Boat show addicts
We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
The search for our boat continues. Dan and I flew to California last week to attend a sailboat show and then make a side-trip to the L.A. area to look at a Norseman 447. Our two top sailboat choices at this point in our search, have been narrowed down to a Taswell 43’ or a Norseman 44’. We planned on checking out two Taswells on this trip, only to find out both sold before we could get out there; confirmation these are very desirable boats!
The Oakland Strictly Sail Pacific boat show was in its fully glory. We arrived to the sound of halyards clinking, banners and bunting flapping in the stiff breeze, and the aroma of food drifting across the docks from the collection of culinary delights. Sailboat shows are magical in their own right. The array of nautical paraphernalia is almost dizzying, miles of booths filled with the latest technological treasures, services to fit every boat need, and even lenders to help finance your purchases. The cast of attendees is colorful and diverse. If you are a people watcher, going to a boat show is a veritable buffet. You have your barefoot, bedraggled, salty old sailors, sporting long grey beards and weather beaten caps. Strutting down the docks, you will always find the Thurston Howell III look-alike, with a large breasted, young woman in a short dress, high heels and sun hat. My favorite people watching experience ever, was in Annapolis, MD. One of these attractive ladies in her high heels, with a small terrier tucked away in her designer purse, misstepped trying to board the sailboat we were looking at, and plunged into the brackish water of the Chesapeake. Cries of, “Man overboard!” were a slight exaggeration, as when Dan and I flew topside, onlookers were desperately trying to retrieve the dog while the women floundered about trying to retrieve the makeup and contraceptives floating out of her purse. Her façade was visibly shaken when she finally climbed out of the canal, looking like more of a drowned rat than her dog.
The other side of the human spectrum you will certainly find at boat shows, are salesman, trying to catch the attention of everyone who walks by, to nail a sale. Some of these people can be tenacious. You learn quickly the art of merging to the opposite side of the aisle from where they located. Everyone knows that once you fall into their grasp, you will lose valuable boat show time listening to their spiel and putting your personal information on a list it will take you months to get removed. The other extreme is the individual who is being paid to sit at a booth at the boat show, but has no interest in selling anything. These people huddle quietly in the farthest recesses of their areas, glued to a book or a cell phone, making certain they don’t make eye contact with possible customers so that any discussion of their product is avoided.
Many of the boat show attendees are regular folks like Dan and me. We common folk spend a lot of time looking at products and boats we know we can’t afford, but love being in the boating environment and dreaming of everything we hope to own. Education is our main goal at the boat shows. We look at the latest and best technology in the boating industry. We pick up pamphlets on the products we envision having on our boat. We board all types of sailboats, paying close attention to features we like, details that draw us in and make us take notice. Everything that piques our interest is catalogued in hope we can replicate the features we admire most. In addition to the wonderful boats and equipment that provide learning opportunities in abundance, there are always seminars by some of the greatest sailors of our time. Be that as it may, Dan and I scurry to boat shows all over the country, listening to the advice of these seasoned veterans, hoping to glean every last scrap of great advice. You can call us boat show groupies, boat show rats, but the advice and lessons we have learned from those who have done what we are hoping to do, has been invaluable.
One of our favorite boat show traditions, is the Cruising Outpost sailing party that is hosted at almost every boat show in the United States, as well as in remote locations all over the world; Tahiti, Tonga, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, ect. The colorful character that runs these parties, Bob Bitchin, is owner of the magazine Cruising Outpost and a giant, tattooed, ex-biker. Picture the largest man you have ever seen riding down the highway on his high-handlebar Harley, put him in a Hawaiian shirt and boat shoes, and that is Bob Bitchin. At the close of a boat show Saturday night, Bob throws a free pizza and beer party, accompanied by his sailing musician friend, Eric Stone. Stories, music, dancing and revelry take place from about 7 till midnight. In addition, great prizes are raffled off, with the proceeds being donated to some worthy sailing organization. Dan and I always spring for an arm length of raffle tickets, hoping to win the water maker, a week sailing trip in some exotic location or one of the other magnificent prizes. Since the odds are about as good as being struck by lightning while being eaten by a shark, we have always gone home empty handed…. Empty handed that is, until our latest boat show in Oakland. Finally, instead of walking away losers, we actually won one of the big prizes!
Since the crowds are so large and noisy, one has to fight his or her way to the stage area to hear the numbers being called for the raffle. Dan, usually disinterested, humors me by letting me claw my way through the crowds within hearing distance of Bob when he finally calls out the numbers. Dan reclines with a beer, a smile on his face, knowing I will come back once again disgusted, proclaiming my fate of never being able to win anything. Somehow, I had a feeling that this boat show was different. For the first time, I had my wonderful daughter and her husband at the boat show with us. She lives only an hour from Oakland and had been kind enough to house Dan and I and spend the day at the show with the promise of staying for the infamous Bob Bitchin after-party. My daughter Katie and her husband Sean were all about the raffle tickets and from the onset, we were infused with their enthusiasm and positive outlook. Sean, being over six feet, used his massive arm-length to get us a great string of tickets for our $20. He proclaimed that we did in fact have one of the winning tickets. As the evening progressed and the time for the raffle drew near, Dan and Sean sat back with their beers, grinning, as Katie and I plowed our way to the front of the crowd. Tension was as thick as molasses on a winter day, as the largest prizes were finally being drawn. We failed to win one of the dozen smaller items and only three main items were left to win: a week cruise in Martinique, a very expensive water maker and a state-of-the-art satellite phone. The cruise passed us by, the water maker eluded us, but lo and behold, we hit the spot on the satellite phone. Raising my arms in the air in and screaming in victory, I danced, hopped and shook with mere delight as I ran up to the stage to claim my prize. I couldn’t believe my luck had finally changed, but I knew in my heart the good vibes and love for the two beautiful people who accompanied us, made all good things possible.
After the wonderful sailboat show weekend, Dan and I headed down the coast for a peek at a Norseman 44’ in Long Beach. It was an older boat, but one that intrigued us with her comfortable living area and sleek design. She is high on our list as the type of boat we would love to sail around the world on, and we will continue to look in that direction. So the boat hunt continues and has a few new interesting twists, which I will be blogging about in the very near future.