The U.S. Superyacht Association (USSA) retained its position at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, as “The Place to Be” during this year’s event with its mix of events that provided unique opportunities to learn about a variety of topics such as flagging updates and current regulations, the trends in destinations around the globe, culinary opportunities and the latest in interiors. Each opportunity combined with daily breakfasts and happy hours offered members different and valuable resources for education and networking.
Wednesday’s “Ask the Flag” event kicked off the week’s special segments as a crowd of aprpoximately 60 captains, yacht managers and other industry leaders were provided an update and Q&A on the current international yachting regulations by Peter Southgate of the Cayman Islands Registry and Pete Chesla of IRI The Marshall Island Registry.
Destinations was the topic on Thursday with a global round-table luncheon designed to showcase and share destinations best practices, successes and challenges. Sponsored by IGY Marinas, Superyacht Northwest, Experience Yacht Services Alliance and Superyacht Australia offered a perspective on all corners of the world. Representatives from the Bahamas, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico, US and British Virgin Islands, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Australia, Tahiti, Antarctica, as well as the U.S. west coast from Alaska to California all had an opportunity to collaborate and learn how to work together more in the future.
The USSA Annual Meeting had a record number of attendees with a sold-out crowd of 300 as we celebrated 15 years of supporting the superyacht industry with highlights of the latest industry trends, industry data and global updates as well as featuring a key-note address from Tim Sargent, COO International Marinas for Safe Harbor Maninas. This is also when we celebrated our annual award winners for this years Golden Compass, Beacon, Crystal Vision, Chairman and Young Industry Leader awards.
Following the Annual Meeting a group of chefs and culinary experts had a roundtable chat featuring hot topics in yacht galleys, staffing and the latest in culinary supplies and provisioning.
The final events were on Saturday with a A Peak Inside hosted by the Design Center of the America’s (DCOTA) and focused on the latest trends, tips and styles for yacht interiors. Imaginations were then sparked with a solo sailor’s tale of circumnavigating the world as Istvan Kopar shared his adventures courtesy of Bluewater Superyacht Bridge Services.
Face-to-face connections and business deals went on all week at the USSA’s Sky Lounge in the center of the show. Sponsored Breakfasts by RPM Diesel, Capitol Integration and Aere Marine Group as well as Happy Hours hosted by Cayman Islands Registry, Marine Group Boat Works, Boksa Marine Design and Rolly Marine which created optimal networking scenarios in the Sky Lounge which would become the hidden treasure of this year’s show.
