Image of the Week: Bring On Miami

For the past month and a half, Jason Johnson and I have been working on our “Countdown To Miami” series for speedonthewater.com in advance of the 2014 Miami International Boat Show, which opens to tomorrow. You’d think that knowing what will be there—even the things we we’re not allowed to talk about until the Miami Convention Center doors open tomorrow thanks to media embargoes and non-disclosure agreements—would take some of the thrill out of being there for us.

Even when you know you know what’s coming at the Miami Boat Show, it’s still a thrill to be there. Photo courtesy/copyright Jay Nichols/Naples Image.

You’d be wrong. It’s still a thrill, even when we know what’s coming.

That’s because there’s a huge difference between talking to go-fast boat builders, engine companies and parts manufacturers on the phone and actually seeing the fruits of their considerable labors on display. We knew, for example, that the 52-foot Black DiamondMarine Technology, Inc., catamaran would be unveiled last year. But seeing it for the first time was still breathtaking.

We know that MTI will show off two new 52-footers, one canopied and the other with an open cockpit, this year and we know “what they are.” But there will still be that “Oh my god” moment when we walk into the MTI booth and see them up close and personal for the first time.

Even more of a blast? Reporting on the show in real time. It’s a rush. It’s not even like, well, work.

As I’ve written before, I am always eager to hit the annual Miami International Boat Show and—a few days later—just as eager to leave. (And I’ll be back the following week for a 72-hour, California-Florida-California commando run for the Miami Boat Show Poker Run.) But right now, I’m counting the minutes for tonight’s red eye flight from San Francisco to Miami.

So bring on the Miami Boat Show. Hope to see you there.