Annapolis Sail Boat Show!!!!

Sailing is one of my favorite past-times and, to be honest, it slightly nudges out wargaming for the top spot most the time.  One of my favorite events is the US Sail Boat show, which is held in Annapolis. The show is billed as the largest sail boat show in the world.  I'm not so sure about that, but it's a blast.  I've been spending most of my free time the past few days going to some of the manufacturer receptions and strolling about the show grounds.  To put the show in a wargaming perspective - it's like the vendor area at Historicon, except the venue isn't a big convention room is a giant series of temporary floating docks (over a mile) and the vendor stalls are boats.  The sizes range from small single person racing lasers (12') to two masted monsters that require a small crew to operate!

One can really see the impact of the economy by observing the show this year.  The discounts on the boats are very significant, especially if you wait until the last minute and the vendor is facing the cost of transporting the boat back to wherever they came from.  The spreads the vendors lay out are also reduced but that helps my waist line!  It's still very hard for sellers of new boats to compete right now with the used boat market right now, where the discounts are extreme and there is a very large inventory of boats that people bought when they thought they were flush.  There is a bit revenge here on my part for some of my former compatriots in the financial services industry.  One does reap what one sows.  Enough moralizing on my part.  There's a show rumor that the FDIC has a small tent with pictures of foreclosed boats they've taken possession of from bank seizures but I haven't seen it.

I'm not really in the market for a boat, but then again they are all so pretty and my son mentioned something about wanting to move up to the comet racing class.....

Of course, the most likely way you'll discover if I do acquire a new boat will be from my lovely and fierce wife's posting of my obituary.

The one unfortunate aspect of the boat show is that it has impacted my progress on my French Nappy's.  I've almost completed the grenadier unit and have made some good progress on the light cavalry.  We are heading into the prime wargaming season so I need to get moving!