Happy Anniversary, Sixty Degrees North!

Sixty Degrees North published its first article on February 26, 2024. Thank you all for your support over the past year!

From this vantage point- just North of Sixty Degrees Latitude and about 100 miles from the Russian border- things just look a little different than they do inside the Beltway, in Norfolk, or even in London.

On February 26, 2024, four people (all of them close friends or family members) received an e-mail in their inbox from Sixty Degrees North,¹ a new Substack newsletter aiming to offer a different perspective on the world than one that might be found in a typical American publication. And thus began my writing hobby/career.

Here is that introductory article:

I aimed to publish an article at least once per week and have done so (this is my sixty-second), although it was a bit uneven at times. Things were more uneven when it comes to considering the four topics I had planned to write about, as this past year was easily dominated by articles on the high latitudes and icebreakers. Here’s the topic breakdown:

1. Security Policy and Military Capability: Four total articles, including my most popular article of all. Perhaps I should visit this category more often....

2. Icebreakers, Arctic Shipping, and Arctic Policy: Forty total articles. This will remain the bulk of my writing.

3. History (Originally Lessons from History): Six total articles, most involved tracing the WW2 history of my namesake, Pvt. Peter Matyola, from the draft to his grave at the Netherlands-American Cemetary in Margraten.

4. Everyday Life in Finland: Five total articles. These have proven popular with my non-specialist friends and family.

5. Other: Six articles. These are generic articles/updates with no substantial new content.

Thoughts and Comments on Year One

The success of this little Substack newsletter has been far beyond my expectations. I can still remember the excitement when one of my early articles reached 100 views- now I routinely hit 1000 within the first day.

Today Sixty Degrees North has more than 800 subscribers and reaches key people involved in Arctic/Antarctic Policy and icebreaker design and construction from all over the world.

As a result of this writing hobby, I’ve made appearances on NPR and the Midrats podcast, was interviewed in an article for Finland’s largest Swedish-language newspaper, and have become a regular contributor to Arctic Today.

I’ve had discussions with reporters from the Wall Street Journal and Finland’s National Broadcaster, YLE. I’ve spoken with many people who are involved officially and unofficially in trying to get the U.S. more icebreakers.

In December, I toured Le Commandant Charcot and hope to soon visit and tour other notable locations. Perhaps I will even get underway on an icebreaker in the near future- and Charcot someday (with a discount?).

Writing about icebreakers has definitely brought many opportunities.

But I did not write only about icebreakers. Last year, I had the opportunity to trace out the last few days of my Great Uncle, Peter Matyola (K/115), who was killed by German artillery fire near Siersdorf, Germany in November of 1944. Much of his path from New Jersey to Germany remains hard to reconstruct, but hopefully I will be able to add new information and update this series every year. I am particularly proud of these articles and would like them to reach more people. You can start here:

And now I’d like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you who have participated in the success of this first year by reading, sharing, liking, commenting, talking with me directly, or buying me a cup of coffee. I look forward to more of it in the coming years.

Thank You! Kiitos!

All the Best,

PGR

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Now here are some numbers:

The First Year, in Numbers:

Most Read Articles Overall:

The most read article is concerns Finland’s view of Russia. All the rest are related to icebreakers or Arctic/Antarctic Policy:

1. Commander of the Finnish Defense Forces: Take Russia Seriously (December 2024)

2. A Successful Commercial Icebreaker Program: Le Commandant Charcot (May 2024)

3. Canada's Davie Planning Major Investment in U.S. Shipyard (February 2025)

4. Forty Icebreakers. Big Ones. (February 2025)

5. Yes, the U.S. Coast Guard Can Build Icebreakers in Foreign Shipyards (May 2024)

6. Don't Double Down on the Polar Security Cutter (February 2025)

7. USCG's Polar Icebreaker Program: If You Want It Bad, You Get It Bad. (May 2024)

Life in Finland Category:

1. Life in Finland: Back to School Edition (October 2024)

History Category:

1. Remembering Bastogne and Brigadier General McAuliffe (December 2024)

Subscribers:

As of this morning, I have 808 subscribers- up from the four I started with.

Total views: 50,759

Amazing that my writing has reached so many people.

1. Originally A View from Sixty Degrees North. That proved too long, so I changed it rather early on.