On Tuesday, February 14th, 2017 in Boating Safety.
Largest Temporary Marina in the World
The Miami International Boat Show is expanding yet again to gear up for the long anticipated mid-February show that takes over the South East region of Florida, this year starting on Thursday, February 16th through Monday, February 20th.
The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) is anticipating a 40% increase in the size of the on-water display at the Key Biscayne Marine Park & Basin. This will be the notorious show’s second time at this specific location, which has been renovated and redesigned to serve as the boat shows permanent home. “This is the largest temporary marina ever built in the world”, says NMMA president Thom Dammrich.
The on water displays are increasing from 409 boats to 565 boats in the water. This will be out of the 1,300 boats on display in the shows entirety. The shows offering of sea trials was a big hit last year for the overall experience of the show. This year the training capacity has doubled from 400 classes available to 800.
The shows management team has been busy keeping up with last year’s complaints and requests. Among these things, the NMMA has addressed other issues such as lighting and transportation. All 1,004 tent lights have been replaced with LEDs that have 35% more lumen. The show will use 47% more water taxis, almost tripling the transporting capacity from 52,000 people able to travel one way via water taxi, to 125,000 this coming show. Management has cut the routes down from seven to four in order to operate at high capacity with high frequency.
Parking and bus drop-offs will also be enhanced this year. The bus system will be managed by Hello Florida this year. They have bettered the parking and traffic flow by creating a newly paved area in front of the show. There will be about twelve buses running between The NMMA’s Miami International Boat Show at the Basin, and Yachts Miami Beach located on Collins Avenue. VIP and Handicap parking will also be available and better accessible this year at the Miami Seaquarium, used for parking during the Show.
Trends to expect at the show:
As always, we can expect a fantastic show at the Miami International Boat Show at Miami’s Marine Stadium Park & Basin.