The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC) plans to change the focus of its Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology. ABYC, which took over the institute from NMMA, said that it was faced with a “tough decision” about the 84-year-old school’s “survival”.

"In order to be an attractive choice for today's students seeking this type of niche education, it became clear that another group would need to invest some capital to take Westlawn into the 21st century," says John Adey, ABYC president, in a statement.

A group of investors led by David Smyth have provided financial backing and a new direction for Westlawn. Smyth, who is now Westlawn’s director, president and vice chancellor, also formed a new board of directors from the yachting and academic worlds. "In the coming months, we will transition Westlawn from a traditional correspondence school to a state-of-the-art online learning system," says Smyth in the statement.

The school’s first change was accreditation by the Royal Institute of Naval Architecture (RINA). "This is the most appropriate accreditation entity out there for Westlawn," says Smyth. "The association with RINA really puts the school in the business of yacht design."

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