Thirty-two year after it started, the Palm Beach International Boat Show is seeing more interest from megayacht builders and buyers than before. As a result, show organizers have added Rybovich Superyacht Marina as a secondary location. It will host megayachts exceeding 200 feet (about 61 meters).
The show, from March 23 to 26, has long run along Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. It has also long included a variety of boats and yachts, starting as small as RIBs. Over the past several years, though, the demand for megayacht slips and exhibit space started rising. Just last year, for example, the Palm Beach International Boat Show added 30 slips for these yachts. All 30 were in Palm Harbor Marina, which has been hosting parts of the show for a while now.
For this year, show organizers say they’ve already arranged exhibit space for megayacht builders like Amels, Feadship, Heesen, Moonen, and Palumbo Group (builder of the Columbus Yachts and ISA Yachts brands). This marks a notable rise in European yards having a presence. Heesen and Palumbo Group exhibited last year. The others, however, are first-timers for Palm Beach. American megayacht builders like Burger Boat Company and Westport Shipyards are returning exhibitors as well.
Show Management, which produces the event, has not finalized the list of megayachts on display. However, it does say that it needed to add Rybovich due to demand for super-size superyachts. Private tenders will take potential buyers and charter clients from the main show site to Rybovich. Andrew Doole, senior vice president and COO of Show Management, says that charter bookings are quite healthy for the event. Overall, he adds, the event reaches different people than the other big-yacht shows in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Those of you who enjoy the additional aspects of the Palm Beach International Boat Show will still find plenty to discover. Free youth fishing clinics and sportfishing seminars for adults are scheduled, for example, as usual. Furthermore, VIP Packages will be available soon. They provide entry for two guests and access to the AIM Hospitality Pavilion in the center of the show.
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