Boat International – August 2019

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Charlotte Hogarth-Jones caught up with a

group of high-profile owners at the Palm

Beach Boat Show to discuss the US market

PhotographyMario Alzate

Y

ougetagoodfeelforthestateofthe

marketatyachtshows,andatPalm

Beachthisyearthepositivitywas

palpable.Therestaurantsandbars

werefull,thepontoonsheavywithclients,butmost

importantly,businesswasbeingdone–lookno

furtherthanRisaMerl’spieceonp118todiscoverjust

howmuch.It’snotallunalloyedgoodnews,however;

insiderswillrightlypointtotheshrinkingnumber

ofUSshipyardsproducingsuperyachts,andthe

preferenceforsomebig-nameUSbuyerstolookto

Europefortheirdreamboats.Andjusthowresistant

thebuoyantmarketistounforeseeneconomicand

geopoliticalshocksremainstobeseen.Butthetruth

remainsthatrightnowtheAmericanloveaffairwith

superyachtingisblooming–andthatthere’splenty

ofmoneymakingitswayontothebalancesheetsof

brokersandbuilders.Withbuyersfromtherestof

theworldstillquiet,atleastcomparedtotheUS

(helloRussia,EuropeandtheMiddleEast...),the

obviousquestionis:whatmakestheUSsodifferent?

Tofindout,wewentrighttothebuyersthemselves...

08 2019