1/28/2024 0 Comments The sailboat retrospective![]() On the contrary: Hanse and X-Yachts missed a big time opportunity. Good for the rest: Our stands were full of people, dealers and yard representatives smiling and happy. But out of the big names, only X-Yachts and Hanse did not show up. Yes, there had been some blank spots in the halls with some brands not coming. Many rumors had been circulating in the business, starting with Cannes 2022 when a very definite group of people didn´t tire to mention that Boot Duesseldorf would not take place: No heating would be allowed, Covid-restrictions in place, energy crisis and many brands already cancelled. One man´s meat is the other man´s poison … According to the feedback of us all on the stands, extraordinarily enough, the serious people had been on the big units 45 feet up. Not so this time: It has been the smaller and mid-sized boats from 30 to 40 feet where most trash talk took place. In the years before (and I am now for my seventh round in this business, attending roughly estimated my fiftieth boat show) most of the dreamers, trash talkers and time-stealers had been scrimmaging around the big boats, 50 feet and higher. The great surprise for us all was the fact that apparently something shifted. I kind of foresaw this in Paris … 10 days in a suit …īot not just talk. Constant talking, counselling, shaking hands (thank God we can shake our hands again!), smiling and boat chit-chat. We worked for 8 hours straight and – this is literally no exaggeration – I wasn´t able to take a piss, let alone a break for eating a snack. Thank god we had these angels ready and prepared: Had the stand been open, like it was with Bavaria vis-à-vis, “World War Z” would have become reality. Next to my +120 appointments for boat consultations and walkthroughs, a permanent stream of day visitors arrived at the desk of the hostesses. After a “World War Z”-like opening weekend with a tremendous overload of constantly arriving people and two fully booked days of the adjoining week it was clear to me that we even could have used one member in our team for each stand more. Therefore I had piled up the team of our company and we arrived with the biggest crew ever: Three guys on the sailboat stand of Beneteau, two guys with Excess, two with Beneteau power boats and three with Cranchi luxurious yachts. The influx of people was awesome, from day 1 until day 10. I also predicted that the ratio of lookers, dreamers and – for us as boat dealers – more or less uninteresting people to serious buyers and people with realistic projects will be much higher than in the years before. With Boot Duesseldorf, my prediction of an extraordinary rush of visitors was right. ![]() I try to be a realistic guy and I take life in a “worst case” approach: Meaning, I prepare for the worst, work for the best and usually the truth lies somewhere in between. To make a long story short: Boot Duesseldorf 2023 was a big time success. After a – let´s say – retained anticipation of this world´s leading trade fair of the boating industry, especially after three years of being cancelled, some big brands cancellations and many rumors in the run-up of the show, I am personally very excited and happy. After ten days of ten hours of constant talking, I guess, I didn’t spoke 100 words today. Meals cooked by my own and – best of all – a day spent in total silence. Familiar scents, noises of my neighborhood. ![]() ![]() The first night spent in my own bed, at home, in my flat. It´s one day after this year´s edition of Boot Duesseldorf had its traditional closing concert of all boat´s horns and signals and I slowly arrive back from ten days living in the boat bubble. ![]()
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