It seems as if every headline in the marine trade press these days have the words "profits down," "boat sales down" or "attendance down" in the title. While I know this isn’t really the case on a worldwide basis or in every segment of the market, there's no denying that we are facing one of the toughest domestic market environments in recent history.

GE Capital Solutions and Sail America will present the inaugural "Growth Through Innovation" Sailing Industry Conference and Regatta this June 11-13, in Newport, RI, at the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS).

Sail America welcomes three new Board members to its 17-person Board of Directors, who were confirmed at the Jan. 31 Board meeting in Chicago.

Nearly 20,000 attendees passed through the doors at Strictly Sail Chicago 2008, with total attendance very close to last year's show. The annual show was held Jan. 31-Feb. 3 at Navy Pier and showcased more than 150 sailboats, hundreds of sailing-specific accessory booths and 200 educational seminars.

Strictly Sail Miami drew over 20,000 attendees to Bayside's Miamarina from Feb. 14-18, down slightly from last year. The show's attendance, said organizers, also reflected the current challenging market, and a big rainstorm Sunday was believed to have kept thousands of potential attendees away.

Organizers have new floor plans for Strictly Sail Pacific, set to run from Wednesday, April 16 to Sunday, April 20 at the popular Jack London Square in Oakland, CA.

Attendance increased 6% at the expanded new SailFest at the 54th Baltimore Boat Show that ran from Jan. 23-27 at the Baltimore Convention Center with exhibitors pleased at the number of high-quality sailing prospects and the attention-getting display of sailboats on an indoor replica pier.

Winners of the annual 2007 John Southam Awards for Excellence in Media Communications were announced Feb. 14 by U.S. trade association Sail America and Chief Judge Sally Helme at the Miami International Boat Show and Strictly Sail media breakfast. 

Latitudes & Attitudes has begun offering a free online version of the monthly magazine plus a free online television network. In addition, the magazine's new TV show will begin airing in February on The Water Channel.

SAIL's annual Pittman Innovation Awards, named in honor the memory of former SAIL technical editor Freeman Pittman, who died in 1996 from ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease, recognize the most innovative products in the sailboat market.

Sailing magazines, including Cruising World, Sailing World and SAIL won a number of awards at the recent Boating Writers International Awards held at the Miami International Boat Show.

Gill's new award-winning Compressor Vest combines innovative, futuristic design with high-tech, ergonomic materials to offer sailors a highly effective buoyancy aid and personal flotation device (PFD) that is comfortable to wear.

North Sails and the O'pen BIC Class Association recently announced that North Sails has been selected to build the sails for the O'pen BIC.

The Wichard Company drew inspiration from ice climbing and mountaineering hardware to develop an innovative three-setting boom break system designed to slow boom movement during the potentially dangerous gybe maneuver.