 Pleasure boating had been on a downturn since the gasoline crisis] in 1974 when President Jimmy Carter suggested that fuel sales should not take place on weekends.Owing to this, Peterson Publications had found their efforts to go national stymied and had re-focused on the regional aspect of the magazine.Upon O'Meara's purchase of the magazine, however, boating began an upturn in popularity again that would continue for quite some time.