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You may be interested to learn that outbaord-powered ThunderCat racing is coming to Canada, starting with dates in Ontario and nearby US locations.

In Ontario the warm weather has peeked it’s head out this week.  This means the first ever Canadian sanctioned racing season of inflatable boats is fast approaching. Get ready for the races be it as a racer, official, or fan!

The organizers want to welcome www.HighCommandDistributing.com as their race series first sponsor!

Moody's Investors Service has again raised the ratings outlook of Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) from stable to positive. In January 2011, BRP was raised from B3 to B2 default ratings. The ratings agency said it has now raised BRP’s corporate family (CFR) and probability of default ratings to B1 from B2, its senior secured revolving credit facility to Ba1 from Ba2, and its senior secured term loan to B1 from B2.

"The upgrade of BRP's ratings reflects the considerable improvement in the company's operating results driven by the successful introduction of new product categories, stabilization of its existing product volumes and benefits from its significant cost containment efforts", says lead analyst Darren Kirk in a statement.

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, MRAA has announced that through the introduction of a new website, it has embarked on an entirely new way of conducting business. The new website, found at www.MRAA.com, not only boasts an array of new features for the association’s members, but it also integrates numerous critical business functions into one digital platform.

The new site incorporates a database management system, customer relations management and e-newsletter tools, e-commerce opportunities, event registration functionality, news feeds and members – only content, in addition to full community functionality and an easy-to-use content management system.

William (Bill) Morgan resurrected the venerable Hacker Boat Company name and began building a selection of models that were originally designed by John Ludwig Hacker, one of the great pioneers of the power boat in the early 1900s. Hacker's designs were fast, seaworthy and many were magnificent in a way that has rarely been matched in the ensuing decades. They were boats that were deserving of continued attention and Bill Morgan gave them that. Morgan also was a benefactor to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York where boats from his personal collection are on display and one of his recent Hacker Triple Cockpit runabouts was donated to the Museum's livery and takes guests for speedboat rides on the St. Lawrence.

Wondering what to do with the used shrink wrap covers? 

The most environmentally friendly option is to participate in Dr. Shrink Inc.'s 2012 Recycling Run.  Once again in partnership with Bay Area Recycling for Charities in Traverse City, Michigan and Optima Colour in Canada, this program is so user-friendly that boaters in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and across Ontario, within 200 miles of Toronto, have no reason not to take part.

Participants must buy REBAG®s for $3 each from Dr. Shrink and stuff it with shrink wrap only; no strapping, buckles, vents or other contaminants.

With spring just around the corner, who can’t help but think about boating? But – Wait a minute… there is one more day of skiing that you should participate in!

The 3rd Annual Boating Ontario Dealer Sea to Ski day will be held at Alpine Ski Club on Thursday March 8, 2012.  We do hope you will join us again this year.  The day will begin with a pre-ski gathering and sign-in with complimentary coffee and muffins in the main Club House and end with an après ski with great prizes and stories to be shared.

The owners of the Halifax International Boat Show, The Atlantic Marine Trades Association, are pleased to report that the dealers and retailers at the 2012 edition of the Halifax International Boat Show had a positive experience. The weather was great and attendance was up on all four days with an overall increase of 14% over 2011!

Exhibitors commented that the visitors to this event were high quality and were there to buy boats and accessories…and that they did. Many boats were sold and chandleries reported excellent sales for the 4 day event plus, dealers left with many solid leads to follow up on!

Two members of the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons received awards at the 2012 Yachtsman's Spring Thaw event this past weekend.

Catherine McLeod, AP,National Administrative Officer, has been selected as the 2012 Yachtsman of the Year – Power, and Kevin Jones, N, Chair, Environmental Committee, has been selected for the 2012 Natural Marine/Mason’s Chandlery Environment Award. Kevin is currently serving with the Canadian Coast Guard, based in Newfoundland.

Canadian Rep Services is proud to announce an addition to it's customer service team. Effective immediately, Jeanette Jameson has joined Canadian Rep Services to serve pour customers better and faster.

Jeanette brings over 8 years of experience in the Rep industry to her new position with Canadian Rep Services. Previously, Jeannette was involved with many of the products that were imported into Canada and she has worked with many of the distributors and dealers in the past.

