Viking Yachts had a full display of boats ranging from 42 to 82 feet long, lined up at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. Over 3,300 show attendees signed up to enter the Viking display during the five-day show, despite the glancing blow dealt by hurricane Sandy.
The LED light show starts at sunset, with deck lights and underwater lights altering the colors of fiberglass and stainless steel.
This classic fighting chair has style as well as function. Note the offset base, which allows the mate to swing an angler closer to the gunwales, as he or she battles with big game like marlin and tuna. This type of chair, with a number of rodholders built into the back, is especially popular on big game fishing boats in Florida. Northern anglers often opt for a ladder-back style instead.
The Viking 55 (which we reviewed after the show) has Carolina flair, incredible visibility from the bridge, a spacious engine room, and a full galley for cooking up that fresh catch. A pair of 1,550-hp MAN diesels propel this boat up to 41.5 knots. This new model replaces Viking's previous 55 Convertible, which had an extremely popular run with over 150 sold.
Even in a village of big impressive boats, there is still one group that is the most impressive of all: megayacht row. Over 100,000 people came to this show to be wow-ed by yachts and megayachts like these, and according to salesmen and brokers, the bad weather worked in their favor by keeping "tire-kickers" off the docks. Serious buyers, on the other hand, were not deterred.
Megayacht row sports many luxurious waterborne transportation options; a few top decks also sported airborne options, like this helicopter. Other "toys" and tenders spotted along megayacht row included jetboats, PWC's, and underwater scooters.
By sunset on Friday, Hurricane Sandy had moved far enough north for the skies to clear, lighting up a row of sportfishing boats. The storm, which cause damage of historic proportions when it traveled up the coast to New Jersey and New York, blew down a large temporary building and a display tent and caused only one minor injury—a sharp contrast to the devastation the same storm would cause a few days later, when Sandy made landfall some 1,200 miles to the north.
No more rain means these sunpads might be put to use tomorrow.
Deep Blue is ready to take you on a yachting adventure.
Style meets function in the glossy lines of this Marquis.
And at the far end of the almost-all-white megayacht row this poweryacht stands out, thanks to glossy varnish and an equally glossy blue hull.
