- Local News for Southern Sailors - December 2002 Next Story
Sail Expo St. Pete 2003
On November 21 24, the city of St. Petersburg hosted the 12th Sail Expo St. Pete all sailboat show the largest strictly sail show in the Southeastern United States. With 182 exhibitors (up 20 percent from last year), over 70 in-the-water boats, and 50 sailboats on land, the show welcomed a generous crowd from the 10 a.m. opening on Thursday until the last few hours on Sunday. Only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on Sunday at 4 p.m. slowed the crowd down, as many locals went home to watch the game on TV. Even a chilly day on Saturday, with lows in the low 40s and highs around 60, did not keep people away, as large crowds wandered the tents and docks from the 10 a.m. opening. Otherwise, warm weather prevailed for the four-day event.
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On Thursday evening, in an awards ceremony, Cruising World and Sailing World magazines presented the Hallberg-Rassy 43 and the Javelin 2 as overall winners of the prestigious 2003 Boat of the Year (BOTY) awards.
Noticeable was an exceptionally large number of smaller boats displayed on land. These trailerable daysailers signaled a growing interest by both exhibitors and visitors in these smaller boats, as many exhibitors came back to the show after several years' absence, while others were there for the first time. It was the largest contingent of small sailboats in the show's history by a good margin.
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