Wet-n-Wiley
02-14-2009, 09:20 PM
Wiley's Miami Boat Show Follow-up
Well, another Miami Boat Show is in the books for us . We came back from the Show tonight, a day earlier than we originally planned.
The reason we came back early is because we were quickly able to cover so much ground this year due to the lack of attendees at the Show this year. This was by far the "easiest" Miami Boat Show we've ever done. Very little street traffic, no lines anywhere, we we're able to easily get a cab whenever we wanted and when we drove we never had any parking issues.
A few vendors were absent this year which was really only noticeable when you went out back at the Convention Center. All the rows were pulled forward to fill any gaps and I would imagine newcomers to the Show they would never have the impression any dealers were missing.
Thursday: Met with Ludicrous and his wife at the Convention Center to begin our photo journey through the Show. There was a pretty good size crowd for a Thursday.
Being young and spry, ;) Loody is able to jump in and out of the boats and snap away while I mainly focused on the exteriors, and catching-up with all the vendors I hadn't seen in a while. Just ask Ludicrous how frustrating it is with Wiley around a boat show as I re-acquaint with the ol' industry buds.
Even after picking up the pace but were still only able to cover 3/4 of the interior of the Convention Center - don't let anyone tell you there were a lack of things to see and photograph! For lunch we ate at Nexxt on Lincoln Road (which I recommend of you have a hungry crew! ) Later that afternoon a long time friend invited us on his sailboat for a sunset cruise around Biscayne Bay. We brought Ludicrous and his wife and we all chowed down on shrimp and beer while enjoying the view of the Miami Skyline. Ludicrous even took the helm for a while and ran over flipper!
Friday: Went to the Marina Docks. We drove over from our Miami Beach Hotel to the docks and had no problems at all with traffic or finding a parking space. This time Loody was on his own as I didn't want to slow his photo progress. I took many pictures and did plenty of chatting (again). Around lunchtime we met up with Kingair and the lovely Tammy Leigh and grabbed some food and brew. After a long sun-scorched afternoon at the docks we headed to Monty's on Miami beach - it was mobbed, but with more of the local crowd then the boat show crowd. Sharing brew, cocktails and crab claws were Wiley and lovely wife, Kingair and wife, Ludicrous and wife and THT'er "Bait Killer". We also ran into THT'er "Riff-raff" while there.
After Monty's , my wife and I had invitations to the Raleigh Hotel for the Florida Powerboat Club Bash. We brought Kingair and wife. It was a blast sitting in the Cabana drinking mojitos and watching the scenery! Thanks to Stu for the invite and the drinks!
Saturday: I was on my own most of the morning and afternoon. No problem getting to the show and not much of a crowd when I arrived. I went out back in the scorching sun and finished up with some shots I missed. Saw some good friends and industry folks and had a great time. Met up again with Kingair and wife, had dinner with them then returned home.
Overall impression? Perhaps the lightest attendance of any boat show I've ever been to. However at the same time I was easily able to discuss the state of the industry with many Owners and Reps without them being pulled in 10 different directions.
Below are a few pictures from the above described. I'm not going to post a ton of pictures as I'd rather just have them archived on my PC for availability as requested. Enjoy!
Well, another Miami Boat Show is in the books for us . We came back from the Show tonight, a day earlier than we originally planned.
The reason we came back early is because we were quickly able to cover so much ground this year due to the lack of attendees at the Show this year. This was by far the "easiest" Miami Boat Show we've ever done. Very little street traffic, no lines anywhere, we we're able to easily get a cab whenever we wanted and when we drove we never had any parking issues.
A few vendors were absent this year which was really only noticeable when you went out back at the Convention Center. All the rows were pulled forward to fill any gaps and I would imagine newcomers to the Show they would never have the impression any dealers were missing.
Thursday: Met with Ludicrous and his wife at the Convention Center to begin our photo journey through the Show. There was a pretty good size crowd for a Thursday.
Being young and spry, ;) Loody is able to jump in and out of the boats and snap away while I mainly focused on the exteriors, and catching-up with all the vendors I hadn't seen in a while. Just ask Ludicrous how frustrating it is with Wiley around a boat show as I re-acquaint with the ol' industry buds.
Even after picking up the pace but were still only able to cover 3/4 of the interior of the Convention Center - don't let anyone tell you there were a lack of things to see and photograph! For lunch we ate at Nexxt on Lincoln Road (which I recommend of you have a hungry crew! ) Later that afternoon a long time friend invited us on his sailboat for a sunset cruise around Biscayne Bay. We brought Ludicrous and his wife and we all chowed down on shrimp and beer while enjoying the view of the Miami Skyline. Ludicrous even took the helm for a while and ran over flipper!
Friday: Went to the Marina Docks. We drove over from our Miami Beach Hotel to the docks and had no problems at all with traffic or finding a parking space. This time Loody was on his own as I didn't want to slow his photo progress. I took many pictures and did plenty of chatting (again). Around lunchtime we met up with Kingair and the lovely Tammy Leigh and grabbed some food and brew. After a long sun-scorched afternoon at the docks we headed to Monty's on Miami beach - it was mobbed, but with more of the local crowd then the boat show crowd. Sharing brew, cocktails and crab claws were Wiley and lovely wife, Kingair and wife, Ludicrous and wife and THT'er "Bait Killer". We also ran into THT'er "Riff-raff" while there.
After Monty's , my wife and I had invitations to the Raleigh Hotel for the Florida Powerboat Club Bash. We brought Kingair and wife. It was a blast sitting in the Cabana drinking mojitos and watching the scenery! Thanks to Stu for the invite and the drinks!
Saturday: I was on my own most of the morning and afternoon. No problem getting to the show and not much of a crowd when I arrived. I went out back in the scorching sun and finished up with some shots I missed. Saw some good friends and industry folks and had a great time. Met up again with Kingair and wife, had dinner with them then returned home.
Overall impression? Perhaps the lightest attendance of any boat show I've ever been to. However at the same time I was easily able to discuss the state of the industry with many Owners and Reps without them being pulled in 10 different directions.
Below are a few pictures from the above described. I'm not going to post a ton of pictures as I'd rather just have them archived on my PC for availability as requested. Enjoy!