RNLI statistics highlight a busy summer

06 Nov 2007

CHARITY: Preliminary figures released by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) show that during the devastating inland flooding across parts of the UK this summer, over 200 people were rescued by volunteer RNLI crews. 

National Express named for Whyte & Mackay ECBS

06 Nov 2007

ECBS: The Whyte & Mackay Earls Court Boat Show has signed National Express as its official transport partner. The company will provide transport to London from over 1,000 departure points across the country. 

Pushing down waste….. pushing up productivity

06 Nov 2007

MSE: Marine South East will co-host the December MareNet event with the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce, Cowes Marine Cluster and the BMF Isle of Wight; the theme for the event is‘Pushing down waste……pushing up productivity’. 

Spanish throw a spanner in the works

06 Nov 2007

AMERICA'S CUP: After Larry Ellison appeared to blink last week and offer to give up the court case if the Bertarelli camp showed his BMW Oracle team the design for the new America's Cup boat, Ellison's challenging club, the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC) put out a press release saying they hadn't meant that at all. 

Kelvin Hughes acquired in £52m deal

13 Nov 2007

ACQUISITION: Kelvin Hughes has been acquired in a £52m transaction by ECI Partners LLP. £48m was paid in cash on completion of the purchase with the remaining payment of up to £4m depending on certain conditions being satisfied.  

Nolan joins SMT as CEO

13 Nov 2007

NOLAN: Global marine financial services and data management company Secured Marine Trust has appointed James Nolan as chief executive officer. Bob Towse, chairman of the Branford, Connecticut, based company says Nolan was appointed for two reasons. 

METS 20th anniversary show opens today

13 Nov 2007

METS: The 20th Anniversary of the Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS) will be celebrated at the Amsterdam RAI when the show opens in the Netherlands this morning. 

Campaign builds against BA equipment ban

13 Nov 2007

BA BAN: The RYA has joined forces with the British Surfing Association (BSA) and British Canoeing Union (BCU) in presenting a petition to David Davies MP urging British Airways (BA) to overturn its decision to ban a selection of sporting equipment from its flights. 

METS opens with warming warning

14 Nov 2007

METS: The 20th anniversary edition of METS opened yesterday with Randy Repass, founder and chairman of the giant US West Marine chain, sounding a warning about global warming and its effects on the leisure marine industry. 

Industry needs sensible SED rules

15 Nov 2007

METS: Following the enforcement of the solvent emissions directive (SED) at the end of October 2007, International Paint today called for a sensible set of industry rules to enable the leisure marine industry to deal with the effects of the directive. 

YachtWorld.com creates monthly magazine

20 Nov 2007

NEW MAGAZINE: YachtWorld.com is to launch a monthly print version of its brokerage listings. The company says Yachtworld.com:The Magazine will extend the marketing reach of its 2,500 broker/dealer clients. 

METS 2007 – another great show

20 Nov 2007

METS: The 2007 edition of METS closed its doors last Thursday on a show that had 1,137 exhibitors from 39 countries and brought in 19,764 visitors. The organisers, Amsterdam RAI, say the 2007 show strengthened its position as the world's number one marine leisure trade show. 

IWA sees red over waterways funding story

20 Nov 2007

INLAND WATERWAYS: The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) responded angrily today to reports of further cuts to waterways budgets. The story, which originally ran in The Guardian on November 17, says the government's climate change department is planning some £300m of cuts. 

No backing out now

20 Nov 2007

ECBS: This picture was sent in to Boating Business by James Brooke, managing director of the Earls Court Boat Show (ECBS). 

Trent & Mersey marina news

01 Dec 2007

INLAND WATERWAYS: South Derbyshire District Council has granted planning permission for the proposed 585 berth marina complex on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Willington near Derby, writes Harry Arnold. 

Mon & Brec: closed for next year?

01 Dec 2007

INLAND WATERWAYS: Following the major breach on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal at Gilwern in October, British Waterways (BW) held the latest in a series of meetings to discuss options for the future reopening of the waterway and the impact of its closure, writes Harry Arnold. 

EA offers non-tidal Thames winter licences

01 Dec 2007

INLAND WATERWAYS: The Environment Agency (EA) is offering boaters a special two-day licence costing £10 to visit the non-tidal River Thames over this winter, writes Harry Arnold. 

BW holding licence consultation meetings

01 Dec 2007

INLAND WATERWAYS: Following pressure by the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) and other waterway users British Waterways (BW) has arranged to hold a series of regional consultation meetings concerning the proposed boat license fee increases, writes Harry Arnold.  

Hythe marine business park plans revealed

01 Dec 2007

SOUTH COAST: Detailed plans have been published for the former US military base at RAF Hythe, near Southampton, which closed more than a year ago with the loss of 200 jobs and is now set to become a marine business park, writes Iain Sutherland. 

Freivokh working with Voller on concept boat

01 Dec 2007

SOUTH COAST: Hampshire yacht designer Ken Freivokh is working on a ground-breaking vessel powered by environmentally friendly fuel cell technology, writes Iain Sutherland. 

FCN awarded Admirals Tender agency

01 Dec 2007

SOUTH WEST: First Class Nautical has been awarded the sole UK agency for the Admirals Tender from the Netherlands-based Superior Yachts, writes Katina Read. 

Three to close in Penryn

01 Dec 2007

SOUTH WEST: Cornish based DM Marine is closing down after eight years’ trading, becoming one of three marine businesses based in Penryn which is closing or selling up, writes Katina Read. 

