On Feb 17th, the doors opened to the Miami International Boat Show, and it was immediately clear that attendance had taken a measurable increase from the previous year. Perhaps even more impressive, was the remarkable represenation from the performance marine trade, as the aisles of the Miami Convention Center saw most of the leading manafacturers move their displays to the coveted “indoor” main floors.
Just two days into the show, Florida Powerboat Club members gathered for the 19th Annual FPC Miami Boat Show Bash, at the Raleigh Hotel on South Beach, a chic, art deco venue which had hosted the party for three years. The 2011 event was co-hosted by Peters & May, a global marine shipping enterprise that has also taken a very active role in the offshore powerboat racing community. Beautiful evening weather, with light winds and warm temperatures provided a tropical setting that brought all the heavy hitters from the performance marine trade out for a wild and festive evening, which featured a twenty foot poker run video screen and some sexy ladies to dress up the main stage. (see photo galleries if you have any doubts!) Special thanks to Offleaseonly.com, Superior Communications, and all of the Miami Boat Show Poker Run sponsors for coming out to support the event.
As the Miami Boat Show came to a close the following Monday, hundreds of powerboaters were getting prepped and ready for the annual pilgrimage to the Florida Keys. Officially titled the Miami Boat Show Poker Run, this event had its beginnings as the “Manufacturers Offshore Rally” for its popularity with boat builders and new boat owners to get their latest creations on the water and up to speed! More recently, FPC members have nicknamed the event, simply..theMiami Run. In its entirety, the event is a four day format, as earlybirds can depart on Thursday from Miami, and essentially enjoy four days of boating. Surely, anyone who favored this format for 2011 was quite pleased with the result, as the weather proved to be sunny warm and most significantly, an escape from the cold miserable winter they left back at their homes in a variety of northern states.
Friday saw a continuous flow of high-performance, high-dollar machines, as many of the most impressive boats that were displayed in the Miami Show, found their way to the Miami waters and were soon staged for the departure from SeaIsle Marina and Grove Harbour Marina. From the brand new Cigarette 46 Rough Rider which was featured in the Cigarette Racing display, to the 48 MTI’s, ZR-48 and WINDSHIP, a small fleet high-performance hardware, many powered with the Mercury Racing HP1350’s, began to take flight on Biscayne Bay. By Friday evening, the lineup of colorful paint schemes and gleaming headers made Holiday Isle Marina the undisputed high-performance Hot-Spot, featuring the highest concentration of breathtaking offshore catamarans and v-bottoms that could be seen anywhere in the world. (After all, this IS the middle of winter!)
See the 2011 FPC photo galleries for a complete display of 360 images in six photo galleries, featuring all the highlights!