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| "Yeah, Joe? Can you move a few million for me...there's a boat here I want to buy"... |
If you are mega rich, it's only natural that you should own a mega yacht. Yesterday, Scott, Isla and I took in the
Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show and holy
MONEY... Judging by this show I would say that life in the world of the filthy rich is...
well, filthy rich. I don't know about you, but I cannot even
fathom having the kind of coin that would allow me to drop a cool six million on a boat.
Six million. The expense doesn't stop there either - the yearly operating costs of these
mega-yachts is enough to pull a small island nation out of poverty. It's mind boggling. Scott and I walked lazily along the docks
(Isla was on my back) and were mesmerized by perfectly polished stainless steel, glossy hulls buffed to a mirror finish, and teak varnished to an impeccable lacquer. Many a loafer was worn without socks and there was a
lot of Louis Vuitton going on. At one point as we were walking I stopped Scott's and said,
"There are people actually shopping for boats here. People are actually buying these boats!". It's pretty hard to imagine.
What is also hard to imagine are the logistics required to pull a show like this off. It is
impressive. Keep in mind, the average boat is probably -
oh, I don't know - one hundred feet in length...and they pack these puppies in like sardines. Like they're
dinghies. There must have been at least four hundred boats in an area that was smaller than a square mile.
BIG boats. Some were no more than a foot or two apart. They then brought in temporary floating docks to surround all these boats creating a veritable maze of opulence that was,
admittedly, a little hard to navigate.
We had a great day wandering semi-aimlessly among the boats and imagining the lives of the people who were clearly
shopping and not just ogling. The tents that housed the vendors were interesting as well - particularly if you are in the market for a personal submarine, a jet-propelled water toy, and/or luxury bedding. Unlike
Strictly Sail , this show
(obviously) caters more towards the mega yacht crowd and there's not much to offer the budget conscious cruiser. Even so, we
did manage to meet a few vendors and got some interesting contacts. We even splurged and spent $60 bucks on new 16 piece set of
Galleyware dishes while some other sucker out there spent $6 million on a mega yacht.
Psh.
BIG thanks to our friend Dominik of UMT Marine for getting us tickets to the show! You're the best buddy!
5 comments:
That's just an insane amount of money!
Thanks for the Strictly Sail information. I just looked it up and will most likely go to it in January. Is there usually a good representation of cruising sailboats?
Mike
Hi Mike! Strictly Sail is awesome, you will NOT regret it. Make sure to catch a cruising seminar or two. As far as boats, there are quite a few sailboats there...most (if I remember correctly) are production boats - not that you can't cruise on those or anything, but you probably won't see an Island Packet or something. Either way, it's great to get on the boats and get a feel for layout and size. And there is TONS of cruiser-friendly stuff and info :)
If the boat shows is much larger, that means that there is an equally larger budget for the boat show host to produce an entertainment product that will dazzle and wow visitors, and add just the right ambiance for potential buyers of boats for sale.
I rather invest on building floating pontoons for rich people with luxury yachts. I experienceed going to boat shows too and I see a alot of rich people there that loves buying expensive boats.
If I were mega rich, the most luxury I can have is collecting silver coins and traveling.
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