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At an awards lunch on Wednesday during the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo, Courtney Chalmers of Boat Trader and Mike Davin of Boating Industry magazine presented Bob Pappajohn of M&P Mercury Sales with the award for the Best Idea of the year.

Pappajohn's Burnaby, British Columbia-based dealership won for its efforts to sell to non-traditional boater populations. This included outreach to the Chinese community through interpreters, ambassadors and advertising written in their native language.

Randy Caruana has been promoted to vice president of sales and marketing at Mercury Marine.

Caruana, who has spent his entire career in the marine industry, has held a variety of executive positions during the 10 years he has worked at Mercury Marine, most recently vice president of sales for the Americas. Prior to that, he was director of outboard marketing, director of the large outboard product line and director of sales and marketing for Mercury Marine Canada.

The Maine Marine Trades Association has extended an invitation to Canadians to attend their  Dec. 17 – 19, 2012 ABYC Composite Boat Builder Certification couse held by the MMTA, 2 Main St. Biddeford, ME.

The classes will run   8:30 am – 4:30 pm and the cost is  $525.00 ABYC/MMTA Members,  $810.00 – non-members.
 
This composites course is designed for boat builders and manufacturers. The curriculum includes marine composite construction, production and advanced manufacturing processes, structural details and hardware installation, quality assurance, and safety and environmental compliance.

John Pfeifer has been named vice president of global operations for Mercury Marine.

In his most recent role, Pfeifer managed Brunswick’s global marine businesses as president of Brunswick Marine in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) and president of the Brunswick Asia Pacific Group. Prior to joining Brunswick in 2006, Pfeifer, held executive positions with ITT Corporation and Milacron, Inc. He holds a bachelor’s degree with dual majors in Economics and Japanese from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

BoatUS has estimated that Hurricane Sandy caused more than US$650m in damages to boats across the US. The US boater association also expects that more than 65,000 recreational boats were damaged or lost as a result of the storm.

"We've never seen anything like it,” said Scott Croft, BoatUS AVP of Public Affairs, in a statement. “The scope of the damage to boats is unprecedented, affecting large areas from the Atlantic seaboard as far inland as the Great Lakes, with the majority of damage in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

The BC Marine Trades Association (BCMTA) will recognize one of the recreational marine industry’s most accomplished leaders at the upcoming BC Marine Industry Conference. Dwight Davies, former President of Mustang Survival, has been named the recipient of the BCMTA Lifetime Achievement Award.
 
“This is the first time the BCMTA has bestowed such an award and there is no doubt this is absolutely the right time and the right person,” said BCMTA President Don Prittie.

KEY WEST, Fla. — Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani and Steve Curtis piloted Spirit of Qatar to the Superboat Unlimited Class title Sunday, Nov. 11, at the Key West World Championship offshore powerboat races.

Al-Thani, of Doha, Qatar, and England's Curtis took first in the final race after posting second-place finishes during preliminary races Wednesday and Friday.

The international Association for Industrial Design (ADI) has presented the Bavaria Virtess 420 motor yacht with the Nautical Design Award 2012. The Virtess 420, the first flybridge yacht ever produced by the Giebelstadt shipyard, was only launched this autumn and has already notched up its first design award.

The Nautical Design Award is presented every year to the yacht with the most innovative and demanding design.

Boating Industry Canada has been approached by the archivist for the Bangor (Northern Ireland) S Class of yachts. This club would be most grateful for any help that our readers could give in tracing “Scarlet Pimpernel” (built in 1950 of mahogany on oak) which was last known to be in Ontario in 1973 when she was owned by G. B. Turner. The picture below is from that date. The other picture of Salna No 19 is for comparison showing the distinctive class outline and cruiser stern.
 
This year is the 65th anniversary of the first three boats being launched.

On November 9, 2012, BRP confirmed that an explosion occurred at its Research and Development Centre in Valcourt shortly after midnight November 8th. A BRP employee and a security guard were badly injured and were transported to the Enfant Jesus de Québec hospital.

R&D employees were informed and an information hotline has been set-up to keep the lines of communications open. BRP is doing all it can to support its employees.

To further enchase the marketing and sales opportunities in the growing region of China (including Hong Kong) and the countries of  Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam, Marlow-Hunter, LLC announced that it has signed Omina Marine Corporation, Ltd. as a distributor for this area. Omina will operate out of its central location with a full sales and service center including parts and customer service support from Shenzhen.

