He’s already been out on his 40-foot fishing boat several times this spring and plans to be back on Lake Erie again today.

Boating has been a stress-relieving tonic for the UPMC Hamot cardiologist for more than 30 years. He’s owned a half-dozen boats in his life, each one bigger than the next.

Ferraro’s current vessel is aptly named “Heartbeat” and is equipped with a design of electrocardiogram waves that his daughter came up with.

The 60-year-old Millcreek Township resident has a handful of friends whom he has fished with for years, a crew that includes an orthodontist, a business owner, and a couple of retirees angling for summer steelhead and walleye.

Ferraro’s boating season begins in late April and ends in October. Weather permitting, he hopes to be out on the water about 70 times this year.

“It’s just a real escape from the everyday grind,” he said. “It’s so beautiful and peaceful to go out on the lake, even if you don’t catch anything.”

Take a look at Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay today.

If the sun is out and the wind low — temperatures in the upper 70s are in the region’s forecast — our waters will be teeming with boats.

This weekend is a mere appetizer, as the coming Memorial Day holiday is the unofficial start to summer and the boating season.

Some local boat owners, like Ferraro, have already indulged in the area pastime, while some are in the final stages of getting their boats prepped and in the water.

Boating’s popularity is sharply on the rise.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) estimated that 83 million people participated in boating in the United States in 2011, an increase of 10 percent from 2010.

There are more than 12 million registered boats in the country, according to the NMMA.

New research compiled by the organization shows an improving recreational boating industry — 2011 marked the first increase in retail sales of boats, accessories and marine services since 2006, the year before the U.S. economy officially sank into a recession.

Michael Lynch, general manager of the Erie Yacht Club, said members have been eager to get in their boats since late March.

“They’re very excited,” Lynch added. “The mild winter and early spring has heightened their excitement to get out there.”

The club, 1 Ravine Drive, hosted an outdoor “sock burning” party on March 21. About 200 of the club’s 1,300 members listened to a band on a 73-degree day, and a traditional barrel filled with wood burned their winter socks.

“The inference is that people wore the same socks all winter long, and in the boating community, traditionally boaters don’t wear socks after the first day of spring,” Lynch said.

The club, which opened in 1895 with 65 members, has 372 boat slips and 35 personal-watercraft docks completely filled.

Lynch said most, if not all, of the members will have their boats prepped and in the water by May 28, Memorial Day.

“We’ve had years recently where its been sunny but chilly and windy on Memorial Day. Last year, the whole weekend was gorgeous,” Lynch said. “We’re hoping for the same nice weather again this year.”

Eric Schlabach, a manager at Bay Harbor Marina, 726 W. Bayfront Parkway, said there are only a handful of vacancies in the combined 500 slips at the marina’s east and west basins.

“Many of our boaters live on their boats from now through September,” Schlabach said. “They go to work, and they come back to their boat. Makes for a really nice summer.”

On May 11, Schlabach slowly drove a 20-foot-high steel marine travel lift over to a parking spot in the east basin’s lot.

In that spot sat Drownsizing, a 40-foot Sea Ray owned by Jim and Mary Ann Curry. The lift can hoist up to 40,000 pounds, so it had no problem handling the Wesleyville couple’s 18,000-pound powerboat. A half-hour later, Schlabach had the boat lowered into Presque Isle Bay.

The Currys, both 64 and the semiretired owners of Curry’s Spectacle Shop in Wesleyville, plan to take Drownsizing out today for their first voyage of this boating season.

The avid boaters have owned a half-dozen boats since 1974. Drownsizing, which they’ve had for about three years, can comfortably entertain 10 to 12 friends and relatives on fun trips for swimming, fishing and watching the region’s picturesque sunsets.

“If you’re able to have a boat, living here this close to Lake Erie, to not take advantage of this great a lake would be silly,” Jim Curry said. “You’ve got the sun, the water, and a perfect way to relax.”

GERRY WEISS can be reached at 870-1884 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNweiss.

“The body of a man – confirmed as one of the three crew members of the
boat – was recovered by the Coastguard at approximately 5.30pm yesterday
(Friday).

“Next of kin have been made aware and the coroner has been informed.

“Our thoughts are with the family members of all three crew at this very
difficult time.

“The incident is being investigated by the Marine Accident Investigation
Branch in conjunction with Dorset Police.”

