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Mustang Survival is pleased to announce new representation for its line of marine safety and climate protection products in three additional Canadian provinces. TA Ferguson and Associates, who has been representing Mustang in Alberta for  over twenty years, will now also be representing and leading Mustang’s product sales, training, and support to dealers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Territory of Nunavut. The TA Ferguson and Associates team includes Tom Ferguson,  owner & Sales Lead; Rory Gibbs, Sales; and its newest member; Kate Ferguson, Specialized Product Sales Training.

One of the great traditions of summer in Detroit will continue as the 2011 running of the APBA Gold Cup race, July 8-10, on the Detroit River was confirmed May 26th.

“Thanks to the support of the Detroit Yacht Club, the community and a few private individuals and business supporters, we are pleased to report that we have secured funding to assure the 2011 event as scheduled,” said Tom Bertolini, President of the hosting Detroit River Regatta Association. “We want the fans and the community to know that everyone can look forward to another exciting Gold Cup event. 

Attwood Marine has received an Environmental Protection Agency Certificate of Conformance (COC) for its pressure relief diurnal emission control system. Combined with its recently announced carbon canister system, Attwood now has two industry-leading EPA-certified solutions for its OEM partners to match the unique needs of each customer. The Attwood pressure relief diurnal and refueling control system has more than 15,000 hours of on-water use and testing and meets all EPA, American Boat and Yacht Club, U.S. Coast Guard, and proposed California Air Resources Board requirements.

The Annual Conference, scheduled for July 18-19, 2011 in New Bedford, Massachusetts is designed to help ABBRA members solve common business problems and plan for the future by providing reliable information about industry issues, discussion about best business practices, networking opportunities with peers, and an overview of new technology and methods in the boatyard industry.

An early-registration reduced rate of $245 for ABBRA members and $275 for non-ABBRA members is available to those attendees who register no later than June 30, 2011.

Yves Paquette, General Manager at the Association Maritime du Quebec, (AMQ) sounded hopeful when Boating Industry Canada contacted him for an update on the marinas affected by the unusual spring weather.

“While the records were broken on the May 6th weekend, and continued rain and winds are still with us now, the good news is that things should start to get better over the next two weeks,” he told Boating Industry Canada.

Port Credit Yachting Super Centre held its first Spring Open House this past weekend with some positive results. The marine industry in central Canada, as with most other regions, has had it share of weather related set backs and on Saturday the first day of the Open House was no exception, but when the sun came out on Sunday, so did the customers. Almost every participating broker was still commissioning boats all weekend trying to keep their customers happy while on one hand presenting new and brokerage boats to the potential news customers that finally emerged from a long winter and a soggy / cold spring.

Boating Industry Canada contacted the Nova Scotia Boatbuilders Association and spoke to Executive Director Tim Edwards following the announcement that their 2011 boat show was to be cancelled.

Edwards explained that due to limited availability of Maritime-built boats that could be made available for display, the group felt they had to cancel the Nova Scotia In-Water Boat Show this year. The show had been scheduled for Jul 22^nd to 24^th at the Bishop’s Landing site on the Halifax waterfront.

As the summer travel season approaches, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is providing summer travelers with travel tips to assist with cross border travel.

CBP has implemented many important initiatives designed to facilitate travel while, at the same time, improving U.S. border security.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires U.S. and Canadian citizens, age 16 and older to present a valid, acceptable travel document, such as a passport, a U.S. passport card,

The Toronto International Boat Show always makes buying a boat a fun and easy experience, but now picture what it’s like to buy your first boat and then top it off by winning $10,000 towards the purchase of that boat – incredible! That’s what happened to Shawn and Pamela Parsons of Innisfil, Ontario at the 2011 Toronto Boat Show. The Parsons are this year’s winner of The Buy A Boat & Win Contest sponsored by Skippers’ Plan, Robertson & Robertson Yacht Insurance and the Toronto International Boat Show.

Anyone who purchased a boat at the 2011 show qualified to enter the contest. The Parsons qualified when they purchased a Chaparral 2011 SSi WT 216.

