"We had a very good show this year and sold several boats," said Bruce Mundle of Barvaria Yachts (Annapolis, Md.). "What we noticed most this year was a higher percentage of serious shoppers. In terms of numbers, those kinds of sailors seemed to be on the rise this year."

Although there is no statistical model to tabulate exhibitor sales or the demographics of attendees, many exhibitors felt the show gave them the opportunity to connect with qualified buyers in this region of the country.

According to Scot West, Executive Director of show producer Sail America, this year`s gate represented a dip in attendance by 15 percent, compared to a highpoint in 2002. Yet the level of attendance is above the three-year average for this sailboat show.

"We were down this year in terms of attendance. But I look at that number in relation to a huge 33-percent jump in our gate in 2002: we pushed, but last year`s gate was a tough one to beat," said West. "We are still above our recent averages--and in light of the economy and the fact that we were earlier in January, just over a week from the New Year holiday, I`d consider our turnout a strong one."

For the 2003 show season, Sail America instituted a "dividend rewards" program, whereby exhibitors could put a pre-show marketing program in place via Sail America to draw more of their customers to the show and thereby earn discounts on exhibitor rates. Companies that took control of their own destinies and put a focus on pre-show marketing felt their efforts came to fruition in Atlantic City.

"We had a fantastic show," said Peter Cook of Sunsail (Annapolis, Md.), who took advantage of these marketing opportunities. "Our bookings doubled, compared to last year… People came to the show knowing what chartering was all about. That isn`t the case at every show. But here, we had some who had already narrowed their choices down to two different boats in our fleet."

According to Geoff McCord of Beneteau USA (Charleston, S.C.), marketing programs done through their local dealers, which included pre-show open houses with added incentives to purchase at the show, were an important part of their gameplan this year.

A slate of over 100 free seminars were held at SAIL EXPO, and blue-water sailors with tales of high drama and world cruisers with endless summer lives proved to be the biggest draws.

In her seminars, author and circumnavigator Liza Copeland (Vancouver, B.C.) gives sailors encouragement to pursue their cruising dreams.