The coastguard began an extensive search after the crab vessel was reported
missing at about 6pm on Thursday after failing to return home.

On Friday night HMS York, a Type 42 destroyer, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Wave
Ruler, and US Navy supply vessel 2nd Lt John P Bobo also joined in the
search along with coastguard helicopters and lifeboat crews.

The three missing men were “popular lads” in the tightknit Weymouth
fishing community.

Andy Alcock, 59, secretary of the Weymouth and Portland Fisherman and Licensed
Boatman Association, said local fishermen had tried phoning the men’s mobile
phones when they first heard the boat was missing.

“The lads had tried to phone the vessel and got just cut-off lines, all
three mobile phones just cut off, which is never a good sign,” he said.

He told how the search had been scaled up by the coastguard into a full-blown
search and rescue as Thursday evening progressed.

“As the evening panned out into darkness it got more and more serious,”
he said.

“It then became an all-night vigil to try and find the vessel.

“Weymouth is a small place and you can walk around this town on any given
day and you can look at any boat and you’d know the names of everybody on
that boat and these three lads were no different.

“They were very popular and they’d worked on other vessels in the harbour.”

Mr Prowse and Mr MacFarlane, nicknamed Farley, are both believed to have young
families.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it received no communication
from the crew before the boat disappeared.

It is not the first time the Purbeck Isle has got into trouble – in January
2011 the then crew had to be airlifted to safety when the boat began taking
on water near to Chesil Beach, west of Portland. The vessel subsequently
underwent a major refit .

It emerged the Purbeck Isle was rescued last year after taking on water off
Chesil Beach, west of Portland.

“The vessel was subject to a breakdown back in January 2011,” said
Fred Caygill, a spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

“It had a problem where it was taking on water. They called for
assistance, the lifeboat was launched, a helicopter was scrambled and they
were evacuated off the boat and the vessel was taken under tow back here to
Weymouth.

“That vessel has undergone a major refit and has worked quite steadily
since.

“Obviously, we are very keen to get to the bottom of what has happened
here.”

SINGAPORE: As a child, Scott Glen Sydney only got into sailing to please his parents, who wanted him to pick up a sport.

But two years later, the Olympic bug bit him for the first time when he watched in awe at how Kevin Lim, a family friend, competed for Malaysia in the Laser Standard at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Subsequently, competing at the Olympics became a lifelong ambition for the Singaporean.

Now, Sydney faces an anxious wait to see if he gets the nod to represent his country in the Laser class at this year’s London Olympics from July 27 to Aug 12, where the sailing regatta will be held in Weymouth and Portland.

The 21-year-old earned for Singapore one of 11 Olympic berths available to the silver fleet at last December’s World Laser Championships in Perth. But it is up to SingaporeSailing to decide who eventually goes.

“It is a little frustrating, but we’ve always known the policy from early last year,” Sydney told TODAY in a phone interview on Friday from Finland, where he is on a short family vacation.

“So it’s not a surprise and we’ve coped with it. A lot of other countries have chosen their representatives… but SingaporeSailing have their reasons for leaving it this late, and I’m sure that by doing it this way, we will choose the best sailor possible for the Games.

“People who peak at the start of the year may not peak during the Games itself, and I understand where they (SingaporeSailing) are coming from and respect that.”

Presently, Singapore have earned a place each in the Laser Standard and Laser Radial classes at the Olympics – Elizabeth Yin clinched the Republic a spot in the Laser Radial last year.

SingaporeSailing will finalise its squad for the Olympics after the Sail for Gold regatta in Weymouth later this month, which Sydney will compete in.

He started strongly at the World Championships in Boltenhagen, Germany last week and nearly qualified for the gold fleet, but missed out by a single spot before eventually finishing 23rd in the silver fleet and 79th overall out of 168 boats.

Team-mate and 2007 Laser 4.7 world champion Colin Cheng, another contender for the Olympics, finished one place behind.

“Perhaps I got a bit conservative and didn’t trust my instincts enough, and should’ve done what I did for the first four days (of racing),” said Sydney.

“It might be seen as a slight weakness, but it could also be seen as potential as I came so close to qualifying for the gold fleet, which has not be done by any Singaporean at the Laser Worlds before.”

