While the Progressive New York Boat Show (running through January 5 at the Javits Center on the west side of Manhattan) may evade you due to geography or scheduling or a combination of both in conjunction with an overblown weather forecast, the show serves as a boating beacon hard by the wind-whipped Hudson River. And come they did, the show opened at noon on New Year’s Day and was packed all afternoon. I spoke to salesman who said they were excited to get 2014 started and it seemed there were plenty of serious buyers mixed into the crowd.
The day I was there felt just the opposite of the city’s hustle and bustle—more like whiling away a pleasant afternoon in the Javits Center. In contrast with the busy New Year’s Day, many seemed to stay away due to impending winter weather that never materialized. More for me. More what? You may ask. Well, just what the doctor ordered for a cold Northeast winter’s day: Boats, boats and more boats, stacked up and down the aisles, with plenty of sales staff ready to answer any question I may have had. Sea Ray, Back Cove Yachts (the 37 Downeast shown above) and Sabre Yachts, Prestige, Azimut Atlantis, Regulator, Regal Boats, and many more builders were all well represented with recent models. Grady-White introduced a new model at the show, the 251 CE coastal explorer, a kind of a bay boat and beyond, with many skinny-water features and still retaining some offshore capability. The Prestige 450 Fly is also there, an innovative design nominated for “European Powerboat of the Year” for 2014. And of course, representatives from many electronics manufacturers, such as Raymarine, Garmin, Simrad, Lowrance, FLIR, and more were all on hand to show of the latest equipment.
In the coming year, New York will have another show in September as well, while the January show will move to dates later in the month for 2015. For more information, check out www.newyorkboatshow.com.
