NEWSFULLTANK
HAPPY PANDA
Fischer Panda
UK is among the
first companies
to achieve the
ISO 9001:
certification for
quality management systems.
The systems supplier has
received the new accreditation
for its purpose-built facility
in Verwood, Dorset, following
an assessment by the British
Standards Institution.CAT BAC K
Charles
Nethersole has
been reunited
with his boat
five months
after being forced
to abandon ship. He and his
crew were rescued from his
upturned trimaran Leopard
after activating his GlobalFix
iPRO EPIRB. Over five months
later, the boat was spotted
and has been recovered in
‘good stable condition’.SUPERYACHT SNATCHED
A former Texan billionaire had his
217ft superyacht repossessed by
Goldman Sachs after using it as
collateral for a $32m loan. The
first thing that the bank had to
do was spend $67,000 filling it up
with diesel to keep the generators
running. The yacht is now for sale.MINI MARIE CELESTE HEADS
FOR SHIPPING LANES
Gosport and Fareham Inshore
Rescue Service (GAFIRS) was
called by the
UK Coastguard
to reports of
an empty 12ft
wooden sailing
dinghy drifting
outside Portsmouth Harbour
entrance. The boat was believed
to have slipped its mooring in
Benbridge unattended, and was
on course to drift into the paths
of large vessels entering and
exiting the harbour. GAFIRS
towed it back to safety.Big three toast sales successes
Princess, Sunseeker and Fairline to launch a spree of new models
EMPTYTA N K
E FE FRodman dealer takes on cats
RBS Marine to sell Kingfi sher powercats in the UK
RBS Marine has announced it will
be selling Kingfisher catamarans in
the UK. The Birdham-based business
already has a long-established
Rodman Sports Fisher and Rodman
Muse luxury cruiser dealership.
Built by PDL Fabrications in
Portsmouth, the range comprises
a Minicat series from 3.7m-5.1m and
a Powercat series spanning 6.2m-5m.
Ben Stevens, managing director at
RBS, told us, “We’ve been looking for
a great-quality entry-level boat for
some time and we’ve been seriously
impressed by[...] Kingfisher and PDL”.UK NEWS
Sunseeker turns BLUE
Poole builder announces
charity partnership PWORLD NEWS
Bénéteau Boat Club
First single-brand club
in France launched PTHE TRUTH ABOUT
The Shipping Forecast
MBY goes behind the
scenes at the Met Offi ce PAll three of Britain’s biggest motor
boat builders announced strong
trading and a raft of new models at
the recent Southampton Boat Show.
Antony Sheriff, executive chairman
of Princess Yachts, reported an 85%
like-for-like increase on 2016 with
order books reaching a record £0.
billion at retail value.
“Our production capacity is now
100% sold for 2017, 90% sold for
2018, and 30% sold for 2019”, said
Sheriff. He also used the show to
announce two new V Class models- the V65 and V60 – and an all-new
S78 with six more launches before the
end of 2018.
Everyone who buys a new Princess
will also be covered by a free two-year
medical and security assistance
service called Princess Lifeline. Call
the number at any time and wherever
you are in the world, an operator will
arrange medical support.
The sales success story was
repeated over at Sunseeker, where
CEO Phil Popham spoke of a 25%
increase in revenue and an order
book that already accounts for half of
2018’s production. Popham stated,
“Our robust new product development
process has helped us achieve this
success, delivering exciting new
models such as the hugely successful
Manhattan 52 – our fastest-selling
model ever – as well as the Predator
57 MkII, Manhattan 66 and the new
Sunseeker 76 Yacht.”
He also promised a move back
towards big sportscruisers includinga Predator 50 and 74 for next year,
and confirmed that the current five-
year plan includes going bigger as
well as the much-anticipated launch
of a new high-performance model.
Not to be left out, Fairline revealed
that it had secured a new waterside
production facility in the UK, enabling
it to build boats over 80ft for the
first time in its history. Until now,
the range has been capped by
road transport restrictions from its
landlocked factory in Oundle. The
first model to benefit will be a new
Squadron 82 due out in late 2019.
This will be preceded by the Targa
43 in spring 2018 and a new Squadron
64 in January 2019. See more on this
story and the new 63 GTO in World
News and our Quick Spin on page 18.Prices start at under £10,000 in the
Minicat range while a twin-engined
Kingfisher 670 with twin 100hpoutboard motors and a typical
specification will retail at less
than £55,000 including VAT.7Busy pontoons at the recent
Southampton Boat Show
refl ect current sales successesKingfi sher’s range of
rugged aluminium
powercats stretches
from 3.7m to 6.2mPhoto
: Miller Race Photos