You can take my word for it, October is a pleasant month to visit Barcelona. Hot in the sun, cool in the shade, plenty of fine food and festivities, and a pretty good boat show as well. The Salon Nautico isn’t the biggest in Europe, but most of the major brands are represented, and for me, there were plenty of interesting boats to see.
The newly expanded Beneteau Monte Carlo models dress up the Barcelona waterfront.
One of the reasons I made the trip was to meet the folks from Cosas de Barcos, the newest acquisition of Dominion Marine Media, the company that also owns boats.com, YachtWorld, and BoatTrader. CosasdeBarcos.com is Spain’s biggest and fastest-growing boat-sales website, and we officially announced our websites’ collaboration with a casual dock party.
What’s a boat show without a party? Courtesy of Pantaenius, which provided their booth space, boats.com’s parent company, Dominion Marine Media, stages a friendly affair for dealers and brokers interested in boats.com, YachtWorld, and DMM’s newest website in Spain, Cosas de Barcos.
We also had the first meeting of our new editorial team in Spain, which has been in business for about one year, writing for es.boats.com, YachtWorld.es, and more recently, Cosas de Barcos. Most of the stories are written by José Luís de la Viña or Diego Yriarte, or by our editor, Maria Jose Lemos Pare, who also translates reviews that have appeared on boats.com.
Standing with the author (right) is the Spanish editorial team of Diego Yriarte (reviewer), Maria José Lemos Pare (editor), and José Luís de la Viña (reviewer).
The rest of the photos will give you the flavor of the show. For a taste of the tapas or cava I enjoyed, you’ll have to make the trip yourself next year.
Sub-tropical weather prevailed during the show, which takes over part of the inner harbor in Barcelona, Puerto Vell.The old and the new were at Puerto Vell; these boats across the marina from Salon Nautico are a sampling of many classic sailboats at the yacht club, Real Club Nautico.Wide and angular, here’s a 40-foot example of the newly acquired Nautitech line that brings Bavaria a distinctive if slightly outlying position in the catamaran market.On the right is last year’s successful debut, the Beneteau Oceanis 38; on the left is its new little sister, the Oceanis 35.These boats make a statement wherever they go; two of the striking Fjord models (part of the Hanse Yachts company) looked right at home in Med waters.Cristobal Colon (aka Christopher Columbus) points the way to sea, not far from the boat show.One of several power catamarans at the show, this is Jaguar Catamaran’s JC48.One of Spain’s best known builders, Rodman Group had two cruising designs on display.From Italy, two models from the cruising lineup of Absolute Yachts.The Fountaine-Pajot Saba is 49 feet long and 26 feet wide.An array of Sunseekers presents a formidable fleet at the head of the harbor.As the largest yacht in the show, this Mangusta model took up more than 100 feet of dock space.
Finally, watch a quick video to get an idea of the concentration of catamarans at the show, starting with the Lagoon 63 MY.
John Burnham is a boat owner, leadership coach, marine writer, editor, and champion sailboat racer. He is the former editor of Sailing World, Cruising World, and boats.com.
