Recession is over, if you want it (a boat, that is ...)

In December 2007, I did a story for NPR about how the boating industry was a bellwether for the economy. At the time, things were looking pretty grim:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17620887

Well, a few months later, economists finally got around to telling us, yes, in fact, we were in the midst of a Great Recession. So, when exactly did it "officially" start?: Dec. 2007.

So, here's the good news: I recently chatted with the yacht broker featured in that story, Mr. Dave Van den Arend of Crusader Yachts in Annapolis. Now, he says, he can't keep up with demand. He's selling boats "like hotcakes."

If the marine industry is a bellwether on the way up as well as the way down, maybe this thing really is almost over.

Maybe.