The University of Sydney sophomore – majoring in financial mathematics – has taken six months off from his studies to qualify for the London Games, and fulfil a childhood dream and emulate four-time Olympian Lim (1996 to 2008).

“When I saw him at the Sydney Olympics, he was second in the last race and I just thought: ‘Wow, imagine if I was there!’,” said Sydney.

“That particular moment gave me the inspiration to try and be an Olympian. Now it is so close, it’s getting really nervous but also exciting at the same time.” – TODAY

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Dog Dayz Celebration

Eliot Community Service Department, in collaboration with Almost Home Rescue of Maine, will hold a Dog Dayz of Summer celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 19, at the Eliot Boat Basin. There’ll be music, games, vendors, raffles and lots more. Almost Home Rescue will be there with dogs available for adoption. Booths are available to rent for this event, contact the ECSD for more information. No retractable leashes. Suggested donation of $1 per person or $5 per family. For event details, contact the Eliot Community Service Department at (207) 451-9334 or visit www.eliotcsd.org. For information on dogs available for adoption visit www.almosthomerescue.net.

Community center grand opening

Kittery Recreation Department: announces the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the new Kittery Community Center at Frisbee Common from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 19. For information about the event, call (207) 439-3800.

Plant sales abound

Brentwood Gardeners’ annual plant sale on Saturday, May 19, at Mary E. Bartlett Library, 22 Dalton Road, Brentwood. Sale will begin at 9 a.m. and continue until noon or sell-out, whichever comes first. Call co-presidents Torie Freeman, 778-3748, or Linda Rousseau, 580-2358.

Hampton Garden Club Plant and Bake sale from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Town Hall parking lot, 100 Winnacunnet Road. Event will include perennials, herbs, house plants, bake good and raffle items. Call Sandy Taube at 926-7914.

New Castle Great Island Garden Club plant sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, May 19, rain or shine, in the Recreation Building, Route 1B. GIGC members design, buy, plant, water and weed these gardens as volunteers. For details, call Ann Tarlton, at 319 8660.

Rye Driftwood Garden Club’s annual plant sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, May 18, and from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 19, at Rye Congregational Church in Rye Center. Perennials and herbs will be offered, raffle, bake sale and silent auction. Call 926-4616.

South Berwick, Maine: Second annual perennial plant sale at the Hamilton House in South Berwick from 10 a.m. till noon, Saturday, May 19 and Saturday, May 26, at Hamilton House garden cottage, rain or shine. Call Southern Maine office of Historic New England at (207) 384-2454.

York, Maine: Old York Garden Club’s 42nd annual plant sale from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 19, rain or shine, at Grant House in Goodrich Park, 200 U.S. Route 1, York, Maine. Hundreds of plants, mostly perennial flowering species grown in club members’ gardens, will be available for purchase. This year for the second year in a row, tomato plants will be for sale as well. Free parking.

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The wreck of the boat was found 10 miles off Portland

A wreck found on the seabed off the Dorset coast has been identified as the missing Purbeck Isle fishing vessel.

Survey ship Odyssey Explorer discovered the wreck lying 10 miles off Portland at a depth of 50m.

Lifeboats are searching for two missing fishermen after the body of one of the three crewman was found at sea on Friday evening.

Dorset Police have confirmed the man who died was David McFarlane, 34, the skipper of the crabber.

Coastguards began an extensive search after the vessel was reported missing at about 18:00 BST on Thursday.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it had received no communication from the crew before the boat disappeared.

Weymouth’s mayor and mayoress, Graham and Mary Winter have laid flowers on the harbour wall at the boat’s mooring.

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A minute’s silence has been held in Weymouth for the three crewmen

Mayoress Winter, who broke down in tears at the harbourside, said: “As a mother myself my heart goes out to all the families and their friends, we’re devastated it’s so sad.”

‘Popular lads’

The search effort, which had involved a coastguard helicopter, lifeboats, a Royal Navy Destroyer and a US Navy supply vessel, was centred on a 10-mile area off the coast of Portland Bill.

Andy Alcock, 59, secretary of the Weymouth and Portland Fisherman and Licensed Boatman Association, said local fishermen had tried phoning the men’s mobile phones.

“The lads had tried to phone the vessel and got just cut off lines, all three mobile phones just cut off, which is never a good sign,” he said.

All three men had worked on other vessels in the harbour and were “popular lads”, said Mr Alcock.

