I apologize for the delayed blog. Between the blizzard in the mid-Atlantic and the Miami Boat Show and not having internet at my hotel in Florida, I just didn’t get to the blog! There’s so much to discuss.
I had to change my flight in order to make it out of Baltimore before it got clobbered by round two of the blizzard. There was already 30 inches on the ground from the first wave of the storm, and I didn’t know if I was going to get to the show at all!
Branches breaking from the weight of the snow onto powerlines.
Luckily, I was able to get out of Baltimore and down to Fort Lauderdale fairly smoothly a day earlier than expected. Upon arrival I helped Gregg and Fred prepare and load our Krogen 58′ for her journey down to Miami. I worked from our Stuart office for a few hours the next morning before driving down to Miami with Tom.
Once we checked into the Opera Tower I had just enough time to drop all my stuff in my room before we had to run down to the Sea Isle Marina and help dock/unpack/prepare the boats for the show. Before I get into all the details of that, I would just like to say that I have had a fear of elevators due to getting stuck in one as a child- and I was on the 55th floor!!
All the buttons in the elevator. Seriously?
Fortunately, the view was worth it.
View from the balcony of my room on the 55th floor.
The set up process was interesting. We had a ramp that went down to a 20′ x 30′ floating dock and had a Krogen 48′ North Sea on one side and the Krogen 58′ on the other. While we began unloading and setting up the beautiful interiors of the boats there was some commotion amongst people on the dock by our boats. When I came out to see what was going on, I saw a gentle giant in the water. A manatee had come over to the warmer water and was taking it easy right by our trawlers!
The manatee that entertained the crew and myself.
After waiting a couple hours for mismatched gray carpets, we were finally able to set up shop. We arranged our teak furniture, podium, and easels that showcased our boats. We had bright yellow mums accenting our exhibit, and I must say at the end of the day it was a pretty and welcoming set-up.
Now, I personally had never been to the Miami Boat Show before so I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that it was smaller this year and that they were charging admission so that it would probably be slower than the past. To my delight, slower was still steady. I manned the podium and got to greet all the people that were anxiously awaiting to get aboard our boats. I then chatted with them until one of our sales staff was available to walk them through. It was fun learning all the different personalities of our sales team, not one of them the same.
Our Krogen 48', Second Star (right) and Krogen 58' (left).
For breakfast Friday morning Larry and I met with Charlie and Jamie from Adams & Longino, our advertising agency that helps with our ads, website and newsletter. Charlie’s slow and pronounced southern drawl kept me extra attentive as we discussed the show and the seminar they attended. Jamie was very friendly, organized and obviously on top of her game. We discussed ideas for our upcoming Waypoints newsletter and had an overall great and productive meeting.
After the show, we had a photo session planned with Billy Black, but with the imminent storm headed our way we lost the desired lighting very quickly. He resolved to do a dawn photoshoot in lieu of the sunset, and we are excited to receive all the pictures and start putting them to use in our literature and online.
Ominous clouds coming toward the marina.
Saturday night Larry and I were taken out by Yachting Magazine to a thai/sushi place in South Beach where we were wined and dined. While business was discussed, it was kept at a minimum and the business relationship was strengthened by virtue of the fact we were all getting together for a nice meal and a fun night out. The bulk of the conversation actually turned into teenage daughters and between my experience as a former teenager and Bob Bauer as the father of a daughter in her late teens, we really scared Larry and Bob Cole about what they will be facing in the next few years with their young teenage daughters. They didn’t seem to find much solace in the fact that my female friends and I have all turned out okay! We ended up at fontainebleau for a night-cap and then headed back to the hotel.
Our 52' announcement poster at the entrance of our floating dock.
The rest of the show went very well. The sales team ended up with quite a few hot leads, and one even ended up in a promising sea trial of our Krogen 58′. Saturday was so busy that we periodically had waits on our floating dock and Sunday the traffic proved steady. Even Monday had a decent crowd considering it was the final day.
Before I started working for Kadey-Krogen I had heard there was a familial element to it, and I already feel like I have extra fathers and brothers keeping an eye out for me. My Valentine’s Day dinner consisted of chinese food, six men and myself- and I even footed the bill (nevermind the fact it was my company credit card)! Overall it was another successful show and experience and I’m looking forward to everything the future holds.
I promise to blog again soon.
Until next time…
Shannon