MIAMI - Strictly Sail Miami, the sail portion of the famous Miami International Boat Show held February 12-17 at the Miamarina, reported an attendance increase of 4% over last year. This upswing follows the trend of successful earlier winter boat shows.

Strictly Sail, a primary showcase for mono- and multihull sailboats from around the globe, as well as state-of-the-art electronics and gear, had increased their exhibit space with an additional tent to accommodate the demand. Exhibitors reported customer interest and sales leads were either even or up from last year.

“We were pleased with the traffic and the qualified buyers attending the show. Of course, that’s in tandem with the current low interest rates and what seems to be an improvement in consumer confidence since last year. Our Discover Sailing program continues to be a blockbuster attraction; this year we took almost 500 potential sailors to enjoy a demo ride on beautiful Biscayne Bay,” noted National Show Manager Kevin Murphy.

Dick Jachney of Hylas Yachts declared, “It was our best show we’ve ever had in 30 years!”

“It was a very good show. . . we were impressed. Our dock was busy the entire time …and leads from the show exceed last year’s.” reported Hugh Murray of The Catamaran Company.

Eric Maclin of Hunter Marine Corp., a double winner of the Innovation Award and Best of Show Boat Display, said, “This was our best Strictly Sail Miami show in four years, with more boats sold and deals closed, plus good leads. Traffic was excellent quality so we had really good exposure for our new SailTime™ program.”

“It was an excellent show. . .one of the best shows in the last 5-6 years, with outstanding local and good-to- very good results for our regional and out-of-state markets,” observed Geoff McCord of Beneteau USA Inc.

Next year’s show is scheduled to be a week later and a day shorter. The five-day show will run from Thursday, February 17 through Monday, February 21.

Strictly Sail is produced by Sail America, the sailing industry trade association, in cooperation with the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), the leading trade association representing the recreational marine industry.

For further information, call Sail America at 800.817.SAIL