The final day of the Fort Lauderdale Boat show was as hot as the first with many of the more sensible visitors moving around from exhibit to exhibit inside the luxury of the air conditioned tents.
Exhibitors inside such tents were reporting brisk business as usual but the docks were, at the peak of the day, noticeably quieter than before. Inside we heard from Yachting Pages that the brand new Super Yacht Owners Guide was being well received and that many people, hearing how good it is from others, were seeking out their own copies.
The IPC media stand had a steady flow of customers seeking to sign up for a free subscription to SuperYacht Business magazine and get their hands on the latest copy of SuperYacht World. Both titles seem to have won new friends and admirers for the consistent good reading and we are both very happy to write for the IPC stable.
Just before lunch we were taken on a tour of Fort Lauderdale downtown by the press and communications office for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Visitors and Convention Bureau. It is amazing how year after year we can visit this city and learn so little about it save that it has the worlds largest boat show, so today’s tour was a great eye opener into what is on offer to the tourist and super yacht owner.
We lunched on the famous Las Olas Boulevard and while we would have liked to have taken in some of the splendid shops that line both sides of this up market street work was calling and we had to say an early goodbye to our gracious host.
One thing we did learn is that the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, is usually on at the same time as the Boat Show, running from mid-October to early to mid-November. Cinema Paradiso is where the Film Festival is based and there are also independent films attractions.
Those of us eagerly awaiting the outcome of the public auction on Monday of the super yacht Java were disappointed. The yacht while not sold during the show was withdrawn from auction by Sacks because two offers were said to have been received from buyers during the show.