Welcome to this third newsletter of 2010.

There are definitely positive signs in the market as we complete the first quarter of 2010.

Josh has returned from his first trip to Europe enthusiastic about the trends. In a typical example of the attention to detail Lee Marine brings to its customers Josh went to the Ferretti’s Cattolica, Italy yard, the most state-of-the-art facility where 16 yachts can be constructed at one time; and spent time looking closely at the new Ferretti 800 model’s hull in February this year.

We hope to see this boat in Asian waters with the appropriate adaptations to our tropical conditions.

Josh will also be heading for Boat Asia in Singapore from 15-18 April and then to the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in Australia 20-23 May, 2010.
 
The Riviera 43 Open Flybridge will have its world launch at this show. We have already featured this outstanding boat in this newsletter. Riviera also has a lineup of three other boats that have never before been seen at Sanctuary Cove.

We also report how Crownline is making a comeback in Asia-Pacific with one of its icons, David Fraser, leading the way out of Australia. This company was in receivership for a few months until emerging in August last year. Lee Marine and Crownline go back a long way, as David points out in our piece in this edition.

And over in Pattaya, Mark Heath, our man there, is also reporting a pick up in business on that side of the Gulf of Thailand, particularly in new boat purchases. Mark detects definite increased interest as more and more people are aware of the Marina in Pattaya and the availability of Lee Marine’s services there.

Hope to see you on the water

Kind regards from the Lee Maine team