Fort Lauderdale, Florida
January 29-31, 2010
Bahia Mar Beach Resort & Yachting Center
Boat show hours: 10a.m. - 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday
10a.m. - 4 p.m. Sunday
Seminars: 8:30a.m. - 12 p.m. (Friday through Sunday)
With sunny skies and contagious excitement, Trawler Fest, kicked off its 2010 season with huge success. It was held at the Bahia Mar Beach Resort and Yachting Center January 29-31. PassageMaker University, a two-day event offering in-depth educational courses, preceded the boat show.
Attendance far exceeded the 2009 turnout in Stuart, Florida with 2,400 people attending the three-day event, a 62% increase from the previous year. There were more than 90 in-water and land exhibitors. Attendees included buyers looking to purchase their first cruising boat and current cruisers looking to upgrade their boats. Land exhibitors met many new clients searching for the latest products and services to enhance their cruising experience. And naturally, a few boats were sold.
"Abundant sunshine, the latest cruising designs moored to modern floating docks of the Bahia Mar Resort Marina, and a host of new-technology products on display in the massive on-land tent helped make the inaugural Trawler Fest Ft. Lauderdale a well-rounded experience for attendees," said PassageMaker Magazine’s Editor-In-Chief John Wooldridge. "Our well-known PassageMaker University and the Trawler Fest Seminar Series attracted South Florida boaters to classes in record numbers, helping them to understand the cruising lifestyle that drives this event and our magazine. There’s just no better place for cruising-under-power owners and shoppers to be in January."
One exhibitor wrote in to say, "I am just writing to tell you how pleased we were as exhibitors at the Trawler Fest at Bahia Mar. We have attended several of your previous Trawler Fests but this one was really outstanding. Like most companies today, we carefully evaluate where we spend our marketing dollars in an effort to get results. Attending the Trawler Fest is a significant investment and we were very impressed with the type of folks that came by – they were all true boaters keenly interested in the cruising lifestyle. We saw many familiar faces of our customers who attend these shows and now expect to see us there!"
The Dse Hybrid 12m power catamaran from Island Pilot won the coveted PassageMaker Magazine’s People’s Choice award. This comfortable and efficient vessel was designed from the outset to offer cruisers a beautifully finished, two-stateroom, two-head layout with an ultramodern galley and a large "great room" saloon with outstanding views. Additionally, it’s equipped to allow owners to maintain a self-sustainable lifestyle afloat with its twin 75hp hybrid Steyr Motors that can run on diesel or electricity, large battery banks, and twin 24VDC 200Ah solar arrays. Island Pilot CEO Reuben Trane and naval architect George Petrie have collaborated to produce a thought-provoking design that points the way for designers of future cruisers.
If you weren’t able to join us in Ft. Lauderdale, we hope you can make it to one of our upcoming shows in Anacortes, WA, Warwick, RI, or Baltimore, MD. We are certain our future shows will be just as successful as Trawler Fest Ft. Lauderdale!