Browsing: FLIBS

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Vanquish 55: Coolest Boat at the Show?

If the new Vanquish VQ55 isn’t the coolest boat at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show this week, it’s certainly one of the coolest. Vanquish, the high-end Dutch builder, is holding the world premiere of its new VQ55 at the show, and it’s aimed directly at the American market with five 600-hp Mercury V12 Verado outboards for power. Top speed: 70 knots. And you won’t have to leave any of your friends behind, if you want to head over to Bimini for breakfast or down to Key West for lunch. The Vanquish VQ55 holds 18 people. There are two cabins,…

Boat Reviews
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Sunreef 80 Power Cat To Debut at FLIBS

The  extra-large and luxurious 80 Sunreef Power will make its U.S. debut at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, starting Oct. 26. The hull of the new 80 was completely designed from scratch, with the idea that the massive catamaran would serve as an all-around motor yacht that could cruise long distances in safety and comfort. Powered by twin 1,200-hp MAN diesels, the Sunreef 80 has a top speed of about 24 knots and a range of 3,500 nm. Sunreef Yachts have been made in Gdansk, Poland, since 2003. With a massive beam of more than 39 feet (about half…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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Let The Good Times Roll

The big Lauderdale show is now in the rear-view mirror, and it seems that things couldn’t be better. As usual, the bigger the better. Indeed, one broker at the superyacht part of the show over at Pier 66 (pictured above) said he was seeing a billionaire every few minutes. But the good news spread down the line. Brunswick, for example, said it had “record-breaking performance” at the show; Boston Whaler reported a 35 percent increase in revenue over the past year, while Sea Ray had 30 percent. David Foulkes, the Brunswick CEO, said the Lauderdale show “sets the tone for…

Ft Lauderdale Boat Show
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FLIBS Opens on Wave of Enthusiasm

The iconic Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the largest in-the-water show in the United States, is underway, riding a wave of enthusiasm and pent-up demand. The show officially has 647 exhibitors and 712 boats, from Absolute to Zeelander; the largest is a 252-foot Feadship named Boardwalk. Fort Lauderdale calls itself “the yachting capital of the world,” and the show does not lack for excess. Not all the boats had fenders as large as those on the megayacht in the picture above, or the helicopter on the upper deck, but in Fort Lauderdale it’s just a matter of scale. The show…

Cruising Life
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Huge Lauderdale Show Starts Oct. 27

The massive Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the largest in-the-water show in the world, opens on Wednesday, Oct. 27, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 31. Last year, the show was only half its usual size, because of the Covid pandemic, but this year it’s back with everything from superyachts to SUPs, on the docks, in tents and on land exhibits. In 2019, the last pre-Covid year, the show attracted more than 100,000 people. This year, that number is expected again, with the show in multiple locations, centered at the Bahia Mar Yachting Center and Las Olas Marina, as well as…

Boat Reviews
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Monte Carlo Yachts Launching New 76 Skylounge

Monte Carlo Yachts will introduce its new 76 Skylounge at the Fort Lauderdale boat show that starts on Oct. 28. It launched the 70 Skylounge at the Miami show last February. The new skylounge on the 76 is a large, light-filled social space with windows all around and full-width glass doors opening out to an upper aft deck. It even has a skylight for more natural light, and ventilation. The skylounge basically functions as a second, all-weather salon, but with a better view. It also is the home of the yacht’s only helm station. It has a large L-shaped settee…

Cruising Life
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Lauderdale Show Plans To Keep You Safe

Most boat shows have been cancelled this fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Fort Lauderdale show has announced that it will open, as planned, for five days starting Wednesday, Oct. 28. But the show, the largest in-water show in the world, won’t be the same. This year will be the 61st annual boat show in Fort Lauderdale; the show has never been cancelled. Last year, about 100,000 people attended the show; some 1,300 boats were on display.  The show is estimated to have a $1.3 billion impact on the state. Last week, the Broward County Commission announced that…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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FLIBS Opens with a Wave of New Cruising Boats

It wasn’t even noon yet on the second day of the massive Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, but there were lots of new cruising boats and lots of smiling people everywhere. No one was happier than Mark Richards, the president and CEO of Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts. Richards had good reason to be pleased. He told me he had taken his gorgeous new Palm Beach 70 out for two sea trials in the past two days. “Two sea trials, two deposits,” he said. The price for a Palm Beach 70: about $4.5 million. The show runs for…

Ft Lauderdale Boat Show
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Other Than the Show, Here’s How To Enjoy Fort Lauderdale

If you’re one of the 110,000 people going to the big Fort Lauderdale boat show starting Oct. 30, or if you’re just going to Lauderdale at any other time, do yourself a favor and stay for a while. Lauderdale, in my opinion, is one of the most relaxed, enjoyable cities on the cruising boat circuit. The fact that it’s also a major boating center, virtually filled with marinas, boatyards and boating service operations, is just extra filling in the cake. There’s a reason that Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America. It has 165 miles of canals, often lined…

Cruising Life
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Other Than the Show, Here’s How To Enjoy Fort Lauderdale

If you’re one of the 110,000 people going to the big Fort Lauderdale boat show starting Oct. 30, or if you’re just going to Lauderdale at any other time, do yourself a favor and stay for a while. Lauderdale, in my opinion, is one of the most relaxed, enjoyable cities on the cruising boat circuit. The fact that it’s also a major boating center, virtually filled with marinas, boatyards and boating service operations, is just extra filling in the cake. There’s a reason that Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America. It has 165 miles of canals, often lined…

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