John Burnham, former editor of Cruising World magazine, grew up sailing, fishing, and generally messing around in boats on Long Island Sound. Cruising World is the largest magazine in the world focused on cruising aboard sailboats. John is also editorial director of Sailing World magazine, where he was chief editor for more than 20 years, both reporting on and racing in events from coast to coast and ranging as far off as Sweden and Australia.

John served on the board of directors of US SAILING, the sport's national governing body, and currently is a member of the board of Sail America, the sailing industry trade association. Living in Rhode Island since 1989, John has been a consistent member of Save The Bay, Narragansett Bay's environmental champion. He has been co-chair of the Save The Bay Swim with his wife Rachel, who has made the 1.7-mile swim across the Bay 15 times with John rowing or kayaking as her observer. In the early '90s, John and fellow magazine editor, Dan Dickison, co-chaired a fundraising regatta, the Save The Bay Sailing Challenge, and were acknowledged for the effort as Save The Bay volunteers of the year.

After more than 40 years of writing about and practicing at sailing and sailboat racing, John has competed offshore in New England, down the coast of California, around the coast of Florida, across to the Bahamas, and south to Bermuda. He has cruised on Lake Ontario, in Maine, on San Francisco Bay, in the Caribbean, and in southern New England. John has earned national titles in the Bullseye and Shields classes, and twice won the International One-Design world championships.