Talk about a show of opulence, the West Palm Beach Boat Show features an estimated 500 boats collectively worth around $350 million. The show began on Thursday and ended today, Sunday. We took some of the photos at the end of the day so unfortunately there are some shadows.
Hosted by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, the event typically draws about 40,000 visitors and generates an estimated $15 million. But for all the vendors camped out at the boat show along Flagler Drive, it's just a game of waiting and seeing whether the local boating community is willing to spend money for their boats.
Tents will cover 100,000 square feet to house everything from boat accessories to cars, clothing, jewelry, home goods and fishing equipment. Exhibitors are expected from all over the world, including China and Europe. The middle yacht below is called "Never Enough".
There's a waiting list for exhibitors, some of which have been hoping for years to get into the show, said Emily Schaper of Haber & Quinn Inc., a public relations firm in Fort Lauderdale.
The showcase vessel will be the Casino Royale, a $38.5 million yacht designed with James Bond in mind. It includes frosted-glass panels etched with the silhouettes of Bond girls lighted by LEDs on the central staircase, a handcrafted marble roulette wheel in the deck of the main salon and a figure of Vesper Lynd, the fictional heroine from the 2006 Casino Royale movie.
Organizers of the 24th annual show do not expect the sour economy to dampen the event. Their statement was that everyone still wants the dream of owning a boat one day.
The boats are displayed in a temporary 500,000-square-foot marina on the Intracoastal that crews began building almost two weeks ago. This meant that the boats could all be displayed in one location, downtown West Palm Beach, instead of being dispersed throughout the city.
Hosted by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, the event typically draws about 40,000 visitors and generates an estimated $15 million. But for all the vendors camped out at the boat show along Flagler Drive, it's just a game of waiting and seeing whether the local boating community is willing to spend money for their boats.
Tents will cover 100,000 square feet to house everything from boat accessories to cars, clothing, jewelry, home goods and fishing equipment. Exhibitors are expected from all over the world, including China and Europe. The middle yacht below is called "Never Enough".
There's a waiting list for exhibitors, some of which have been hoping for years to get into the show, said Emily Schaper of Haber & Quinn Inc., a public relations firm in Fort Lauderdale.
The showcase vessel will be the Casino Royale, a $38.5 million yacht designed with James Bond in mind. It includes frosted-glass panels etched with the silhouettes of Bond girls lighted by LEDs on the central staircase, a handcrafted marble roulette wheel in the deck of the main salon and a figure of Vesper Lynd, the fictional heroine from the 2006 Casino Royale movie.
It's a buyer's market for boats right now, and the dealers at the Palm Beach International Boat Show know it. "Pricing's going to be aggressive at this show," said Mike Brown, a yacht broker with Dania Beach-based HMY Yacht Sales Inc. "There are some substantial deals. If you come here to buy a boat, I don't think the dealers will let you get away."
