser dollar that Northern Breezes targets regionally.
- Practical Sailor: Independent sailing publication focused on boat and gear reviews. Directly comparable editorial product (boat reviews, new product reviews) that Sailing Breezes also offers, competing for the same technical-buyer reader.
- Sailing Anarchy: Popular online-only sailing news, commentary, and racing publication. Comparable to Sailing Breezes as a digital-first sailing content outlet monetized through advertising and community engagement rather than print.
- Cruising World: Major U.S. cruising-focused sailing publication with both print and digital editions. Direct peer to Sailing Breezes in editorial scope (cruising, destinations, gear), competing for advertisers and audience in the sailing content vertical.
Regional players
- SpinSheet: Regional sailing magazine covering the Chesapeake Bay racing and cruising community. Direct analogue of Northern Breezes' Great Lakes/Midwest focus — same model of regional sailing content, events coverage, and classified marketplace for a different U.S. sailing region.
- Latitude 38: Long-running regional sailing publication covering San Francisco Bay and the West Coast sailing scene. Direct regional-peer analogue to Northern Breezes serving a different U.S. sailing geography.
- WindCheck Magazine: Regional sailing publication covering the Northeastern U.S./Long Island Sound sailing community. Closest comparable model to Northern Breezes as a regionally focused sailing magazine serving a distinct U.S. sailing community.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl social profiles
Digital presenceNorthern Breezes Sailing Schl financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Northern Breezes Sailing Schl
What does Northern Breezes Sailing Schl do?
Northern Breezes operates Sailing Breezes, an online regional sailing magazine covering the Great Lakes and Midwest sailing community, offering news, articles, boat and product reviews, classified ads, and a Boat Multi-List marketplace with over 500 boat listings. The company also runs the Northern Breezes Sailing School at Sailor's World Marina on Lake Minnetonka, providing ASA-certified sailing instruction and youth sailing programs through the Northern Breezes Youth Sailing Foundation.
Is Northern Breezes Sailing Schl a public or private company?
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Northern Breezes Sailing Schl founded?
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl was founded in 1998. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Northern Breezes Sailing Schl based?
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl is headquartered in Minneapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Northern Breezes Sailing Schl make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Online Advertising is the primary driver. The others are classified Advertisements, marketplace Sales and article Submissions.
Who are Northern Breezes Sailing Schl's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Boat Trader, Soundings Trade Only and YachtWorld. Direct peers are Sail Magazine, Practical Sailor, Sailing Anarchy and Cruising World. Regional players are SpinSheet, Latitude 38 and WindCheck Magazine.
Does Northern Breezes Sailing Schl have an API?
No public API is recorded for Northern Breezes Sailing Schl.
What industry is Northern Breezes Sailing Schl in?
Northern Breezes Sailing Schl's product category is Sailing Media and Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJAJAG, Sailing Experiences (Lessons, Regattas, Day Sails), with a secondary code of CRAMAIAG, Sailing & Rigging Retail (Sailboats, Sails, Hardware).