In January 2011, the then crew of the Purbeck Isle had to be airlifted to safety when the boat began taking on water.

It is understood the vessel was then given a major refit before it went back into service.

BEIJING (Reuters) – North Korean officials have demanded payment before they will release Chinese fishing boats with a total of 29 men onboard, Chinese media reported on Thursday, in a rare public spat between the neighbors and longtime allies.

The Chinese owners of the boats said they were seized by a North Korean gunboat on May 8 in the Yellow Sea, between China and North Korea, the Beijing News reported.

The owners said the vessels were fishing in Chinese waters. North Korea has not made any public comment on the case.

The North Koreans holding the boats and sailors demanded payment of 1.2 million yuan ($189,800) for releasing them, then cut their price to 900,000 yuan and set a deadline of Thursday, Zhang Dechang, owner of one of the captured boats told the newspaper, which called the demand a “ransom”.

The 29 sailors who were on board the boats are now in North Korea, said one captured seaman in a call with an owner, the newspaper added.

China is the key economic and diplomatic backer of North Korea, seeing it as a buffer against U.S. influence in the region. Beijing is a major supplier of food aid and oil to the North, which remains isolated by sanctions over its nuclear ambitions and rocket launches.

China has been quietly pressing North Korea to scrap plans for a third nuclear test, sources with knowledge of closed-door talks between the countries have told Reuters.

Pyongyang has sought to shore up ties with Beijing through frequent visits and praise of their friendship, but the North can also be resentful about what it sees as infringements of its territory, and Chinese dominance of relations.

It was unclear whether the seizure of the boats was authorized by the North Korean government, or was the initiative of local officials.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry told the Beijing News that the incident was a “fisheries case”, and will be resolved as soon as possible. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately answer phone calls and faxes.

(Reporting by Sally Huang and Chris Buckley; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

Springfield, IL (PRWEB) May 18, 2012

Scott Tucker, sales manager at The Lake Springfield Marina in central Illinois has been enjoying the recent warm weather as the early onset of spring has triggered an unexpected jump in the number of boaters taking to the water earlier than usual this year. The unseasonably mild weather has had staff at the marina pulling boats out of storage way ahead of the spring time schedule which is likely to lead to increased business for the sales and maintenance departments of the marina.

The sales manager recently told the Springfield based State Journal-Register that “We definitely had an early start to the year. Our slips did not officially open until April 1st but we started pulling boats out of storage about four weeks ago”. Although the slips are nowhere near capacity just yet the increased activity around the marina has meant they are filling up a lot quicker than they usually do at this time of year.

Memorial Day weekend is seen by most recreational boaters as the start of the boating season, but the extremely mild winter has led to the fisherman of central Illinois barely having a winter break this year. The increased number of boats leaving storage and hitting the water has meant more boaters are getting their boats tuned up and prepared for the season which suggests people are making the most of the good weather. According to the State Journal-Register Scott Tucker said that “You might as well get out and use your boat while the weather is nice, and people have been taking advantage of it.”

The contemporary blog homeandrecreation.org showcases a diverse range of home and recreation related news and views to anyone that has access to the web. Homeandrecreation.org aims to reach out to everybody in the family by offering a little bit of something to everyone. Find out more by visiting homeandrecreation.org

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WEYMOUTH, England, May 19 (UPI) — Searchers Friday found a body and what appeared to be a sonar image of a boat off southwest England, a day after a fishing vessel was reported missing.

The Purbeck Isle, a 36-foot wooden whelker, had been expected to return to Weymouth on the English Channel coast Thursday evening, the Express reported. The three men on board were the captain, David MacFarland, 37, and Robert Prowse and Jack Craig, both 22.

Investigators believe the boat, built about 50 years ago, was swamped off the Isle of Portland and sank. What appears to be a wreck of the right size was located on the seafloor using sonar imaging.

Maxine Prowse, Robert’s mother, said her son had three children.

“He’s a hard-working lad — he’s always down on the harbor in the summer crabbing and helping holidaymakers do it too,” she said.

A search began Thursday evening using a Navy helicopter and three ships. It was suspended at about 2 a.m. Friday and resumed at dawn.

But here’s a bright light: The state led the nation in boat sales in 2011.

For most people, boats are the ultimate aspirational purchase: They don’t need them. They want them.

