Bruce Williams of Captain's Cove Bridgeport had the opportunity of speaking to News 12 about the advantages of boating during a crisis such as this!  Watch the great clip here!

As Business Remains Strong, Boating Industry in Connecticut Looks to the Future

BY  CATE HEWITT

MAY 12, 2020  

 TOPIC: MARITIME

Set against COVID-19-related closures that have left many business sectors struggling, the recreational boating industry and its financial infrastructure appear to be weathering the storm better than most, at least in the short term.

“Industry people are still moving forward. The lending is still there. All of the components are there but I don’t know how we’re going to evolve down the road. It’s all dependent on how the disease progresses,” said Jim Desnoyers, an agent with boatloan.com who works in conjunction with Intercoastal Financial Group Company in Noank. 

Desnoyers, who has more than 20 years of experience on the lending side of the industry, said the public appetite for boating has been strong despite the pandemic, and perhaps partly because of it.

“The great positive is people are still buying boats and financing, planning on it, still looking ahead. I think that’s the most optimistic and a great sign. Because the boat is a little bit of a sanctuary, it really makes sense,” he said.

Evan Cusson, sales manager at Atlantic Outboard in Westbrook, said that when the pandemic shutdowns started, sales were “kind of slow,” but that trend has reversed itself. 

“Lately sales have picked up, and have been picking up ever since because boating is really the only thing you can do with social distancing besides sitting at home in the house. You can’t go shopping, you can’t go to the movies, so I think a lot of people are realizing that boating is a great way to social distance with your family,” he said.

Atlantic Outboard has two marinas with about 100 slips total and “nobody is cancelling,” said Cusson. Customers are also asking to put their boats in the water now instead of waiting for the traditional end of the school year. 

“People are saying I want my boat in now instead of for Memorial Day, which is usually the big rush,” he said. 

Timing

The boat buying and selling business has a long cycle that starts as early as the fall when owners take their boats out of the water or send them to warm climes, like Florida, for the winter. The fall is the time to begin to sell this year’s boat and look for a new one, or a new-used model, for the next season. 

Jonathan Smith, a certified yacht broker at Prestige Yacht sales in Mystic, said that since many customers ordered boats last fall for delivery this spring, his flow of business hasn’t changed dramatically.

“If people want a new boat, they order it in the fall and have the manufacturer build it to receive it in the spring,” he said. “One of our suppliers is from Europe and they shut down. But we had boats ordered in the fall for this season and we haven’t had any of them held up. The boats were completed and the last boat we were expecting coming in next week or so.’ 

Customers also buy new at boat shows during the first three months of the year. This year’s volume of business was nearly equal to last year, partly due to the timing of the pandemic, said Desnoyers. 

“Usually April, May and June are the busiest three months of the year and it’s the same as last year,” he said. “It’s a hopeful sign in the market. The application flow may obviously taper off the longer we’re into it. But, we had a very busy January, February and March.”

Next year’s inventory

Boat manufacturers have been shut down since the end of March and that will impact the supply chain for boat dealerships mostly likely through the rest of the year, said Cusson. 

“The biggest thing for our industry is that we’re selling inventory and we’re not able to replace that inventory,” he said. “We’re selling what we have in stock. The boat manufacturers are very aware of this and I personally think they’ll be all caught up by the end of 2020.” 

There will likely be a greater demand for used boats this summer because there won’t be as many new boats available. And Cusson said he’s already strategizing about how to replenish what’s in stock. 

“This fall, we definitely are thinking about ways to increase inventory sooner than we usually do, to be able to offer inventory to our clients. Usually we start to run out of boats toward the end of the summer into the fall and then replenish with the new models for the spring and summer, so I think we’ll be looking to get more inventory than we usually do.” 

Smarter lending

The 2007-2008 recession resulted in tighter requirements for borrowing in the marine industry, said Desnoyers. Before 2006, borrowers with good credit could borrow up to $350,000. Now banks require a 700 credit score or above, a down payment of 20 percent over $100,000 and will analyze a customer’s debt-to-credit ratio, income level and available collateral.

The marine sector is now benefiting from these changes, he said.

“The banks are operating as usual. My average loan is probably about $100,000 to $125,000. If you get a smaller loan for $35,000 or $50,000 and if there’s no survey required then it’s just a matter of getting the paperwork into the bank, getting the approval, doing the due diligence on the collateral and then we can close,” he said. “ That process is still intact and still moving forward.” 

With the pandemic, banks are working with customers more on deferment or interest-only programs, though Desnoyers said he hasn’t had any defaults on loans so far.

The numbers 

Boat registrations expire each year on April 1, but this year the Department of Motor Vehicles, which handles the registrations, has extended the deadline for 90 days to accommodate the statewide shutdown to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

Yolanda Cooley, of the Boating Division of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said that although active registrations had dropped from 74,210 on May 1, 2019 to 67,092 on May 1, 2020, she saw it as a positive sign.

“I thought that was great considering that COVID started mid-March. I feel like it’s a good pulse that [so] many people, considering the circumstances, still registered and renewed their boats,” said Cooley. “Honestly, as a boater, it’s the only way to social distance.”