The 2012 Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show & Strictly Sail attracted more than 100,000 visitors from around the world. The annual five-day event, one of the world’s largest consumer and trade recreational boating destinations, saw 100,917 attendees walk through its three locations – Miami Beach Convention Center, Sea Isle Marina & Yachting Center, and Miamarina at Bayside – down 3 percent from 2011 (102,374). 

Similar to what the industry has been seeing at boat shows across the country in 2012, NMMA is already hearing reports from several exhibitors – both boat and accessory – of strong, quality traffic and record sales since the economic downturn. Exhibitor reports from the 2012 show include:

KCS International Inc., (KCS) parent company of Cruisers Yachts and Rampage Sport Fishing Yachts, announced during a media event at the Miami International Boat Show, the group acquired all of the assets of Azure, a world class line of sport boats. The acquisition means KCS now carries a full product line with vessels from 18’-56’ that includes bow riders, sport decks, sport cuddies and complemented by the high quality Cruisers Yachts line up.

“This is an exciting time for our company. We are sending a message to our dedicated employees that KCS intends to be in the boat business for a long time,” said Mark Pedersen, president of KCS International Inc.

Teleflex Marine just announced that it has acquired Detwiler Industries, LLC of White Bear Lake, MN, a leading manufacturer of high performance hydraulic jack plates from MarineTech Products, Inc. This acquisition further strengthens Teleflex Marine’s position in marine control systems for powerboats.

“We are very excited to acquire Detwiler jack plates. It is a key addition in our strategy to grow both organically with new products such as our recently introduced Optimus 360 Joystick Control System, our new Xtreme Steering – and through acquisitions,” said Yvan Cote, CEO of Teleflex Marine.

Companies wishing to book stand space at METS and the SuperYacht Pavilion (SYP) 2012 should reserve space by 1st March 2012 in order to qualify for the early bird discount and save up to 15%. METS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year.

“Already over 800 exhibitors have committed to prime stand locations, eager to be part of the 25th METS,” confirms METS Senior Product Manager, Irene Dros. “We really urge companies to book space as early as possible so as to avoid disappointment and make their participation even more cost-effective.”

On Tuesday 21 February 2012, award winning UK yacht builder Oyster Marine Ltd was acquired by the Dutch investment company HTP Investments BV (HTP) for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition includes the Oyster Group companies Oyster Marine Ltd, Oyster Brokerage Ltd and Southampton Yacht Services Ltd.

Founded in 1973, Oyster has a worldwide reputation for its luxury, blue water cruising yachts, which are renowned for their quality and performance.

Don't want to miss out on this opportunity! Once again,the NMEA invites you attend the education courses offered to individuals and businesses involved with installing and servicing Marine Electronics.

The National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) has established an extensive education and certification program. NMEA is a pioneer in providing standards for marine electronics technicians in the marine electronics industry with programs such as Marine Electronics Installer (BMEI), NMEA 2000 and Advanced MEI.

C-Tow Marina Assistance held a Free Raffle at the 2012 Vancouver International Boat Show. The draw winner for a new VHF Radio was Barb Cook of Comox, BC.

Over 500 entries were made for the C-Tow VHF draw. At 2pm on Sunday the winner was selected by Aurelia Cardiff with assistance from Wayne Bowie. The Vancouver show was a lot of fun and a very busy 5 days. Thank you to all who stopped by to say hellow and tell us their marine assistance stories. Next, C-Tow will be in Victoria for shows on Feb. 25 and back again in April for the Inner Harbour show.

MarineMax Vacations at a press conference during the 2012 Miami International Boat Show announced the development and production of a very innovative 46 foot power catamaran for their charter fleet.  The MarineMax 464 will be offered for charter in the beautiful British Virgin Islands and for private ownership under the name Aquila 46, leveraging the more than fifty MarineMax locations.

MarineMax Vacations, in collaboration with the world’s leading design and engineering group Seaway and builder Sino Eagle Yachts, unveiled a model of the concept to the industry today.

The Central Ontario Boat Show & Sale is celebrating yet another success. The show ran Family Day Weekend, February 17-20 at the newly renovated Careport Centre in Hamilton.  This year’s show expanded by 25,000 sq.ft .  Overall attendance was 23,887, a drop from 2011’s record gate however crowds were still strong ranking this show as one of the top 5 boat shows in Canada.  Dealers reported to show management that a combined total of 105 boats were sold on the show floor.

The show featured nearly 3 football fields of boats and over 60 different boat brands were represented including the re-introduction of the Canadian made Naden Boats.