Over the years I have been to many boat shows. As a marketer in the boating industry, I went to the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show and Miami Boat Shows for many years, as well as some other regional/local shows. Unfortunately my kids were too young to join me – until now!
This year I took my daughter Emma to her first boat show at the local Bay Bridge Boat Show on the Chesapeake Bay in Stevensville Maryland. She’s been a boater since she was a baby, but we never really had a chance… or even a need to go boat shopping (we got our current Sea Ray 410 Sundancer when she was 3). Now that she’s 14, its a great opportunity to take her along to her first show.
Because I work in the industry, I walk the show for many reasons (I am currently a co-founder for a new electric boat company called Epoch Boats). I’m talking to boating industry people to network, I’m reviewing potential suppliers, I’m checking out the latest boat design trends, and I’m capturing video for this site.
Walking the boat show is fun, but its also work. So Emma’s experience with me at the boat show is definitely more than just walking the docks and looking at boats. She’s learning about the business of boating. She’s learning about all the different suppliers and services around boating. And she’s learning a lot about the different types of boat designs on the market.
What were her first boat show takeaways? Always be prepared for the weather (one day it was cold, next day we got WAY too much sun), wear comfortable walking shoes (you learn that lesson the hard way), boats can be very expensive (biggest we saw was a $2.7M 65 foot yacht) and there are LOTS of interesting boat designs (from yachts to center consoles and even a tiki bar boat!).
VIDEO: Here’s a look back at my daughter’s first boat show as we walk (and FLY) the docks of the 2022 Bay Bridge Boat Show!
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