Mother’s Day is this Sunday and the phone lines will be burning up and restaurants will be packed as kids (young and old) mark a day just for mom. If your mom likes to get out on the water one of our limited edition Inflatable PFDs with HIT in hot pink might be perfect for her. You can find a dealer on our main website.

If you are far from home or have some time Sunday check out the Toyota Texas Bass Classic on CBS. Two Mustang Survival sponsored pro-anglers are featured in the show. Dave Mercer of Facts of Fishing is the event emcee and also provides color commentary. BassMaster Elite Series Angler Mike McClelland is one of the anglers and was part of the top pro-am team in the event.

We were really excited to hear the F3 Fishing Inflatable Vest PFD that we launched late last year received the North American Fisherman Club Member Tested & Recommended Seal of Approval. The NAFC has nearly half a million members and the panel members each received a PFD to try and give feedback. The vest was ranked a 9.3 out of a possible 10 points.

I thought I’d like to share a couple of comments from the reviewers:

“This high-quality product comfortably combines a fishing vest with a quick-inflating PFD. Plus, it has plenty of storage pockets.” Ethan Ball Rexburg, ID

“This vest is a must-have. It’s not bulky and is very comfortable. The 10 pockets, breathable mesh back and attachment for a landing net are it’s best features.” Joey Trammell, McAlester, OK

BOATsmart! Canada, one of our biggest boating safety partners, is looking for candidates for Promotional Team Leaders and Team Reps summer job positions. This is a great opportunity to travel, spend time on the water, work in a small team, practice your marketing and promotional skills and get paid.

The Summer work term is from May 14 through September 15. There are still a number of positions to be filled, so be sure to apply today.

More details on the job and qualifications can be found in the careers section of their website.

This picture was sent in to us from Zack at our Bellingham dealer LFS. What caption would you put?

Our friends over at the Oregon State Marine Board have started their own Podcast! They caught our attention by doing a video of a give away of Mustang Survival life jackets to kids that participated in their Jr. Boater Program at the Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show.

It’s official. Spirit of Canada Qualified for Vendee Globe 2008

Canadian single-handed sailor Derek Hatfield is officially qualified to enter the Vendee Globe 2008 – a singlehanded non-stop race around the world.

Just before Christmas, Hatfield completed the Transat Ecover B2B, the single-handed transatlantic race from Brazil to France that is a qualifier for the Vendee Globe. It was also a great chance to shake down his racing machine, the Canadian-built Open 60, Spirit of Canada. Then just last week, all the documentation and official medical training was completed and filed with the Vendee Globe organizers and the official race number; #15 was issued by the organizers.

“I am very proud to finally finish the qualifications for the Vendee Globe 2008. It has been a lot of hard work getting this far but with the support that we receive from so many Canadians, we will be on the start line this November.” said Hatfield. On November 8, 2008, Hatfield, 56, will be the only Canadian in the race competing. He and the Spirit of Canada will be the first Canadian team to attempt the race.

Certainly there are always legends made during the Vendee Globe, started in 1989 by famed French sailor Philippe Jeantot. It is a single-handed yacht race held every four years and is non-stop around the world, starting in les Sables d’Olonne France, rounding Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, entering the Indian Ocean, then the Southern Ocean, dancing around icebergs, rounding Cape Horn, finishing back in France.

The number of participants is capped at 30 and represents the world’s elite sailors. It is the pinnacle of a sailor’s career to enter and finish the Vendee. The sailors must show they are able to enter the Vendee by completing a single-handed race such as the Transat Ecover B2B. Sailors must also demonstrate that their boats are up to the task, by completing a test to determine if their boats can be righted after capsizing and the boats must also meet a series of design specifications.

Hatfield is currently sailing from France to Canada to allow for more training, fine-tuning and repairs following the grueling race that saw two other boats dismasted in their attempt to qualify for the Vendee.

Now Hatfield’s biggest challenge is to raise more money and awareness about his campaign in Canada. The former Mountie has so far managed to raise funds through corporate donations and his “Around Together”
campaign that offers to put a name on the boat along for a small donation. He’s raised $1,600,000 and put over 5200 crew names on the hull through the Around Together campaign but needs to double that in the next few months before he leaves as well as additional corporate sponsorship. His budget for the race is about $3.5 million and he has borrowed money as well to pursue the goal. For the Vendee, that’s a shoestring budget as his competitors will have at least twice that for their campaigns.

“The countdown to the Vendee Globe is now on and the next six months will go by very quickly,” said Hatfield. “We have a number of hurdles ahead of us; mostly of the financial kind; but as one skipper recently told me in Brazil, If the Vendee Globe was easy, then everyone would be doing it.’”

Hatfield though is confident such hurdles will be overtaken and he will not give up until Spirit of Canada reaches the finish in France in the spring of 2009.

This awesome story about our good friend Darla Bardelli ran on The Fishing Wire today and we wanted to share it with you. I have known Darla personally for a while now and her courage and determination to beat cancer is an inspiration to all of us.

Still In It To Win It…our pal and professional angler Darla Bardelli continues her recuperative efforts following radical mastectomies and aggressive cancer treatments. We all know Darla’s no quitter, but she’s lost neither her sense of humor or drive to succeed. When the 2008 Women’s Bassmaster Tour kicks off this Thursday, April 10 at Texas’ Lake Lewisville, Darla will be fishing!

She’s sporting a “new doo”- as in the minimalist look – but she says she’s not going to miss the opportunity to win the chance to fish in the 2009 Bassmaster Classic (the 2008 Women’s Champ gets an automatic entry into the Classic).

Darla’s coming off six months of chemotherapy, during which time she wore her tournament fishing shirt and carried what she calls her “Cancer Monkey) for each treatment. It helped raise her spirits, and reminded her of the ultimate goal – to be “In it to WIN it!”

Darla’s definitely making the Classic a goal. Six weeks after a double radical mastectomy, she’s borrowing a boat from Phoenix to fish Lewisville. She still faces hormone and chemotherapies, physical therapy and reconstruction. In July and August during the off-schedule of the WBT, Darla will undergo seven weeks of radiation treatments. But she’s gotten her doctors on her team to help her fish her dream…a shot at the 2009 Bassmaster Classic.

Boating season will be here soon and this is a great time to give your Inflatable PFD a check up. If you are lucky enough to get to enjoy the water year round you can do this too!

Mustang Survival recommend you do some preventative maintenance to be sure your inflatable is in full working order. Use the oral inflation tube (behind the cover) to blow up the PFD to capacity and leave it sitting out over night. When you get up in the morning the inflated cell should be just as firm. If not, it might be time to get a new one.

If you are using an automatically inflating PFD that uses a bobbin (a small dissolving tablet) you should probably replace the bobbin at the end of every season to prevent an inadvertent inflation. They are very inexpensive and have a shelf life of around 3 years. Full maintenance details are included in your Owner’s Manual.

When you own an inflatable PFD you should check it between outings to make sure that it is in good working condition when you take it on a trip. Just take a few seconds to check the green indicator in the safety inspection window, ensure the PFD is free of rips, tears or holes, and that the Velcro™ or SecureZip™ closures are fully closed.

If the unexpected happens and you end up in the water with an inflated PFD, rest assured, it is completely reusable. Once you have let it dry and removed the air from it, you’ll need a re-arm kit, which are available from most marine stores. For a manual version you’ll only need a CO2 cylinder, for an automatic version you’ll also need a new bobbin, or new hydrostatic inflator. It is a simple process and the kits include everything you need. Instructions on how to re-arm your PFD are included in your manual, with the re-arm kit, and there instructional videos available on our website.