It´s that time of the year when there´s still (a load!) of work to do but everybody is in Christmas mood already and one or two weeks of vacation is ahead. Businesses are closing down slowly, you try to reduce your external appointments as there´s an Outlook full of email to get sorted and emptied for a fresh start. For us in the boating industry it is always a time to look back and draw conclusions from the past year and develop some sketches how the new year will do – and of course we´re in hot mode for preparing the world´s leading boat show: Duesseldorf!
Form me personally it´s a time to look forward, get prepared and look ahead. If the Covid-craze and everything that was connected to it, did teach me anything, then it would be that any plan you do can (and will!) be smashed. It´s better to work on your resilience, your capabilities to adapt and quickly react in creative ways than to have a detailed plan that surely will be rendered impossible to put through if things change. And things still change, although not as fundamentally as during the past years. So, let´s take a look at Duesseldorf Boat Show and the boats I look forward to.
Cruising Yacht highlights at Boot Duesseldorf
First of all, I will of course use my time to see all the boats and as with the Neo 570 in 2023 or the Saare H Boat I will surely discover boats which I do not have on my Radar yet. As for now, there are some 10 yachts I am really keen to see, with the all new Arcona 50 being one of the top boats. Why? Well, I kind of have a special relation to the brand Arcona which I had come to know very late in my boating “career”, sadly, their mastermind Stefan Qviberg, with whom I had the pleasure to talk to, has passed and it was a bit unclear what will happen.
But with legendary X-Yachts founder Niels Jeppesen stepping in as principal designer for the new generation of Arcona boats, things became really interesting. The Arcona 50 is a big boat for sure and I hope there will also be mid-sized and smaller units made available by this brand, but it’s a showcase for the trends and style the brand will exhibit in the coming years. Paired with their incredibly high building standards and finishing quality, this is surely a yacht not to miss!
Performance boats at Boot Duesseldorf
Also not to miss is the SunFast 30 OD about which I had written two articles during her inception (read them here and here) and now the first boats are in the water and sailing. I am very curious to do a detailed walkthrough and check for the new things incorporated into this sports equipment: An all-out racing boat in 30 feet, that´s interesting.
Particularly interesting because we have some other fantastic boats in this category available, like the Dehler 30 OD on the more omnipotent side and the Figaro 3 on the other, more extreme sports-dedicated side. Also, Jeanneau starts some interesting side projects with the SunFast 30 OD, like offering this boat made with recyclable Ellium-resin, which is a first for the whole industry on this level. There´s also another performer I´d like to see, the Black Pepper Code 0.1
This is a 36 feet daysailer, build completely in carbon fiber thus weighing in some ludicrous 2.400 kilograms. She not only seems to be a very capable sailboat, she is also damn beautiful! Timeless, modern lines, a bit “edgy” but also nicely curved with a subtle, sexy sheer line. She reminded me of Y-Yachts, but shrunk in size. Really looking forward to seeing this boat as well as the new Sunbeam 29.1 which is continuing the new path of this brand launched with their new 32i a few months ago.
Boat and yacht market during recession
There are many more on my bucket list: For example the new Dufour 44 on the mid-size production cruising boat sector, the Jeanneau 55 which seems a bit awkward looking at her unusual cabin layout or the new Hanse 410, which I am especially keen to see because her bigger sisters, the 510 and 460 have been done beautifully. And then there are of course the “unobtainables”, let´s call them this way. Those fantastic, beautiful and alluring big units we all love to look at and admire. All-out luxury yachts like my beloved Oyster, CNB or Contest (let´s see if they still refuse entrance to their yachts for me …) A special boat in this category will be the Hallberg-Rassy 69.
She may stand for a trend in the boating market right now: It is undeniable that we are in an economic recession, especially in Europe. With high inflation and crazy prices all around, political uncertainties, bad news on the TV all day long and a general bleak mood, it is mainly the middleclass suffering. Big boats are still selling well, mid-sized units are very hard. A market in consolidation, buyers in standby position … I´m not saying these are hard times and a crisis, but it´s definitely not happy-go-lucky anymore. So – if you, dearest reader, happen to come to Boot Duesseldorf, please drop by at Beneteau sailboats in Hall 16, say Hello and have a small chat. I would be delighted to meeting you!
Copyright © for all boat pictures by the respective shipyards
You might as well be interested in these related articles:
Bye bye 2022: This is what I thought 2023 would be like
Arcona Yachts plus Niels Jeppesen – a winning couple
Christmas Unboxing: Oceanis 30.1