Fort Lauderdale Boat Show Cancelled?

I rented several slips to display brokerage boats. My feeling is that considering:
a) you can not buy fuel on the water or the highway
b) it will be 2-3 weeks before power is fully restored in Ft Lauderdale
c) many hotels are damaged/closed
d) airport just reopened today
e) city is trashed with down trees and debris
f) cosmetic damage to my boats
g) running boat gen sets around the clock
h) 1 week is too soon for major improvement

I will save the additional $ that I would loose by setting up a display.

See you at the Miami show!

Another update from ybw.com

Altough I will still be attending the show there is serious doubt on my part that the show will live up to any expections. I had several meetings set with propective clients on vessels all over 80 feet and they have now all cancelled

I guess only time will tell if this was just an OK decision or a bad one, I don't think it will ever be thought of as a good decision to move ahead with the show.

Read on for YBW article



Understandable confusion following the devastation which forced the organsisers of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show to postpone for a week turned to anger among some exhibitors as they faced setting up in a community with a damaged infrastructure and a local population trying to re-build their own lives and businesses. There is considerable concern in the superyacht industry about visitors avoiding the stricken show.
Despite local curfews, damaged hotels, many with their beachside windows blown in, no electricity, inadequate sanitation and streets made dangerous by fallen trees and non-functioned traffic lights, the decision was made by Show Management, the organsisers, to re-schedule the event from 3 to 6 November, by which time conditions should have improved.
Kaye Pearson, president of Show Management, is reported to have said generators will be brought in to power the show if electricity hasn't been restored and the 100 yachts normally moored at Pier 66, which is unusable, will be found other berths.
But some superyacht associations from the UK, Europe and New Zealand felt that the show's attraction has been severely compromised and to try to re-run the logistics in a city suffering in the aftermath of a hurricane 'is madness', as one industry man put it.
The New Zealand superyacht industry reportedly lost almost all its show equipment when a tent was destroyed when the storm hit two days prior to opening. One source said he was 'pretty angry' with Show Management for pushing ahead with the show and some stand builders had reportedly already returned home.
In the UK Lewmar decided to pull out but the majority of the superyacht British Marine Federation participants were re-scheduling. Nonetheless, there was concern about who would visit a show on a site that had suffered considerable damage at the hands of Wilma.
In contrast a spokesperson for Show Management said :"The response has been overwhelming from visitors asking for dates of the re-scheduled show." She said that: "A large majority want to do the show." Thousands of visitors and exhibitors flock to Fort Lauderdale in late October to trade US$1.6 billion's worth of yachts and equipment at a boat show billed as the world's biggest. Whether Fort Lauderdale in her compromised state can cope with the influx remains to be seen.

I think the decision by Show Management to continue with this event is placing an unfair burden on builders and vendors who will clearly not be receiving a good return on their investment.

Orchestrating and delivering boats, supplies, displays and personnel is a logistical nightmare to begin with for the people that support this show. The costs involved are enormous, not to mention the fees paid to Show Management for a display space and slips at this event.

Locally, people are still picking up the pieces of their lives and it will be weeks, if not months before most are in the mood, or financial means to be looking at boats. If consumers, as well as display vendors do not have the infrastructure such as hotels, fuel and power… you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

I believe proceeding with an event of this magnitude; in a city that DOES NOT have adequate resources is truly questionable. I look forward to FLIBS with great enthusiasm each year, but not if it’s placing an unfair burden on builders who are not presented with a venue conducive to selling their boats.

The ISS (International Superyacht Society) issued a statement...

The Awards Gala will not be held at this time. Further, in consideration of our industry and due to the reports by both news media and individual ISS members local to Fort Lauderdale regarding the impact of Hurricane Wilma, the ISS has decided to cancel its other events scheduled for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Planning is already underway to reschedule many of the events; news of these plans will be forthcoming in the next several days and weeks.

Judging from the posts on this string it's clear we have a very wide cross-section of people involved in the marine industry-from builders, designers, project managers and other assorted marine related nutcases-and there seems to be a consensus from this wide ranging group that moving ahead with FLIBS at this time is a poor decision at best.

In reference to the latest press release from a showmanagment spokesperson, and I quote "The response has been overwhelming from visitors asking for dates of the re-scheduled show." She said that: "A large majority want to do the show." My question is, just who are all these people when I have yet to find one positive response.

Statistics are a wonderful thing and can be used to suit what ever agenda you might have. Case in point, the statement “The response has been overwhelming” If you have one person manning one phone and they talk for an average of 2 minutes, that’s only 240 people a day. Without a break in the phone ringing it would be very easy to equate that as being “overwhelmed”. For me, that is less 2% of the total number of people expected to attend as a visitor or participant, not really an overwhelming response.

We can do something about this! I can compose a poll and mail out to our members...

The Question:

"With the lack of infrastructure available due to Hurricane Wilma, such as power, hotels and fuel... we'd like to know if you will be attending the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show?"

The results of this poll will be forwarded to builders and suppliers in the marine industry.

The Poll:

1. I planned to attend FLIBS, but have cancelled.
2. I will be attending FLIBS.
3. I will not be attending FLIBS.

Give me some feedback here guys... is this a go?

Or is too late???