"No nation. No sponsor. No agenda. Just the world, honestly witnessed — for those who want to understand it rather than be told how to feel about it."
About The Waypoint
The Waypoint is an independent weekly publication, founded in May 2026 by Justin Jenkin and Emerald Epke. Justin has been at sea for thirty-eight years, has captained vessels across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, raised a family in Vanuatu, and has been the captain of a 70m superyacht for the past six years. Emerald has been sailing since she was 8, is passionate about scuba diving, and has spent the last ten years establishing her career in the yachting industry.
We’ve seen many remote corners of the world few people are lucky enough to visit. The world we’ve moved through is far larger, stranger, and more hopeful than the one the headlines describe. The Waypoint is our attempt to report that world honestly.
One edition a week. No nation’s agenda. No advertiser’s narrative. No algorithm deciding what you see. Every story cross-referenced. We ask for one hour of your week.
What you get
A single, deliberate edition every Saturday, covering what’s happened in the world and why it matters — from conflict and humanitarian crises, to ocean updates, climate news, and quiet victories that never trend. Alongside the reporting, we share stories from our own travels, of people doing unglamorous and effective work, and small examples of hope, because the big picture is not only darker than the headlines suggest, it is also more hopeful.
Why subscribe
The current week’s edition will always be free to readers, however the archive of past editions will be for subscribers only. The Waypoint is free to subscribe to right now. It won’t always be — we’ll introduce a paid subscription down the line. Subscribing now means you’ll be with us from the beginning, and early readers are the people who make an independent publication possible. When this changes and we add a subscription fee, all prior subscribers will still have free access as a thank you for supporting us. When you subscribe, you get the current edition delivered straight to your inbox, so nothing gets lost to a feed. It also unlocks The Research Tool, our subscriber resource for investigating the state of the world across conflict, environment, medicine, wildlife, and the financial currents that thread through them.
No advertising. No algorithm. Unsubscribe whenever you like.
— Justin & Emerald. Currently at sea.
The Editors
Justin Jenkin
Editor & Co-Founder · British & South African · Currently at sea
Justin escaped Apartheid-era South Africa as a child on a small sailing yacht, on an oceanic voyage that set the tone for the rest of his life. He has spent thirty-eight years at sea, captaining vessels across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans, and raising a family in Vanuatu before the world locked down and separated him from his children for two years.
He holds an MCA Master 3000 GT license, is a qualified marine surveyor with the IIMS, and currently commands a 70-metre superyacht that’s just completed a world circumnavigation with 20+ crew. The Waypoint is his answer to a media world he no longer trusts — and a dedication to his children about the kind of information diet worth having.
Emerald Epke
Editor & Co-Founder · American & New Zealander · Currently at sea
Emerald grew up sailing competitively before trading racecourses for ocean passages. She has crossed the Pacific by sail, dived the coral reef systems of Raja Ampat and the Great Barrier Reef, and has spent the last four years managing the complex logistics of a 70m yacht’s circumnavigation and subsequent voyages.
She biked 3,100+ miles across the USA when she was 15, holds degrees in International Relations and French, with a minor in Environmental Sustainability, is an SSI Divemaster with over 300 dives, and is thinking about her Captain’s License next. She remembers a childhood of climbing trees, carefree and happy boredom which fostered imagination, and a childhood that wasn’t stolen by selfies and social media. She edits the Place section and brings to The Waypoint an eye for the world that only comes from having actually moved through a lot of it.
How We Work
Every edition is assembled by combining AI-assisted global source monitoring with human editorial judgment. We monitor sources across more than fifty countries — including regional wires, local language outlets, NGO data, and academic publications — cross-referencing stories before they reach you. Where sources contradict each other, we say so. Where a story is underreported, we surface it. Where the news is genuinely good, we run it without apology.
We publish once a week. That's deliberate. The daily news cycle produces volume, not insight. We are building something different — a publication designed to provoke thought and to support its readers’ own ongoing critical thinking and research, rather than spoon-feeding them the way so much of the current media does.
Contact
For editorial correspondence: editors@thewaypoint.press
The Waypoint · thewaypoint.press · Founded May 2026