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During a press conference, attendees acknowledged that the latest America’s Cup did much to enhance the sport of sailing and brought the event to a broad fan base. Lauding boss Larry Ellison, skipper James Spithill said the success of the event had “silenced the critics,” adding, “There’s no turning back.”

The European shows included several new builds and projects including a Fast Displacement design from Benetti and two new builds from Southern Wind Shipyard.

Hurricane Sandy might not have stopped the 2012 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, but its legacy is having an effect on the show’s scheduling starting in 2015. Show dates will be pushed back a week, starting on the first Thursday in November, in the hope that the delay will help avoid the bad weather the area is sometimes prone to in the fall.

Benetti’s Livorno shipyard saw trouble last week when a 183-foot (56-meter) motoryacht in the final stages of construction caught fire. The yard believed that the problem started with a massive electrical storm in the area that night causing a strong electrical discharge or spark on board.

Charter yachts in Destin, Florida will be helping patrol an area to be used by the Air Force for testing in September and soon the Coast Guard may be adjusting the rules and labels for personal flotation devices.

A New York man was charged with vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault after a boat he was operating crashed into a barge on the Hudson River near the Tappan Zee Bridge, killing two members of a wedding that had been scheduled for August 10.

A crewmember on a yacht belonging to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry apparently committed suicide on board Monday while the vessel was docked in Boston, the team said. The club said in a statement that fellow crewmembers were the only other people on board Iroquois, which was at Rowes Wharf near the financial district.

Spring is here and yards all over the world are unveiling new launches and new projects. Follow us as we check in with Amels, Benetti, Codecasa, Cantiere delle Marche, and Heesen.

Fort Lauderdale became a little quiet as far as big yachts are concerned this summer, so we got on the road and called on a few American shipyards. One of them was Trinity Yachts, which we found busy with new yachts deliveries plus significant commercial and military work.