In a recent newsletter article by Soundings Trade Only, we have learned that the U.S. styrene industry has appealed to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to remove a proposed listing of styrene in the department’s impending report on carcinogens. The styrene industry is asking that the listing be scheduled for a review in the next edition, the Styrene Information and Research Center said.

In a letter, Jack Snyder, executive director of the research center, and John Schweitzer, senior director of government affairs for the American Composites Manufacturers Association, asked Sebelius for another review using a rigorous, unbiased, transparent process.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Harper and President Obama announced the Canada –U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council, which has a two-year mandate to promote economic growth and provide benefits to businesses and consumers through increased regulatory transparency and coordination between the two countries.  NMMA Canada is being asked to provide input to the Federal government about items that affect cross border trade with the United States, and if dealt with would derive benefits for Canadians and Canadian business.

Boat builder Pelican International has announced new team members. Joel McBride is the latest addition to the company’s U.S. sales team and will serve as the new regional manager for the West Coast and Gulf Coast. He brings more than 20 years of experience in sales and sales management in the paddle-sports business to his new position. His main focus will be on the growth and development of both the Pelican and the recently launched Elie brand.

Louise Meilleur was named to the newly created position of manager, strategic sourcing. In her new role, Meilleur will be responsible for supporting Pelican’s growth by developing sourcing strategies in Asia and North America.

Discover Boating unveiled marketing plans to reignite the brand with a new U.S. and Canadian campaign, titled Welcome to the Water, in an all-industry webinar last week. The campaign aims to tap current boat owners to help engage those new to boating. It is also designed to increase traffic to DiscoverBoating.com and DiscoverBoating.ca, therefore increasing the quality and quantity of prospects for manufacturers and dealers to grow sales of boating-related products and services.

The effort is supported with online advertising, search engine marketing, public relations and social media. Discover Boating Canada will also feature a limited amount of television advertising in their mix.

Staff writers for the Peterborough Examiner newspaper have reported that Les Groombridge died Sunday at the age of 86. Mr. Groombridge was well known in the marine industry and locally, was a Peterborough icon who rose to become president of the former Outboard Marine Corp. of Canada from 1980 to 1986 and then became the city’s economic development officer.

Les Groombridge died in the palliative care unit at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. In recent years he had been afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease.

Regal Marine Industries has announced that Jim Krueger will be Regal’s Mid-West Regional Sales Manager. Jim will bring his experience and industry perspective to the Regal Sales Team.

No stranger to the region, Jim was raised a Wisconsin native and sees the Mid-West as his roots.  As a boating industry veteran, Jim started his career in 1971 at Cruisers, Inc. working in engineering as a draftsman. Through his history, Jim has worked for several of the top boat builders in North America, spending the last 15 years at Luhrs Group serving in many disciplines.

Marine displays manufacturer Nauticomp has appointed Invisible Communications Pty Ltd to distribute, support and service the company’s products in Australia and New Zealand.

Nauticomp’s product line includes the new waterproof, sunlight readable multi-functional Genesis Series Displays, offering a cost effective, rugged solution suitable for all environmental conditions. A slim case design allows for installation in tight spaces. Efficient LED backlight technology reduces power draw at all levels.

On May 17 and 18, 2011 Georgian College at their Robert Hartog Midland Campus hosted their First Annual Skilled Trades Expo to showcase all of the skilled trades training that Georgian College offers, across all of their campuses.

The event was organized by Jenn Dubois and a group of 40 people from the Georgian College faculty and staff, plus volunteers and students, hosted a total of 480 students from 32 different schools who attended over the two-day session.

Mustang Survival, along with key marine industry partners, will be participating in the 2^nd annual National Ready Set Inflate Day to kick off National Safe Boating Awareness Week, May 21 to 27, 2011. Aside from raising awareness for boating safety, Ready Set Inflate’s main objective is to beat last year’s world record for inflating the most lifejackets in one day. Other participants, including marine industry associations across North America, will also be hosting Ready Set Inflate Day events to collectively beat last year’s record of 1,154 lifejackets inflated on a single day.

“People always ask me what’s the best personal flotation device out there and my answer is always ‘The one you wear!’” said Rick Cassels,