Scarlet's Annapolis Review

[scarlet]

I'm sure you guys are all DYING to hear what I thought of the show.. right???

****crickets****

Well.. you are getting my review anyway!!

Here are my random thoughts:

1. Annapolis is a beautiful town! what a wonderful venue for the show. If anyone hasn't been there.. GO!

2. Why don't they use "gang planks"?! There were several beautiful boats that we wanted to go on, but, frankly... we literally couldn't get ON the boats! They had them docked so far away from the docks.. and with such a huge drop from the dock to the first step, that neither Scott or I could get on them. (I'm only 4' 13"... and Scott is still recovering from a VERY bad break)

3. You guys have let me DOWN!!! I thought you were my friends!!! How could you let me go to my second show without correcting my pronunciation of "Outremer"!!! I thought it was "OWT-reemer" but, it's not. It's "OOOT- rih-MARE". and you have to say it with a sexy french accent! I had to learn that the hard way

4. One of the boats I was dying to see was the new FP Saba. Couldn't WAIT to see it. Until I saw it.. .then all I wanted to do was get OFF of it!! How is it possible that a 50 foot boat can feel tooo small?!?! The outside areas and the salon were ok... but the hulls?! I literally couldn't get off of it fast enough..

5. The second boat I was dying to see, as many of you know.. is the Balance 451... There really are not enough words to describe how disappointed I was in that boat. I was standing in the port hull, and within my limited view there were 5 different kind of (mismatched) woods. It looked like they grabbed whatever was laying around the garage and used it in the boat. I looked at the plumbing and the caulk around the toilet looked like a 3 year old put it on.. and I could literally wiggle the toilet free of the hull... The boat was scuffed and dirty. very poor quality build. It looks like they threw it together with bits and pieces just to get it to the show. Phil Berman was actually there. I introduced myself to him, and talked with him a bit.. and then listened to him to talk to other people as I was exploring the cat... and I heard him say a half dozen times.. "we used that material because it was cheaper... we did it that way.. because it was cheaper.. we didn't do that, because it was cheaper".. Get my drift? I'm sorry, Phil.. but you boat was a piece of crap! blech!! (this is my opinion only and does not reflect the opinion of anyone but myself... oh, and I apologize for my candor.. I tend to say exactly what I think.. )

6. I also had a chance to explore some other boats that I hadn't really seen before. In fact.. I really liked the Antares that was there. I LIKED it a lot! We've always talked about a galley down boat.. but, it was good to really get to experience one. We saw the good and the bad of that configuration, and really enjoyed spending time on it.

7. AND.. here is the best part. I finally got a chance to SAIL on a catamaran!!! We tried to do that at Miami.. and didn't get a chance. We sailed on a Nautitech, and we really loved the experience. I'm sure I drove the captain crazy because I asked him HUNDREDS of questions. And after our sail, we are more excited than before about moving forward with our plans.

8. I also spent 4 hours in a multihull forum, sponsored by "OOOT- rih-MARE", and it was wonderful! I learned so much about different kinds of catamarans... sailing configurations.. engines... power usage.. watermakers... blue water passages... living aboard. It was really a great experience and well worth our $25.00 to attend. I highly recommend doing something like that at a show.

9. Lastly? we had a BLAST!!!!!!! I'm so on fire about sailing, I can hardly stand to be in the same room with myself..

Anyway... I hope I didn't offend anyone.. I'm anxious to hear what everyone else thought!