Newport International Boat Show

[Bill_R]

My wife and I will be attending the Newport, Rhode Island International Boat Show on Sept. 13-14th. This will be our first show and I'm pretty excited about it. We want to get out there and see what kind of boats we like and get a feel for the size and space on board. We are also planning on attending some of the seminars throughout the days.

Anyone else going? Any suggestions on how to make the best of our show experience?

[sopwith camel]

Hi Floaton

We've been to the Newport show many times. We usually go to the website www.newportboatshow.com and look at the show layout so we know where the sailboats will be and, if we're interested in some gear, what tent it would be in.

We get there early and if it's not crowded we head for the boats right away and look at a few before it gets crowded. If it is crowded we head for the tents and look at all things boat worthy. We don't usually purchase anything until we are ready to leave. No use carrying something around all day!

Around 11:30 (the beginning of lunch time) we head out to the boats and while everyone else is trying to get lunch we spend a couple of hours looking at boats. Everyone is usually back looking at boats by 2:30 and thats when we head for lunch. (Usually at the Smoke House).

After lunch, back to the show to check out what we might have missed. Before closing we head back to the tents to purchase anything that might have interested us earlier in the day. This also saves on impulse buying. The all important "thingy" that you just had to have first thing in the morning might have lost some of it's luster by the end of the day or you decide you just don't want it anymore.

If you are going to seminars you'll have to work your looking/shopping around them obviously. Newport is a great place to visit and we usually go a couple of times a year. I noticed that you'll be there for 2 days. Many really great restaurants for dinner on Saturday night.

Hope you have a great time!!!