Plain Sailing gets Bavaria

01 Dec 2007

SOUTH WEST: RYA sea school, Plain Sailing, has been appointed Bavaria Yacht dealer for the South West following the demise of Peters Opal, writes Katina Read. 

Fujifilm builder signs third order

01 Dec 2007

SOUTH WEST: Class 40 boatbuilder Composite Creations has signed its third contract, writes Katina Read. 

£25m for Falkirk Helix project

01 Dec 2007

INLAND WATERWAYS: British Waterways(BW) has been a key partner in The Helix project to create a Living Landmark in the post industrial area between Falkirk and Grangemouth, writes Mike Balmforth. 

SBA waves the flag

01 Dec 2007

COASTAL FORUM: The Scottish Boating Alliance (SBA) had a chance to wave the flag at the annual Scottish Coastal Forum and Firth of Clyde Forum conferences in late October and early November, writes Mike Balmforth. 

Call for marine science agency

01 Dec 2007

MARINE SCIENCE: The House of Commons Science & Technology Committee, in its report Investigating the Oceans, has repeated the conclusions of a similar report in 1986 that marine science and technology in the UK is fragmented, poorly co-ordinated and underfunded, writes Stuart Fisher. 

Landamores moves into new premises

01 Dec 2007

COMPANY MOVE: Landamores, which produces boats for Ipswich-based Oyster Marine, has ended its 10-year search for new premises by moving into a 35,000 sq ft boatbuilding workshop, writes Debbie Cowan. 

Cowes powerboat festival in doubt

01 Dec 2007

SOUTH COAST: The future of next year's Cowes powerboat festival held in August is in doubt after the organisers said it costs too much to run at the venue and sponsors Honda are removing four of its races from the event in favour of Liverpool, capital of culture, writes Iain Sutherland. 

ECBS - we'll know on Friday

27 Nov 2007

ECBS: If anyone had told me this time last year that there would be a second boat show in London this December, I wouldn’t have believed them. 

Stuart Marsh Shoes acquires Chatham Marine

27 Nov 2007

ACQUISITION: The Exeter based group Stuart Marsh Shoes has acquired Chatham Marine for an undisclosed sum. 

America's Cup: postponed to 2010 or 2011

27 Nov 2007

AMERICA'S CUP: A shock statement from the America's Cup Management (ACM) on November 22 brought the postponement of the 33rd America's Cup, probably to July 2010 at the earliest. 

20th METS is best ever, say organisers

27 Nov 2007

METS: Record exhibitor and visitor numbers for 2007 further endorsed METS as the world’s largest and best attended leisure marine trade show, says organiser Amsterdam RAI. 

Sales up 60% at Navimo trade show

01 Dec 2007

TRADE SHOW: Navimo UK held its trade show for the third year running at Southampton's Rose Bowl international cricket ground in October. 

Friday Ad buys Mailspeed

01 Dec 2007

BOUGHT: Mailspeed has changed hands. The deal – for an undisclosed sum – was done on November 2 and puts the company into the hands of Friday Holdings, which runs the Friday Ad series of newspapers. 

Marina Marbella makes Christmas budgeting easier

01 Dec 2007

CHRISTMAS DEAL: Marina Marbella, which claims to be Europe’s biggest motorboat retailer, is running a Christmas cash-back deal that, they say, takes the sting out of Christmas shopping and offers owners a great new way to get the boat of their dreams. 

Caffari collects her MBE

01 Dec 2007

CJR aims to increase productivity by 50%

01 Dec 2007

INVESTMENT: CJR Propulsion recently invested £800k in a new state-of-the art CNC machining centre to increase the quality and accuracy of its propellers. 

Dragons’ Den winner prepares to go global

01 Dec 2007

DRAGON'S DEN: Last month James Halliburton of Seatriever International faced the fierce Dragon's Den panel of financial investors with his emergency floatation device that saves dropped valuables from a watery grave. 

Barrus celebrates 90 years

01 Dec 2007

ANNIVERSARY: E P Barrus invited a select group of journalists (can there ever be such a thing?) to lunch at the Special Forces Club in Knightsbridge to celebrate its 90 years in business. 

Star-studded launch for ECBS

04 Dec 2007

ECBS: We went, we saw and we were impressed with the inaugural Earls Court Boat Show (ECBS) at its launch on Friday November 30 as a stream of top names performed the opening ceremony, guided by ITN newsreader Katie Derham. 

Hmmmmm…

01 Dec 2007

ECBS: John Selman, sales and marketing director of Boat News was accosted by two young ladies outside Warwick Road tube station as he was making his way into the Earls Court Boat Show. 

NBS in Motor Show collaboration

04 Dec 2007

MOTOR SHOW: National Boat Shows (NBS) is to run an event in conjunction with the British International Motor Show (BIMS) at ExCeL in 2008. NBS will capitalise on the presence of the luxury brand car market by creating an Elite On-Water Collection of large luxury yachts. 

rightboat.com to power ybw.com boats for sale

04 Dec 2007

PARTNERSHIP: rightboat.com has partnered with ybw.com to power the new boat buying section on ybw.com Effective from February 2008, the exclusive partnership will see rightboat.com become the major online boat sales resource for ybw.com 

LBS exhibitor events programme

04 Dec 2007

EXHIBITOR EVENTS: Following on from the very successful Southampton Boat Show (SBS) exhibitor events programme, National Boat Shows (NBS) has set up a series of similar events for the London Boat Show.