After taking delivery and Christening Steppin’ Out, we had a special trip to make before we could set out on our cruising adventures. In early February, we headed South towards Miami to get Steppin’ Out ready to attend the 2022 Miami Boat Show! It’s said to be the largest or one of the largest boat shows in the World, depending on who you ask.
Here’s the cover of the February 22′ issue of Southern Boating – the Miami International Boat Show edition and look who made the cover!
In Marathon, we had our good friends Mike & Cathy join us for the trip North to Miami! All four Marlow yachts going in to the show left Marathon together. We had a timed entry into the show as they literally built the docks around the boats as they “load in” all of the boats. It’s really a fascinating choreography of moving parts to get these yachts safely tucked in without causing damage while taking in to account the weather, wind, current, etc!
I wish I had some pictures or video of the process but I’ll be honest, it was crazy with all of the moving boats, tugs, docks and people trying to get Steppin’ Out safely in the slip without hitting anything! I’m pretty sure that my heart rate was off the charts and my mouth felt like it was full of cotton. Once we were tied up to the temporary docks I was able to exhale, get some water and start to relax.
With the four Marlow yachts safely tied into their temporary home, set for the show can begin in earnest. The Marlow Team had scores of folks on hand to help assemble the tent and stage the boats for the show. It took a total of 5 days to get every detail just right before the docks filled with folks looking for their next boat!
Here’s a shot from our balcony looking down on the Marlow exhibit. You can see just how closely packed in the boats are and the docks are literally pushed into place as the boats arrived. The highway running along the bottom of the picture is Venetian Way connecting downtown Miami to Miami Beach.
Move out Day! After a busy 10 days and thousands of spectators, it was time to move out! Sounds easier than reality as now you had to wait for each boat, exhibit and dock to be torn apart so we could get out of the exhibit and underway.
Needless to say, it took a bit of time, involved some scary moments with the current ripping thru and nearly putting Steppin’ Out against the bridge! Thanks to Capt. Mark, cooler heads prevailed and no damage resulted!
It was a great experience to see MIBS from a different perspective. Seeing all of the work that goes in to setting up and tearing down was impressive. The Marlow Crew did an amazing job of putting on a great show for those in attendance.
With our boat show commitment complete, it was now time to head South and begin the adventures!
