Report from Newport: “Best Show Ever,” “Outstanding” and “Fantastic”
By Peter A. Janssen
The first show of the fall season, the Newport International Boat Show can serve as a bellwether for the coming year. And this year all the signs were good. Many new boats were introduced at the show – the Grand Banks 60, Sabre 45 Salon Express, Hinckley Dasher all-electric boat, MJM 35Z, Nordhavn 59 Coastal Pilot, Outer Reef 610, Beneteau Swift Trawler 35, and Hampton Endurance 658, among them. Nancy Piffard, the show director, said attendance was up 10 percent over the previous year. The show “was one of our most successful shows to date,” she said. Among the major powerboat exhibitors, the praise was even more enthusiastic. “Fantastic,” “very, very encouraging,” and “outstanding” were some of the typical reactions. Here’s what they had to say:
Dave Northrop, the vp for sales and marketing and director of operations, Americas, for Grand Banks and Palm Beach, said it was “a fantastic show, by far our best ever,” with contracts on every model in the show and several contracts on three models. “The response to the Grand Banks 60 was overwhelming. We had several contracts with very seasoned yachtsmen who sea-trialed the boat on Monday and commented that it was truly the most incredible boat they had ever experienced. Very exciting.”
Bentley Collins, the vp for sales and marketing at Sabre and Back Cove, said that the Newport show and the month before “have been very, very encouraging for both of our brands. Back Cove had a record August and we are on our way to an equally good month in September. Models across the board from the 32 to the 41 are doing well. At Sabre, the new Sabre 45 (named the People’s Choice boat at the show) and the Sabre 48 are the leaders with very strong sales on both models.”
Christopher Hughes, the strategic marketing partner at MJM Yachts, said “the show was outstanding. Reaction to the 35z was overwhelming. It’s what people are looking for. We had lots of people coming out of big center consoles or walkarounds who want more protection, performance and comfort.” At the top of the line, he said more people than ever were looking at the MJM 50z as a liveaboard or as a serious cruising boat “because the accommodations are spot on. And when we get them on the boat, they love it. This was the most activity so far on the 50z.”
Jenny Stern, marketing director at Nordhavn, said “the show was our best Newport show in years. The reception to our 59 Coastal Pilot was exceptional. The 59 CP is a departure in mindset and look from traditional displacement Nordhavns, but people seemed excited about it.”
Tracy Hess Burgess, director of marketing at Outer Reef Yachts, said “the show was beyond our wildest dreams in terms of attendance. Reaction to the 610 was incredible. Many people from the New England and New York areas saw her for the first time. It’s perfect for cruising in this area.”
And Mark Mansfield, the national sales director for Ranger Tugs and Cutwater Boats, said the show was “very well attended and the consumers were very upbeat. Everyone is very positive and excited about this fall and next spring. This should be the best year ever.”
If the other fall shows maintain that level of enthusiasm, it would signal a return to a healthy and dynamic boating marketplace, and that would be good news for all of us.
