Marvelous Miami

Ahh, Miami — the epitome of fun in the sun. For the northerners and Europeans escaping cold winter, the Miami heat provides a welcome respite. Thank goodness there’s air conditioning for the rest of us. Miami has been hot lately in more ways than just the weather — it recently hosted Super Bowl LIV and will soon see the South Beach Wine and Food Festival take over. But of course, we’re all about the Miami boat shows, which stretched from February 13–17 at multiple locations.

For the second year at its new location, the 32nd annual Miami Yacht Show in Downtown Miami at One Herald Plaza opened on Thursday, February 13, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and remarks from Andrew Doole, president of Informa Markets U.S. Boat Show Division and organizer of the Miami Yacht Show; Paul Flannery, executive director of the International Yacht Brokers Association; and Commissioner Ken Russell for the City of Miami.

The show featured more than 400 vessels, including the U.S. debut of SilverYachts’ 278-foot M/Y BOLD and the first international appearance of 72.6-meter Turquoise Yachts’ M/Y Quantum of Solace at SuperyachtMiami across the water at Island Gardens Deep Harbour Marina. Show attendees were able to enjoy a 67,000-square-foot climate-controlled pavilion on land, which accommodated more than 200 yachting and luxury lifestyle exhibitors.

If you were looking for a little education, several seminars proved popular, including those offered by SuperYacht Times on the state of the market and design trends, and bluewater, who presented a roster of seminars ranging from new crew info, cybersecurity, and yacht purchasing tips from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. If you got lucky, you could stop by and taste their daily cocktail from the Mixology 101 seminar.

Since Valentine’s Day traditionally falls during the show, the show also offered a “Love Is In the Air and On the Docks” event that evening, where you could celebrate with Champagne, cocktails, canapes, and chocolate-covered strawberries at sunset.

This year, the Miami Yacht Show also displayed an eco-exhibit in partnership with the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science to educate visitors about the protected sea grass conservation area within the marina.

The 79th annual Miami International Boat Show at the Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin on Virginia Key showcased more than 1,400 vessels and debuted cool new products from companies looking to make the lives of crew better and easier. (Stay tuned for some great items in upcoming issues of Dockwalk.)

Show improvements this year included a “renewed commitment to sustainability and the role people can play in keeping our water and land clean,” a show release stated. This incorporated an enhanced partnership with Costa Sunglasses, which presented the Costa Conservation Village to highlight the accomplishments of Florida’s environmental organizations, including the Coastal Conservation Association, Captains for Clean Water, and Costa’s Kick Plastic program, which aims to reduce single-use plastics polluting Florida’s waterways. The show also incorporated more water filling stations and sold eco-friendly reusable water bottles to push for reduced single-use plastics.

Along the same lines, Chef Allen Susser, a James Beard Award-winning chef, hosted cooking demos and presentations about a variety of topics relating to seafood, the ocean, and sustainability.

Despite some rain over the weekend, both shows offered tons to see and do. See you on the docks next year!

Check out our photos from the docks on our Facebook page: bit.ly/2SJG7yI