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Instead of working for a living, Barb and Ted Dallimore of Sandy Cove Marine in Innisfil, are now working at living. They are newly retired and are planning to travel in their motor home. Friends shared their experiences over the decades wishing Barb and Ted well in their retirement.

Doug and Brenda Dawson joined 160 other marine friends and business associates who gathered to celebrate Ted and Barb’s retirement.

Many in attendance were also celebrating “Survival”.

So, what's a marina without water? Down it poured – just buckets of rain –  for the Grand Opening of the new Pride Marine Group Chaparral dealership at Innisfil, Ontario on the perpetually busy Highway 400.

More than 200 customers had RSVPd that they would attend, but many more visitors  wound up arriving; probably well over 300 people braved the downpour on Friday,  September 30 to see the new dealership and the Chaparral boats on display.

The International Marina & Boatyard Conference (IMBC) is arranging a pre-conference golf tournament at Disney’s Osprey Ridge Course to raise funds for those looking to further their professional development within the marina industry. IMBC—produced by the Association of Marina Industries (AMI)—is scheduled for February 1–3, 2012, at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Registration for the golf tournament, scheduled for January 31, 2012, opens in October.

“We’re excited to add yet another networking opportunity to IMBC’s schedule,” Jim Frye, CMM, AMI’s president and chair, says.

Navico, an industry leader in recreational marine electronics and the parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad Yachting and B&G brands,  announced today that it recently received the West Marine Vendor of the Year Award, presented at the company’s 2011 Annual VIV (Very Important Vendor) Conference. West Marine awarded Navico the top honor for consistent excellence in collaboration, product quality, sales growth and excellent customer service. In addition, Navico Sales Manager Steve Hamber was presented with the Sales Representative of the Year award.

“Navico is honored to be named Vendor of the Year by West Marine,” said Louis Chemi, chief operating officer, Navico Americas.

The Vancouver-based Canada Metal Pacific said that it had acquired New Zealand-based Rocna Anchors adding a line of anchors to its range of other marine products.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Media quoted John Mitchell, president of Canada Metal Pacific as saying, “We have been searching for a line of anchors and anchoring products to complement our CMP anchor chain. We are very excited to bring Rocna Anchors into the fold.  Their superior performance fits well with our focus on innovation and quality products.”

Cruisers Yachts held their dealer meeting at the company’s headquarters in Oconto, Wisconsin. The annual gathering featured Cruisers Yachts’ christening of the 2012 41 Cantius sports coupe, unveiling of a new interactive website and plans for the upcoming year.

Crate Marine was the recipient of this years’ coveted Dealer of the Year Award. Crate Marine has five locations throughout Ontario and Quebec. They provide full marine sales and service and have been in the Cruiser Yachts family for three years.

Mustang Survival’s business development team as Business Development Director, Military. Price, who previously worked at Mustang as a Product Manager, will take the lead in continuing to build and foster Mustang’s strategic partnerships in the military market.

Bryan brings with him extensive experience in developing large military contracts and managing geographically diverse teams. Before returning to Mustang to take on this strategic leadership role, Price worked in Product Management and Sales for an international power conversion company.

Local sailmaking mainstay UK Sailmakers Northwest is pleased to announce the successful transition of ownership from Tim Knight to Stuart and Joy Dahlgren. While the actual purchase took place earlier this summer, all parties were committed to ensuring a high level of continuity for customers and industry partners and thus executed a ‘soft handover’ that has resulted in seamless service for both repair and new sail clients.

‘I could not have been happier, Stuart and Joy have shown great aptitude and that coupled with the great staff, the business is actually invigorated with new energy and ideas.

The Brunswick Dealer Advantage program offers a growing menu of dealer services to its marine dealership communities in Canada and the USA, all designed to help dealers attract more customers, retain employees, improve operations and lower costs. ADP Lightspeed is the latest addition to a list of providers such as Brunswick Financial Services, Brunswick Dealer Certification, BoatTrader.com, iBoats.com, ARI, AT&T and Sprint, Aramark, UPS, Staples and US Bank.