The number of boats registered in Connecticut has decreased steadily over the last three years, according to Cooley. 94,691 boats were registered in 2017, which dropped to 93,271 in 2018 and to 92,175 boats in 2019.

Future unknown   

Ned Sawyer, north east manager of Maritime Insurance International in Mystic, said the pandemic has caused a slowdown in the transportation of boats by land and sea. 

“This time of year we see a lot of boats that get purchased in Florida and the southeast that are to be brought to northeast area normally by tractor trailer, but that seems to have been delayed and there seem to be some hardships on that side of it,” Sawyer said. “We’re seeing some of the navigation restrictions changed because of COVID-19. We also have boats that are stuck in the Caribbean that can’t get out of the Caribbean or can’t get into certain islands or the Bahamas, we’re seeing navigation that’s a big part of this that’s being changed.” 

Rather than penalizing boat owners, insurance companies are granting extensions to “lay-up” time, or the time the boat is out of the water, and the state insurance departments are placing moratoriums on cancellation of policies for nonpayment. 

Sawyer said his main worry is the duration of the pandemic. 

“If it’s 60 to 90 days, then things are somewhat back to normal and everyone is having a good boating season, then we’ll be fine. But, if this extends into the fall, I don’t know with the boating industry how long it can sustain the closures,” he said. 

John Miklus, president of the American Institute of Marine Underwriters, said he was looking at the longer term implications.

“I’m not sure what you call longer term — I’m talking six to 12 months out. I’m not sure where people are going to be vis-a-vis recreational boating because I think there’s got to be a hit on the industry just from the economic difficulties that COVID-19 has brought on.” 

He said it was too soon to tell how the recreational boating industry will fare. 

“I would come at it from an economic angle. Owning a boat is a bit of a luxury. If you’ve lost your job or you’re struggling to make ends meet, your boat is going to be something that you’re going to let go. You’re going to want to keep your house before you keep your boat,” he said.

###

Governor Lamont's Executive Order 7BB

Effective at 8:00 p.m. on April 21, 2020, any person in a public place in Connecticut who is unable to or does not maintain a safe social distance of approximately six feet from every other person shall cover their mouth and nose with a mask or cloth face-covering.   See the Order for additional information.

Robert Noonan Webinar Slides - Presentation April 2nd

HERE

Member Question:  I'm hearing rumors of closing the waterways to boats and boaters? 

Answer: In some areas there are restrictions.  On today's Recreational Boating Leadership Council (RBLC) call, this was discussed at length and like the curve of the virus itself, more restrictions may follow. We will keep you posted.

• Florida just announced further restrictions after closing boat ramps and public marinas on a county by county basis.  Late this afternoon the Marine Industries of South Florida (MIASF) reported that only boats with commercial fishing licenses would be allowed to go out from Marinas.  Private docks were not impacted.  However this is fluid
  
• Maryland's DNR provided further Guidance
• Newport Harbor issued a quarantine order for arriving watercraft
• Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) put out some helpful information Here.

Some mornings, we need an uplifting story....

By - Andrew Beaton - Wall Street Journal

Photo: adam hagy/Reuters

"At 3:38 a.m. Wednesday morning, the New England Patriots’ team plane departed from an unusual locale: Shenzhen, China. On board the Boeing 767, in the cargo hold that used to be home to Tom Brady’s duffel bags, were 1.2 million N95 masks bound for the U.S.

Video and pictures of the event show workers in masks and full-body suits at Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport loading box after box of the scarce and valuable personal protective equipment onto a red, white and blue plane emblazoned with the Patriots logo and “6X CHAMPIONS.”

The plane was permitted to be on the ground in China for a maximum of three hours, people familiar with the matter said, and the crew was required to stay on the plane while a ground crew loaded the cargo. It took 2 hours and 57 minutes. On Thursday, that plane will land somewhere more familiar: Boston Logan International Airport.

The story of this remarkable delivery, based on documents and interviews with people involved in the operation, is a window into the frenzied scramble by states to acquire life-saving equipment needed to battle the coronavirus pandemic. The process involves not just tracking down goods, but also tapping intermediaries and calling in favors to navigate a dense global bureaucracy that the pandemic has virtually paralyzed.

As the country and the medical system have grappled with responding to the virus, one of the greatest pressure points has been the shortage of N95 masks, critical equipment to protect against its spread. Demand has significantly outpaced supply, putting health-care workers and patients at even greater risk.

Massachusetts’ quest to acquire these masks was a tense, weekslong saga that began with the state’s governor and winded through embassies, private partners and the U.S.’s most successful football franchise. After a

layover in Alaska and an anxious process to win approval from Chinese officials, the plane was given permission to land in China to collect the masks.

“I’ve never seen so much red tape in so many ways and obstacles that we had to overcome,” said Robert Kraft, the Patriots’ owner. “In today’s world, those of us who are fortunate to make a difference have a significant responsibility to do so with all the assets we have available to us.”

