Triton Today Palm Beach 2014 Friday

Friday • March 21, 2014

o o o Test Your Mates Test your mates with this nautical quiz. n What is the A nautical flag? n What is the C nautical flag? n What is the G nautical flag?

ANSWERS on page 7.

Sun & Moon

Sunset: 7:32 pm; Sunrise (Saturday): 7:22 am Moonrise: 12:24 am (Sat.); 82% illuminated High tides: 12:53 pm; 1:35 am (Saturday) Low tides: 7:04 pm; 7:34 am (Saturday)

Weather Today: Partly cloudy, occasional showers, E 10-20 mph, high 77, 40% chance of rain Tonight: Few clouds, ESE 10-20 mph, low 71 Tomorrow AM: Sun, clouds, SE 10-20 mph, 80

Things to See / Do Today Photo shoot for Top Notch Tabletop challenge onboard competing yachts.

Today, 1-4 p.m.

Ward’s Marine Electric at booth 926A. Today learn about lighting, fire surveys and arc flash analysis with sweet and spicy candy, fireball colada and pink basil lemonades with Latin jazz/rock band and fire dancers.

PEEK A BOO: Busy or not, crew wore smiles for opening day of the Palm Beach International Boat Show yesterday. For more photos, see pages 4-5.

PHOTO/LUCY REED

Today, 5-7 p.m.

Show opens to light traffic, good vibe

U.S. Superyacht Association mixer.

USSA Pavilion booths 913-922. Stop by for champagne and caviar.

Tonight, 6-11 p.m.

Rybovich Boatyard Bash at Rybovich.

Live music, food, drinks. Free shuttle to the shipyard starts at 6 p.m. Look for it on the northwest corner of Clematis and Olive.

Today, 7 p.m.

Crew Cocktails with Zeidel & Co. at booth 916 in the USSA Pavilion.

Celebrate the company’s 100th birthday with a prize basket raffle.

By Lucy Chabot Reed Yesterday was a traditional easygoing opening day for the Palm Beach International Boat Show. Clear skies, warm sunshine, a growing footprint, and not too many people.

“It was the typical slower preview day with people who prefer the less busy times,” said one captain who has shown the yacht in most South Florida shows the past three years. “They weren’t necessarily specific clients coming to see my boat, but just people and brokers walking around.”

Traffic was light onboard many

yachts in the show, according to most captains we talked to. Even boats that are normally busy – a builder’s newest spec model – saw fewer guests onboard.

“Usually we have to make them wait a while, but we didn’t have to do that today,” said one support staffer for a yacht builder. “We saw quality over quantity.”

The same was true for many vendors on land, except for the toy pavilion at National Marine Suppliers, which was busy much of the afternoon. The north-facing booth on Ramp 4 provided not only shade during the cloudless

See PULSE, page 3

For more news, visit www.the-triton.com

Fri d ay • M a rc h 2 1 , 2 0 1 4 | 3

OFF THE DOCK: A few scenes from yesterday’s events

@ National Marine National Marine Suppliers showed off its collection of all things fun at its toy pavilion on Ramp 4 of the show. It’s open all day with free drinks and shady seating.

PHOTOS/DAVID REED

@ USSA Dozens of captains, crew and industry folks gathered for casual networking on the first day of Spring (yesterday) at the U.S. Superyacht pavilion at booths 913-922. They’re doing it again today from 57 p.m.

PHOTOS/DAVID REED

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SCENE ON THE DOCKS: Opening day

Y

acht crew were on deck and dressed out to meet and greet potential buyers on the first day of the 29th annual Palm Beach International Boat Show yesterday. Perfect weather and plenty of South Florida sunshine welcomed the first day of Spring and made for a beautiful day on the docks.

PHOTOS/LUCY REED

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6 | Fri d ay • M a rc h 2 1 , 2 0 1 4

Show adds exhibitors, new boats PULSE, from page 1

APRIL 25, 2014 www.MarineIndustryCares.org

day but also free drinks. And the airconditioned Pavilion and tents saw plenty of foot traffic. Even though it was the first day of Spring and temperatures just crested 80, the sun and lack of clouds made it feel much hotter.

The Palm Beach show continued to grow this year, expanding its land-based offerings at the north and south ends of the show. And the total number of boats in the water has grown from 550 last year to 579 this year, according to Skip Zimbalist, owner of Show Management, which produces the show for the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County.

That 5 percent growth can be seen mostly in boats under 40 feet, which Zimbalist called a good sign.

“These are the boats that entry-level boaters start on,” he said at a press conference before the show. “People are now more comfortable spending money,

and manufacturers have come out with new designs” that better represent their needs on the water.

The in-water brokerage segment of the show is flat, which Zimbalist attributed to low inventory because of recent strong sales. Yachts under 80 feet are up; 80-100 feet down. Among yachts that remain on the market, prices continue to fall, several brokers said.

Although attendance figures won’t be known until the show is over, advanced online ticket sales were up 30 percent from last year, Zimbalist said.

“From very meager beginnings, we’ve grown to one of the biggest boat shows in the country, and in Florida, we’re the best,” said Ray G of MIAPBC. “Getting here is easy, parking here is easy, our waterfront is spectacular. Exhibitors, vendors and attendees say they have a great time and they leave here happy.”

The show continues through Sunday.

Lucy Chabot Reed is editor of The Triton. Comments: lucy@the-triton.com.

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Name that yacht

sponsored by

C

an you identify these yachts from just this little bit of their name?

All the yachts are in the water at the show. Post your guesses on The Triton page at facebook.com/tritonnews.

PHOTOS/LUCY REED

Test Your Mates Answers to the nautical flag quiz on page 1: n A (Alfa) I have a diver down; keep well clear at slow speed.

Puzzle Answer

n C (Charlie) Affirmative. n G (Golf) I require a pilot. When made by fishing vessels operating in proximity of the fishing grounds it means I am hauling nets.

Correction The Web site for the Yacht Captains Association is www.yachtcaptains.org.

Our story in Triton Today Palm Beach yesterday indicated otherwise.

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Answer to yesterday’s crossword puzzle.

Triton Today Palm Beach is published

by Triton Publishing Group.

Publisher: David Reed Editorial: Lucy Chabot Reed, Dorie Cox, Advertising: Mike Price Production: Patty Weinert Vol. 4, No. 2.

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