As the first snow of the year fell from gray Baltimore skies Sunday, men and women in linen shirts with hibiscus and tropical-colored leis walked shoeless on the decks of luxury yachts downtown.
“This is the boat for you,” called out one woman to the first among an expected 30,000 to attend the Baltimore Boat Show at the Convention Center. “It?s got everything.”
In its 53rd year, the show is the largest of its kind in the region, according to event spokesman Todd Scott. The show features 500 boats, including personal watercraft, inflatables, fishing boats, speedboats and even a new electric ? and silent, fume-free ? boat. The “Queen of the Show,” a title awarded to the biggest boat, was the 44-foot Rinker 420 Express Cruiser, a luxury yacht with cruising speeds of 43 mph, two staterooms, a trash compactor, and a washer and dryer.
Described as a “floating condo,” Dale Robbins, Rinker?s eastern regional sales manager, said the price of the boat starts at $380,000.
“We?ll probably sell one or two of these during the show,” he said. “It?s a nine-day show, so people will come and have a look, then come back during the week and have another look, then come back next weekend.”
The show is really a one-stop shop for sailing enthusiasts, Scott said, offering take-home boat captains for personalized instruction, daring wakeboarding demonstrations, daily seminars, contests and vendors selling fishing tackle, nautical-themed art and boat-cleaning supplies.
On-site financing and insurance are available for buyers, though many attendants said they spend more time wishing than purchasing.
John and Elfriede Ashton said they?ve attended Baltimore?s boat show every year for the last 50 years. But they?ve never bought a boat at the show, and don?t plan to.
“We come because you see things you?ve never seen before,” John Ashton said. “And we may get a hamburger. I could afford that.”
Tom and Ellen Wheat, of Reedville, Va., said they?ve bought boats from shows before, but came to Baltimore to stock up on gear for the ones they already own. Many sailing enthusiasts, they said, enjoy wintertime boat shows to help them get excited for the spring.
“This time of year,” Tom Wheat said, “it?s fun just to get out and smell the fiberglass.”
