CH Marine who took over the official LaserPerformance dealership in the Republic of Ireland in June have been appointed Northern Ireland agents too. The aim, says CH Marine Managing director Nick Bendon, is to increase support for sailors in the region and attract a new wave of sailors into the sport. The new arrangements come into place next month.

Bendon reports an excellent first few months with LaserPerformance in the Republic and the Munster firm looks forward to promoting the same service in Northern Ireland from its Newtownards branch.

CH Marine is a dedicated resource in the marine industry and has demonstrated decades of high level service for their customers. An already established presence in Southern Ireland provides them with the experience to be a strong leader in the Northern Ireland small boat community.

'The Northern Ireland Laser market has been well catered for in the past and we hope to continue the excellent standards, says Bendon. CH Marine has a known reputation for customer service and we are committed to holding comprehensive stocks of boats, sails, spars and parts at our Newtonards depot, to provide the best delivery times and support, he adds.

“CH Marine has been offering the best products, service and insight to customers in Ireland for the past 45 years and was appointed as our Dealer for Southern Ireland earlier this year. We are excited by the prospects of being able to work closer with the sailing community in Northern Ireland in a bid to get more sailors on the water moving forward.” Dan Smithers, Vice President of LaserPerformance.

This is an exciting and positive step forward for the community in Northern Ireland. The talent synergies of LaserPerformance and CH Marine will provide sailors in the region with the best of both worlds in customer service and product selection.

We look forward to advancing the vision for LaserPerformance with CH Marine. Our close working relationship will accelerate the momentum that both brands have built to promote dinghy sailing and the local sailing communities, clubs and programs in Ireland.

LaserPerformance is the world’s largest manufacturer of small sailboats and proudly promotes the sailing community. LaserPerformance boats are designed and built to meet the needs of all sailors. LaserPerformance proudly manufactures many iconic sailboats including: Laser, Sunfish, Laser Pico, and more. As a lifestyle brand, it distributes water sport related products.

#Laser - The designer of the iconic Laser is putting pressure on the boat's manufacturer for the UK, Europe and North America to halt all production of the vessel, as Marine Business World reports.

Bruce Kirby has previously filed a complaint in the US Federal Court District of Connecticut alleging the unauthorised production of his design and non-payment of royalties by LaserPerformance, the company licensed to build Laser class boats for the western market.

It's now being reported that yesterday (17 May), Kirby's company Kirby Inc has sought a court order to issue a prejudgement remedy against LaserPerformance, which would prevent that or any associated company from building Lasers while the court assesses the case.

The International Laser Class Association (ILCA) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) are also named in Kirby's lawsuit for allegedly assisting LaserPerformance by supplying ISAF plaques despite being given formal notice to cease by Kirby.

In April, Kirby took the sailing world by surprise with the news that he had relaunched his classic single-handed one design under a new brand, the Kirby Torch.

The new company's website cited "supply of the Kirby sailboat and parts to sailors worldwide" as the issue for its terminating of previous manufacturing deals at the end of last year.