boot Under the Tree

Dec 21, 2023

Prior to the plague, we had the extraordinary pleasure of occasionally attending the boot show in Dusseldorf. No, that’s not footwear exhibition – “boot” means boat, of course – but rather the largest boat show in Europe, possibly in the world. The sheer size of the show is almost overwhelming with16 huge halls, several filled with every size of power and sail boats and the rest filled with gear, charter destinations, marine art, water toys, scuba etc etc and more etc, a lot of which doesn’t always make it to our shores.

It’s a fine way to get away from the Canadian winter and fuel boating fever. The boot show is all indoors so, after visiting TIBS it’s an opportunity to continue the off-season illusion and spend another week climbing on boats and talking about summer. This year, now that travel is happening once more, the pilgrimage is on. 

My thought is this – yes, there are great boat shows in Canada but there’s a lot of winter to eat up. Just to give you an idea. boot Düsseldorf 2024 will occupy 220,000 square meters of exhibit space with More than 1,500 exhibitors from 65 countries and over 1000 boats including many super yachts. An example, Bavaria, a brand that is re-vitalizing after a tough couple of years will have 11 boats over 30 feet – six power and five sail in their booth and that’s just one manufacturer, albeit a big one.  It’s a visit to Disneyland for a person who loves boating.

Let’s look on the positive side – the Canadian winter is so long you can dance around the tree with the family then there’s lots of time left to really pack it with boating activities: charters down south, winter navigation courses with CPS, get-togethers with boating friends to complain about the weather and look forward to launch.  It’s the Canadian way.

Let’s start with the December part. Now’s the time to spend quality time hanging out with family and friends, over-indulging and sharing. January to March means boat shows, perhaps some travel. Then it’s on toward spring and boat immersion!  Lots to look forward to.

Happy Holidays from the OnBoard crew. Thank you for reading our digest all year; we look forward to another great one in ’24.

John Morris, Online Editor

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