The First Boat Shows of Spring

Despite the snowfall across the northeast, spring boat shows are beginning to bloom

A 2010 spring boat show in CT. Photo © Nautical Sites Media

Attending the January boat shows with several feet of snow outside and summer still months away may have quenched your thirst for boating briefly; but now that we are officially five days into spring, and boating season is within reach, the current boat shows will give you a chance to really get excited.

As you'll see, this weekend's lineup of boat shows has something for everyone. Is there one near you?

Big Yachts
There are two boat shows featuring really big boats this weekend. One is the 26th Annual Palm Beach International Boat Show on Florida's Gold Coast. The other, the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show, is in the United Arab Emirates. Even though there is turmoil throughout much of the middle east, it is a good bet that the Abu Dhabi show will be one of the safest places to be in the world this weekend. We would just go to the Palm Beach show because it's closer to home. Luckily, the folks from Megayacht News weren't scared to make the trip to the UAE...

A pic from earlier today at the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show. Photo © Megayacht News

New York and California
UCONN fans in southern California for the big basketball game might want to drive to our opponent's home town (it's not that far!) and check out the Fred Hall Show at Del Mar San Diego. The event's website claims that this is San Diego's largest on-land boat show. Back in the northeast, another boat show makes a grandiose claim right in the event's name. Still, the Great Upstate Boat Show is probably worth a visit - it's located in Queensbury, just south to Lake George and under an hours drive up from Albany.

Oh, Canada
Lastly this weekend, there are two boat shows in Canada. The Moncton Boat Show in New Brunswick, and the 1,000 Islands Boat Show in Ontario. Go if you're near them. That's all we have to say about that.

SailQuest Coming to Mystic, Connecticut
We also want to remind you that SailQuest is coming to our home state of Connecticut May 13 - 15, 2011. This is an in-water boat show located on the grounds of historic Mystic Seaport. This year the show organizers are offering discounted boat show tickets that also give you full access to Mystic Seaport’s exhibits. For the coupon code and more information about the show, visit the SailQuest page at Windcheck Magazine's site: here.

As always, you can find details about these and other events, including links to the official show websites, on our calendar of boat shows.

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