Mr. Wei hong zhuang, Chairman and Managing Director, along with Mr. Doug Sparks, General Manager, provide a wealth of marine experience in the sailing/boating arena.

The Rayburn name has long been recognized as a world class yacht builder. Freedom Marine is pleased to announce that Paul Rayburn of Rayburn Custom Yachts has joined Freedom Marine.
 
Paul is well known by clients and industry personnel for his integrity, hard work and consistently delivering quality results. As a second generation yacht builder, his talents have evolved from hands on work on the shop floor to include yacht design, production management and sales of many (and counting) successful new build construction projects ranging from 62’-107’.

Gordon Dugald Evans Elliott, FCA passed away unexpectedly at the age of 82.  He will be sadly missed by his wife Pat, his sons and their families: Mark (Sylvia), Carlyn (Ben),Blair and Kelsey; Brock (Leona);  Ross(Dolores),Leanne(Matt), Tanis(Andrew) and Denise; Guy (Kathy),Melissa and Laura; and Kent (Carole) Elise, Stefan, Justin and Claire; and his daughter and her family, Jan Filippelli (Tony) Danielle, Elliott, Melia, Shane, Seyarra.  He will also be missed by his two great-granddaughters Ella and Emily and his close sister-in-law, Jolyne and niece, Susan.  Gordon graduated from King Edward High School in 1948.  In 1955 Gordon started his career in accounting in Vancouver with Rudd and Goold and in two short years was promoted to partner.

Mercury-Canada is once again creating history by sponsoring Canadian powerboat champion, Tammy Wolf.  Tammy will be the first Canadian women to compete in the SST 200 class in North America.
 
Powerboat racing is the most exhilarating sport in the world. Drivers, teams, and equipment are constantly tested. Each lap is different, drivers not only compete against each other but also against the ever changing water and wind conditions. Boats reach the turn buoy at speeds up to 110 mph and in a split second; they accelerate out to the next turn while riding on a cushion of air.

The Harbercraft brand has been a distinguished name in Canada for the past 53 years, earning its pedigree as the leading brand of welded heavy-gauge aluminum boats. “With the investments we made in product development, bringing manufacturing under one roof, and successfully entering the multi-species boat market, we are well positioned to bring our brand to another level,” explains Andrew Klopak, Sales Group President.
 
After extensive consultations with its dealer network, a decision was made to move to a powerful master brand approach as the most effective way to continue to enhance its customer experience.

Tall Ships America has issued the following statement. The tall ship HMS BOUNTY was lost yesterday (October 30, 2012) in Hurricane Sandy off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Of the 16 persons reportedly aboard at the time, we understand that one individual has perished, and that 14 others were rescued, thanks to the exemplary courage and skill of Coast Guard search and rescue personnel.  It appears that the vessel’s master, Robin Walbridge, is missing, and the search continues.
 
A member of Tall Ships America, HMS BOUNTY was a popular participant in public maritime festivals around North America.  Our membership is united in sending our thoughts, prayers and best wishes to the crew and their families,

Active Interest Media (AIM) Marine Group held their Inaugural Editor’s Choice Awards on Friday October 26, 2012 during the 53rd Annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show where the group honored Madame Annette Bénéteau-Roux with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

AIM Marine Group, publisher of magazines such as PassageMaker, POWER & MOTORYACHT, Yachts International, SAIL and Soundings hosted the event to pay tribute to the marine industry’s best of 2012. While presenting Bénéteau-Roux the Lifetime Achievement Award, Efrem Zimbalist III, chief executive of AIM joked to a crowd of approximately 300 people, “Once in a while a resume takes 45 minutes to read, but even that amount of time wouldn’t approach explanation of the icon’s influence on our industry.”

The Canadian Yachting Association's annual general meeting concluded Saturday with an afternoon vote to change the association's name. An overwhelming vote in support of the motion to change the name of the 74 year old organization to SAIL Canada was recorded, which allowed the national group to begin to align its positioning alongside many other national governing bodies in the sport.

The move was prompted by a renewed effort to begin to collaborate in its efforts across its training, coaching, judging and high performance disciplines allowing it to better brand, build and grow the sport's awareness nationally in Canada.