Boat US towing activity may indicate less boat usage in 2007
 

NATION'S LARGEST ON-THE-WATER RECREATIONAL BOAT TOWING SERVICE
REPORTS REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE DOWN SLIGHTLY IN 2007

On-the-Water Towing Calls Mirror Boating Activity

ALEXANDRIA, VA., Feb. 14, 2008 -- High gas prices, drought conditions,
and brush fires have all hampered recreational boating in 2007,
according to the nation's largest on-the-water recreational boat
towing service. The TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist towing fleets -
parts of BoatU.S. Towing Services - reported today a 1.5% drop over
the previous year in the annual number of requests for on-the-water
assistance made by recreational boaters. The annual total, which
includes tows back to port, fuel drop offs, ungroundings and other
services, is one indicator of yearly boating activity.

However, BoatU.S. also reports that in some individual regions of the
country, such as America's heartland, towing calls were up - 8% in the
Great Lakes and 9% in the Gulf.

"Boating and on-the-water towing in the Great Lakes traditionally
shuts down after Labor Day, however, in 2007 unusually good weather
extended the boating season well into the fall," said BoatU.S. Vice
President of Towing Services Jerry Cardarelli.

Cardarelli says on-the-water tows were up in the Gulf region because
there was no hurricane activity. 2007 was also the first full boating
season after Hurricane Katrina.

The Eastern U.S. also had more towing activity than the previous year,
largely as a result of favorable weather.

Gas prices had more significant affect on boating on the West Coast,
the Southeast and Florida - areas that all experienced downturns in
requests for on-the-water help.

Said Cardarelli, "The Pacific Northwest is a popular long-distance
cruising location and fuel prices have a direct impact. In Southern
California we had smoky fire conditions along the coast from brush
fires as well as fewer boats making trips to Catalina Island, which
had a fire in May. Drought conditions and low water levels on inland
lakes affected the Southeast," he added.

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatU.S.) is the
nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its
650,000 members with a wide array of consumer services, including on-
the-water towing assistance provided by TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist
Pacific. Combined, these two towing fleets offer North American
boaters the largest network of U.S., Canadian and Bahamian towing
ports with over 280 locations and over 500 towing assistance vessels -
twice that of any other service provider.