2008 Flibs - Live Coverage

FLIBS Night Life...

Saturday Night, November 1st - Post Show Parties​

by Carl Camper​

National Marine Suppliers welcomed the trade with their annual boat show party. This year's theme was bikers and babes, with rub-off tattoos for Rybovich and Quantum Hydraulics worn on the sleeves of believers. With upwards of 4000 people in attendance throughout the night, security was tight. Lots of pricey parts 'round here!

Entering one of the MANY cavernous halls of NMS, banners from numerous OEM suppliers decorate the walls. The contributions of these vendors helped make this a world class event.

An overview from the rafters. This is just one of many halls that are normally filled with marine merchandise, waiting to shipped worldwide.

I didn't get the name of the band, but based on the banner behind, we'll call 'em the Rybo Band for now!

Parties Continued; Shadow Marine​

Shadow Boats hosted a Halloween Party inside their hangar at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. The toys were moved out and the goblins came in. A big thank you to Tom Gonzales and Shadow Marine for hosting an extraordinary evening, with all the proceeds going to charity.

To keep things interesting, a host of characters were employed to entertain partiers and keep the theme rolling. This 10-foot tall goon could actually boogy down on stilts.

And his side kick, a long legged woman...

And my sidekick, a long cool woman in a black dress...

Sunday, November 2nd - Winding Down the Weekend​

by Chris Caswell​

Joy In Marlowville:

Dave Marlow tipped us off that his crew at the Bahia Mar display on Dock F/G have already sold an 82-footer and a 53-footer, both popular sizes in the Marlow Yachts series of Explorer motoryachts. And his grin tells us that he expects two more sales to be completed today when serious clients come back with their checkbooks. Dave, who is a serious Porsche-holic, asked us to say that he did not wander over to inspect the new Porsche Carrera on display near his booth. Really. He didn’t. Honest.

Vicem - Made From The Real Stuff:

Many visitors to the Vicem display think they do a great job with the woodwork….without realizing that the entire boat is wood! Built in Turkey from cold-molded mahogany, these boats are lighter, stronger and better riding than many other materials. Cold-molded woods have been around since World War II, when the British built the legendary Mosquito fighter-bombers from cold-molded wood, earning them the title of Flying Splinters, a fond term because the planes had a reputation for taking incredible damage and surviving. Bahia Mar B/C Dock

Celebrity Spotted On Docks:

Until you look at the size of his shoulders and the power in his arms, he looks like any other 23-year-old, but Garrett Weber-Gale was part of the Michael Phelps gold medal sweep at the Beijing Olympics where he won two gold medals for the medley and freestyle 100-meter relays. Besides loving the water, Garrett grew up around boats and was taking his time admiring a Nordhavn 72 on B-Dock.. Is there a Nordhavn in his future? “I’d love to go cruising, but I have things to do first”. Such as win the World Championships, for which he’s in training. Go, Garrett!!

Real Ships, Real People:

Taking a tour of the rugged Real Ships offshore expedition yacht on G-Dock, I was impressed by the high quality of the woodwork…in gorgeous teak…throughout the yacht. I mentioned this to the pretty blonde girl who was leading the tour and she smiled shyly and said, “Thank you”. Turns out that she’s not just another boatshow girl….she is also a highly skilled woodworker in the Real Ships Bayou La Batre shipyard in Alabama. In fact, she and her father made the stunning dining table for the Real Ships. Very pretty. The table, I mean.

by Chris Caswell