Sail America recently announced some significant changes to our organization including a new partnership with NMMA and an agreement with Show Management to create the St. Petersburg Boat Show and Strictly Sail. These changes will help us to focus our efforts on building a stronger and healthier sailing market, bring financial stability to Sail America, and create greater value for our members.

Following the success of last year’s General Members Meeting, this year’s meeting on Oct. 10 at Phillips Restaurant in Annapolis will use a similar panel format to encourage a lively discussion on the future plans for Sail America and the sailing industry.

It has never been a better time to be a member of Sail America. Under the new partnership with NMMA, members now have access to a wide range of member benefits that will save you money and help you grow your business. Members qualify for significant discounts at Strictly Sail Pacific and have access to discounted member services.

Eighty-four percent of the sailing industry members rated as “excellent” or “very good” Sail America’s recent inaugural “Growth Through Innovation” conference presented by GE Capital Solutions and Sail America on June 11-12 in Newport, RI.

Excellent, accurate and up-to-date market research and analysis about current sailing and boating markets is a key benefit of Sail America membership.

Each Sail America member will receive the 2007 Recreational Sailing Statistical Abstract--A Special Report for Sail America Prepared by the National Marine Manufacturer’s Association (NMMA).

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) announced Sept. 2 that it will postpone the 2008 Liberty Boat Show to October 1-4, 2009 in an effort to provide a stronger show for exhibitors. It had been originally scheduled for Sept. 25-28, 2008. The 2009 show will be held at its originally scheduled location and venue: Liberty State Park’s Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, N.J., just minutes from Manhattan.

The newly formed St. Petersburg Boat Show and Strictly Sail™ is proving to be popular with exhibitors, who are quickly signing up for the December show that will be the largest on Florida’s Gulf Coast— and one of the top shows in the Southeast.

Exhibitor space applications were mailed in July for the nation’s largest indoor “all-sail” show, Strictly Sail Chicago, which sails into Navy Pier on Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2009, and for Strictly Sail Miami, the sailing component of “The World’s Greatest Boat Show,” which runs Feb. 12-16, 2009 at Miamarina at Bayside.

SailFest Baltimore returns for its second year in 2009 at the Baltimore Boat Show, offering sailors a special dedicated sailing section, including a wide selection of keelboats, catamarans, scows, skiffs, sails and rigging, sailing gear, and equipment.

Sail America’s Discover Sailing program introduced two new sailboats at boat shows this fall; The Hunter EDGE, and the LaserPerformance SB3. Discover Sailing is a national program run by Sail America that promotes the sailing lifestyle, introduces new people to sailing, and provides reliable, unbiased information about how to get started in sailing.

At the age of 100 years old, legendary yacht designer Olin J. Stephens passed away on Saturday, September 13, in Hanover, NH.

In the last century, Mr. Stephens designed more than 2,200 racing and cruising sailboats, from Lightnings to the J-class boat Ranger. He and his firm Sparkman and Stephens designed the winners of a total of eight...

Sailing Industry leaders will convene in Paris for the International Sailing Summit (ISS) on Dec. 4th, 2008 to network and share ideas for promoting participation in sailing throughout the world.

The 2008 Olympic Sailing Regatta concluded with some strong performances from Team USA. Twenty-five-year-old Anna Tunnicliffe (Plantation, Fla.) led the team on the water with a gold medal in the Laser Radial class, the first gold medal for a U.S. female sailor in 20 years. Twenty-four-year-old Zach Railey (Clearwater, Fla.) produced a strong performance in the Finn Class.

World leader in marine equipment, Lewmar has announced that Alliance Marine will be brought onboard to cover Lewmar distribution, sales and service in South Korea. The announcement is in support of Lewmar’s commitment to expand the boating equipment manufacture’s business globally, especially in the rapidly expanding powerboat market.

Island Packet Yachts President and owner Bob Johnson, owner and President recently announced several new staff positions and titles.

Will Dittmer, who has been with the company for a total of 13 years, has been promoted from his position as Customer Care Manager to Purchasing/Materials Manager. His extensive product knowledge will make him a valuable resource in this new position.