ADP Lightspeed’s fully integrated dealer management software lets dealerships maximize business performance by automating operations and providing powerful new business-building tools for growth.

Congratulations to Terry McLaughlin and the entire Royal Canadian Yacht Club crew for their convincing win in the second edition of the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex. Tour de France style, the Canadian team was awarded the golden spinnaker after their first race and never relinquished it, dominating the event with consistent finishes. Well done!

Clipper Round the World yachts are inching closer to their next destination, the South African port of Cape Town. While Gold Coast Australia hangs on to the lead, Visit Finland is now nipping at their stern having gained 20 miles on them in the last day.

Software manufacturer Northport Systems Inc. announced today that its latest version of Fugawi Marine ENC™ is the world’s first application to support Navionics® plug-and-play chips without requiring use of a proprietary Navionics Multi Card Reader. With the new upgrade, Fugawi users can simply download their Navionics charts onto their computer’s hard drive, resulting in extremely fast chart redraw and increased overall performance. Once the Navionics data is downloaded, the chart card is no longer needed and freed up for use in a chartplotter or other navigational device. The upgrade eliminates the inconvenience associated with carrying Navionics cartography chips, a card reader and cable when boating, as well as loss of data due to potential card reader failure and wear and tear from the harsh marine environment.

NMMA President Thom Dammrich presented NMMA’s views at the 2011 NASBLA Conference, as part of a panel on mandatory lifejacket reform. The panel also featured NBSAC Chairman James Muldoon; BoatUS Government Affairs Vice President Margaret Podlich; American Canoe Association COO Christopher Stec; Jeffrey Hoedtfrom the U.S. Coast Guard and NASBLA Executive Board member Herb Angell.

Thom noted that NMMA continues to push for life jacket regulation reform so that U.S. lifejackets designed for continuous wear can be approved.

Imtech N.V. (IM-AE, technical services provider in Europe and on the global marine market) announces the acquisition of the Canadian marine company Groupe Techsol Marine.

This strategic acquisition means that Imtech has now a high-tech marine production site available in Canada. The acquisition also strengthens Imtech’s service and maintenance foothold in North-America.

To accommodate growing product demand, Regal Marine Industries announced today that they will be hiring immediately. Regal is currently seeking experienced new team members that will support in assembly, lamination and other manufacturing positions.

“It is a positive sign that we are currently in need of additional team members,” commented Tim Kuck, Executive Vice President & COO. “To keep pace with production demand, we are looking for skillful and quality-minded individuals that are ready to contribute to an already successful team.”

Attendees at the 2011 NMEA International Marine Electronics Conference & Expo will have an opportunity to talk with a representative of a company whose proposal could have a significant impact on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which includes GPS. The annual conference of the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) will be held September 28–October 1 at the Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Several months ago, LightSquared Subsidiary LLC applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to allow a new “4G Long-Term Evolution” wireless broadband service to operate in the radio spectrum immediately adjacent to GNSS services, according to Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) President Bob Markle.

Marine Marketers of America are calling for entries in the fourth annual Neptune Awards for Marketing Excellence, which recognize outstanding work in the marketing field.

This year’s contest features three new categories, and the awards will be presented at the organization’s annual meeting at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show on Oct. 27, sponsored by Show Management and Info-Link Technologies.

As the 2011 boating season winds down, think back over the season to that special person, group or organization whose efforts in the field of boating safety and environmental stewardship deserve national recognition!  Maybe they created a new boating safety related product or initiative.  Perhaps they are volunteers or professionals whose efforts have contributed greatly to the safety of those on the water.  Then again, maybe it’s someone who, hearing that another was in trouble on the water, summoned the courage to mount a rescue.  These are the people we want you to nominate to receive a Canadian Safe Boating (CASBA) Award.  You can even nominate yourself or your group or organization.

The SOS Dan Buoy is one of the biggest changes in marine-rescue devices in decades and is made in Australia.

Designed and developed by SOS Marine, the inflatable SOS Dan buoy is not a lifejacket but a compact flotation unit that can be thrown into the water as a rescue device.

The unique design of the device took out the Excellence Award for the Welfare, Health and Safety category in the Sydney Division of Engineering Excellence Awards.