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Were they cruising sailors or asylum seekers? One sailor is dead and three are missing and presumed dead after a yacht with nine persons on board issued a distress call off the coast of Nova Scotia in what is being investigated as a case of human smuggling.

Apparently the source of the suspicion is that the yacht, SV Tabasco 2, was not registered to any country and that some of those rescued have asked for asylum.

The Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said that the boat might have been trying to smuggle people into Canada based on its actions.

On April 2, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved E15 (gasoline with 15 percent ethanol) as a registered fuel. This is one step closer to seeing low-cost, renewable E15 sold into the American fuels marketplace, according to a release by the Renewable Fuels Association, an American lobby group promoting the use of ethanol in fuel.

"Our nation needs E15 to reduce our dependence on foreign oil – it will keep gas prices down at the pump and help to end the extreme fluctuations in gas prices caused by our reliance on fuel from unstable parts of the world," said Tom Buis, CEO of Growth Energy

Imtra, the leading manufacturer and importer of quality marine products, has announced the official unveiling of its new website. Incorporating enhanced filtering capabilities and a fully searchable database, the new site makes it easier for people to narrow down product searches by the elements that are most important to them. Imtra’s new website is tablet-friendly and makes it easy for individuals to determine the best products for their needs and quickly find a conveniently located authorized Imtra installing dealer or reseller to purchase their desired Imtra products.

Charles Industries, Ltd. has announced that David (Dave) J. Wyrick has joined the company as Business Unit Director of Charles’ Marine & Industrial Group, a leading provider of AC and DC electrical systems and solutions for marine and industrial applications.

Wyrick will be charged with development, implementation, and execution of strategic product roadmaps; specification and justification of future product development; life-cycle management of existing Marine & Industrial products; and oversight of business unit engineering resources.

Could this be the answer to gaining more cottage and boating time?

The Composites World Newsletter shared a story that Terrafugia (Woburn, Mass., USA) reported on April 2 that its composites-intensive Transition Street-Legal Airplane is now a significant step closer to being a commercial reality. The production prototype of the Transition Street-Legal Airplane completed its successful first flight at Plattsburgh International Airport (Plattsburgh, N.Y., USA) on March 23.

The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes is hosting a C&C Conference to highlight the C&C Collection of drawings and artifacts housed in the Museum archives. This Conference follows directly on the heels of the C&C Reunion taking place at RHYC on the previous evening. Therefore, this will be the largest assembly of past C&C employees and associated boating industry individuals ever gathered in one place. 

Taking full advantage of that, the conference, open to the sailing public, will consist of four consecutive panel discussions focusing on Design, Production, Sales and Marketing, and the Legacy of C&C Yachts.

This is a reminder about the upcoming Boating Ontario Dealer Certification taking place at the Midland campus of Georgian College on Monday April 16.

If you are a Boating Ontario Dealer who has not yet been certified, or who wants to get more employees certified, this is an excellent opportunity to do so.

Skyline Marina is pleased to announce we have extended our already industry leading brand depth with the addition of another Brunswick Group manufacturer in Meridian Yachts. This is an ideal addition to our already stand alone brands that include Sea Ray and Hatteras Yachts.

Meridian Yachts is the industry leader in the growing Sedan Bridge segment of the marine market. The lineup consists of four models, 341 Sedan, 391 Sedan, 441 Sedan and the Flagship 541 Sedan.

Beneteau Powerboats Division along with leaders from multiple sectors within the marine industry are preparing Beneteau’s latest Swift Trawler 34, appropriately named The Greatest Loop, for her maiden voyage around The Great Loop beginning May 15, 2012 in Annapolis, MD and returning to Annapolis in September 2012.

Laurent Fabre, vice president of sales and marketing for Beneteau’s Powerboats Division explains, “While many have taken the pilgrimage around The Great Loop,

For anyone who missed, or would like to share important information from the April edition of Boating Industry Canada magazine, the issue is now live and online at the Boating Industry Canada website, www.boatingindustry.ca.

There’s no cost to access the Digital Archive editions. Just plug in your name, e-mail address and postal code and you have full access to this latest issue and many more. In fact, there an amazing 27 back issues live online right now!

Chaparral and Robalo Boats recently named Paul Cherney Vice President of Marketing. Cherney joins Chaparral after working with MarineMax, a Florida based national marine retailer and Brunswick Corporation where he led Meridian Yachts as Vice President & General Manager before moving to Hatteras & Cabo as the Vice President of Sales, Marketing, & Customer Service.

"I am excited to join the Chaparral and Robalo team as we continue to build for the future," said Cherney. "Chaparral and Robalo have always led our industry with state of the art product and marketing initiatives, I am looking forward to continuing that trend.

The venture arm of the Bosch Group has invested in Torqeedo, the global leader in electric outboard motors from Starnberg, Germany.  Since its formation in 2005, Torqeedo has been known to boaters as the undisputed pioneer in electric outboards.  Its multiple award-winning motors feature record levels of efficiency, integrated lithium batteries, an ultra-light design and innovative on-board computers.

Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH has acquired a minority share in Torqeedo.  This financing round will help Torqeedo to accelerate its growth and continue to develop its range of innovative products.

BRP will assemble specialized motorized vehicles derived from its line of products in a new plant located in Sherbrooke. This facility will concentrate on assembling customized vehicles to meet the requirements of governments, municipalities, institutions and agencies, as well as individual consumers.

"This decision allows us to first assemble gasoline-powered vehicles with specific requirements from our existing products for which we already have orders from the Middle East," said José Boisjoli, president and CEO.

There is still room to attend the C&C Yachts Reunion and Conference on Saturday, April 14th and Sunday, April 15th at the  Royal Hamilton Yacht Club, foot of MacNab Street North, Hamilton, Ontario

The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston is organizing a C&C Yachts, Reunion and Conference, at The Royal Hamilton Yacht Club.

The two day event is not only a chance to celebrate the history of a successful Canadian yachting story, but is also a fundraiser to help support the preservation of C&C Collection at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston, and an opportunity to gather critical information from principle participants to further enrich the collection.

The number one click-through rate on Boating Industry Canada’s well-read website and in our weekly electronic newsletter, Newsweek is for the Career Opportunities column.

In the spring, many businesses need to staff up for the season. As a benefit to our readers and to the industry, Boating Industry Canada will run your Career Opportunity job postings for free!

Skyline International Development CEO Michael Sneyd takes his job behind-the-scenes as he works at two Skyline Hotels & Resorts locations on Undercover Boss Canada airing Thursday, March 29, 9 p.m. ET/PT on the W Network.

Skyline International Developments owns the Port McNicoll waterfront development on Georgian Bay, Horseshoe resort, Deerhurst Resort and other properties.

SOS Marine, an Australian manufacturer of marine safety equipment, has appointed Rekord Marine as its dedicated distributor for North America.

Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Rekord Marine will be looking after the SOS Dan Buoy, a compact inflatable marker-buoy that can be thrown into the water as a rescue device.

Rekord Marine has over 40 years experience distributing a wide range of marine products to both the leisure and commercial sectors.