Ever wonder what the inside of a $100 million yacht really looks like? Just look at your phone.
The world’s largest online boat show started today with a string of yachts parading through the waterways of Palm Beach, blaring their boat horns. The “Sounding of the Horns” for the first Virtual Palm Beach International Boat Show was a symbolic castoff for a show that has an annual economic impact of about $683 million for the state of Florida.
This year’s show, originally scheduled to run in March, was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rescheduled event had to become virtual when it was clear that public events would not make the new May dates.
The $103 million PLVS VLTRA will be the largest and most expensive superyacht in the virtual show. Moran Yachts
Over the last two months, organizers, boatbuilders and dealers have scrambled to put together one-on-one appointments, virtual tours and links to specific boat models for 171 yachts over 78 feet (the length where superyachts start).
While boat show aficionados may miss the smell of fresh fiberglass and banners flapping in the wind, nobody will have to pay an entry fee, wait in long lines, or get turned away if they do not look like qualified buyers. Some builders have links that put potential buyers in touch with brokers, and others have virtual booths that offer video tours, or for top clients, a live video walkthrough.
One of the largest yachts in the show, Quantum of Solace, is in Palm Beach and hosted a press conference on opening day. Charlie Clark
Virtual showgoers can take virtual tours of three of the largest yachts in the show, Amel’s 242-ft. PLVS VLTRA ($103 million), Tankoa’s 235-ft. Solo ($73.5 million) and Lurssen’s 196-ft. Huntress ($53 million).
Other superyacht builders, Ocean Alexander, Majesty Yachts and Apollo Yachts, are also offering virtual tours of their lines.
Like the physical Palm Beach show, a number of new models are going to be launched, including the Grand Banks 54, Ocean Alexander Divergence, Princess Y78, and Vicem 67 cruiser.
The physical Palm Beach Boat Show was supposed to run in March, but was canceled because of Covid-19. It was rescheduled for May, but became virtual when it became clear that public events would still be banned. Informa
The good thing about a virtual show is that there’s no pressure to take it down. The organizers plan to leave it up for the rest of the year. Here’s a full list of the boats on virtual display.