The effort began with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, who was concerned about the state’s mask supply and, two weeks ago, believed he had struck a deal to acquire more than a million of them from a collection of Chinese manufacturers. But officials had to figure out how to get them shipped out of China at a time when unusual cargo shipments out of the country can be especially tricky.

“I just have to get them here,” he told a longtime friend.

That longtime friend was Jonathan Kraft, Robert Kraft’s son, who holds two jobs that became highly relevant to the proceedings. Jonathan Kraft is the chairman of the board at Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the country’s most renowned facilities. He’s also the Patriots’ president, and the team had something it thought might be of help: a giant airplane.

There were tough questions to resolve. Robert and Jonathan Kraft first had to check if the plane was ready and able to make such a lengthy journey on such short notice. There was also the fact that the team’s Boeing 767 is a passenger plane built to carry Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, not massive stores of cargo.

Then, most critically, they had to secure permission to land in China—a delicate feat during this global pandemic. Even if they received the proper permits, they were worried the pilots would be required by China to quarantine for 14 days before returning.

The primary issue was the simplest: getting the right to land the 767. Gov. Baker, the U.S. State Department, Robert Kraft and others sent letters to China’s consul general in New York requesting the special permits. The letters, dated March 24 to 30, ask for waivers to allow the humanitarian mission and state that no member of the crew would leave the aircraft.

By last Friday night, the crew had moved to Wilmington, Ohio, because the plane needed an avionics upgrade for the international trip. The mission received waivers from China to land and do so without quarantining—nobody would be on board besides the necessary flight crew—but they were told the crew still needed visas. So the entire group scrambled to a local pharmacy and took pictures for the application. The pictures were flown to New York to be taken to the Chinese consulate, and then flown back to Ohio. Huang Ping, China’s consul general in New York, proved to be a major ally in the effort to get the rush jobs done, including by opening the consulate over the weekend to get the visas processed in time, people familiar with the matter said.

Next, the plane headed to Alaska. The only breaks the crew took from then on were for mandatory rest and downtime. As a precaution, the crew included maintenance people and spare parts so they could solve any potential issues in China without people on the ground.

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In addition to handling the logistics and the plane, the Kraft family had agreed to pay $2 million, or approximately half the cost of the goods. The order of 1.7 million N95 masks was produced by various manufacturers across the country. “What we needed,” said Jim Nolan, who spearheaded the logistics as the COO of Kraft Sports and Entertainment, “were boots on the ground to gather the goods and get them to the right place.”

They needed even more than that: the products needed to be counted, inspected and then quickly ushered through customs. Through intermediaries, people familiar with the matter said, they were connected to executives at Chinese tech giant Tencent, who pledged a crew of more than a dozen people. Over the course of several days, the Tencent team mobilized to inspect and aggregate the masks. Some facilities had less than promised and were still waiting on the production to be complete. The crew stayed with the goods overnight to make sure nothing happened to them before taking them to the Shenzhen airport and shuttling them through customs.

By early Wednesday morning on the East Coast, the Patriots’ 767 had landed in Shenzhen from Alaska. It stayed grounded for 2 hours and 57 minutes—just within the three-hour window the crew was given. Because cargo wasn’t allowed on parts of the passenger plane, only 1.2 million of the masks fit. The rest, which is being held securely by Tencent, will be transported shortly on another shipment.

The plane headed back to Alaska, and then Boston. But that wasn’t the last stop for some of the masks. Robert Kraft, despite his franchise’s historical acrimony with the New York Jets, has always held a soft spot for New York. He attended Columbia University, has a residence in the city and said he was especially moved when the two teams played in the first weekend of games after the 9/11 attacks, when the Patriots were led out of the tunnel by a Patriots’ player whose family members served in the New York City Fire Department and were being cheered on the field.

Kraft added that he has been moved by the leadership of Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the last several weeks. And that gave him an idea.

So, with the agreement of Gov. Baker, they pledged to send 300,000 of the masks on to New York."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency approved Connecticut's disaster declaration request March 29, unlocking additional aid for areas of the state impacted by the coronavirus.  READ MORE FROM CBIA HERE

CT DMV Wethersfield Office to Close

Effective Friday, March 27, 2020 for Extra Cleaning

 

Building to Undergo a Deep Electrostatic Disinfectant Treatment to Ensure a Healthy and Safe Environment

(WETHERSFIELD, CT) – The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Wethersfield office will close effective Friday, March 27, 2020 to allow the building to undergo a deep electrostatic disinfectant treatment to ensure a healthy and safe environment. The building will reopen to employees on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 allowing for a 72-hour period free from the COVID-19 contaminants.

The Wethersfield office will continue the electrostatic disinfection on a weekly basis in addition to the nightly deep cleaning. Branch offices are scheduled to undergo electrostatic disinfectant on Friday, March 27, 2020 and Saturday, March 28, 2020. 

Please visit https://www.ctdmv.info to view a complete list of available services, and status updates pertaining to the DMV and its partner locations.

DECD Issues New Guidance as Follow Up to Governor Lamont's 7H Executive Order

New Guidance Document Here

We will continue to look at tips and perspectives to get us all through this difficult period....this was a very interesting Read today.