Roger Horner founded e3 Systems in 1996 of which he is still the CEO. He is also the most senior contributor of The Islander Magazine.
The e3 team visited FLIBS late October for the first time in a few years. Albeit the Show has taken place each year over the pandemic, it was not possible for the EU side of e3 to visit due to the pandemic travel restrictions, so it was good to be back.
This year the superyacht area of the show returned to the pre pandemic level of activities, and all of us from across the pond were welcomed back.
Not much has changed at the Show since my last visit. It is still huge, hot and humid but this time the sky was blue every day, filled with noise of circling planes towing advertising hoardings but with not a drop of rain.
Sharon Philips, e3’s US director, always takes the most advantage of being able to dock walk and was able to make contact with many yachts which these days are getting more and more difficult to access without appointments.
The largest yacht at the Show was Coral Ocean that has recently been refitted in Mallorca.
The third largest yacht was the striking DB9 from the Palmer Johnson stable. Palmer Johnson designs such fantastic yachts with real power profiles.
Over the years FLIBS and Miami have always been the place to see boating excesses. One of the measures I always look for is to see how many outboards can be mounted on the transom of a small dayboat! This year I was not disappointed with 6 found!
It was great to be back and to catch up with a lot of old friends and business colleagues.