So when boats start selling, it indicates that buyers are more optimistic about where the economy is headed.

Florida’s recreational boat sales rose 34 percent in 2011, according to data released this week from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. Florida ranks fifth in the nation for growth and first in the nation for total sales, with about $1.5 billion.

Boat, accessory and marine services sales went up 6 percent nationally, the first growth year since 2006.

“It’s a little incline, but it’s better than a decline,” said Roger Taylor, national sales director for boat builder EdgeWater Power Boats.

After years of recession, Florida boat dealers are predicting a slow but steady recovery, with 2012 topping 2011 sales. The industry is still not where it was prerecession, but the outlook is positive, dealers say.

Now that the economy is on the mend, more people are willing to spend money on recreational items, and banks are making it easier for folks to take out loans for boats.

“(Buyers) kind of hit pause with the uncertainty in the economy,” said Ellen Hopkins, director of communications for the manufacturers association. “They don’t want to wait anymore.”

Mike McLamb, chief financial officer of Clearwater-based boat retail giant MarineMax, told analysts last month that Florida, once a huge drag on the retailer’s business, was more help than hindrance as of late. MarineMax shares closed at $9.42 on Friday, up from less than $1.25 in 2009.

“I would say that we had stronger growth out of Florida incrementally than we did out of the rest of the country,” McLamb said.

Taylor of EdgeWater Power Boats was at the Tampa Bay Boat Show at the Florida State Fairgrounds on Friday. He described it as more of a buyers’ market than in recent years when it seemed like a recreational event.

“This is less of a baby stroller crowd and more of a buying crowd,” he said.

Taylor hadn’t sold any boats as of Friday afternoon, the first day of the boat show, but he said he was about to close on a few. He expects even more customers to stop by today and Sunday.

Shows like the Tampa Bay Boat Show, which is sponsored every year by the Tampa Bay Times, are one way for dealers to market their merchandise.

Boats of all shapes and sizes, from small skiffs to pontoon boats to larger cabin boats, were packed into the fairgrounds Expo Hall. They ranged from about $15,000 to almost $200,000.

According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association study, aluminum power fishing boats and pontoon boats are leading the industry’s recovery, with a 4 percent increase in sales in 2011. Other power boat and sailboat sales rose 0.8 percent.

That’s an accurate reflection of boat sales in Florida, said Paul D’Auria, vice president of Sunray Marine, a boat dealership that has locations in Largo and Holiday.

“Throughout the years, fishing boats have always been more popular in Florida,” he said.

But recently, some of the most popular models are multipurpose, hybrid-type boats. They are crossovers between fishing boats and the larger sport boats with bigger decks, making them more family-friendly, D’Auria said.

Boats 25 feet and shorter are the bestselling, he said, because of their prices and fuel efficiency.

“That’s what drives people’s thinking today, and that’s in every industry,” D’Auria said.

Sales for larger boats with cabins are still a bit sluggish, Taylor said, but on the rise nonetheless.

“Sales are definitely going in the right direction,” he said.

A multi-agency search is underway for a fishing boat and her three crew after she went missing last night off Weymouth.

The boat’s bait supplier raised the alarm after they failed to make contact with the crew on Thursday.

The 11m traditional wooden cargo boat, called Purbeck Isle, is crewed by her owner/skipper and two others, described as “very experienced” by Andy Alcock, secretary of the Weymouth and Portland Fisherman and Licensed Boatman Association.

Alcock told BBC News: “At the moment we are still hopeful. Weather conditions were reasonable – there is a liferaft onboard to they could be up or down the channel somewhere.”

Two Royal Navy ships, an American Navy supply vessel and a commercial survey vessel joined the coastguard and RNLI in the search.

Cindy Rodaway, Watch Manager at Portland Coastguard, said the helicopter searched Purbeck Isle’s known fishing grounds last night. She explained: “We have also searched all evening utilising the skills of the lifeboat crew and the crews of the Navy warships and the electronic search aids at their disposal.”

According to the BBC, the crew was rescued previously in January 2011 when she began taking on water off Chesil Beach, west of Portland.

A statement from the coastguard declares: “No communication has been made with the vessel, or any trace found since the fishing vessel was observed by other fishermen departing the port.”

The search continues.

Watch a video of the rescue from January 2011 below: