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Celebrating 100 issues.
by Marilyn M. Mower
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08/01/2005
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| 100th issue |  |
In today’s inflated world, 100 of anything may seem a trifle,
thus perspective becomes all-important. One hundred is a very large number if
attached to the word "percent." Attached to the word "fathom," it is the depth
at which your yacht will go "off soundings." Attached to "issues of
ShowBoats
International," it equates to 16 years of chronicling
the mercurial world of custom yachts.
Perspective allows us to gauge development, achievement and
even value. Rereading 99 issues of ShowBoats International is like putting a diamond
under a microscope where both gleaming facets and unseen flaws are revealed.
Some new things that sounded good at the time truly were; others did not stand
the test of time.
As ShowBoats
begins and the decade ends, jet boats are the rage. Cover
#1
features the world’s then fastest megayacht, 53.7-knot Octopussy.
(Click image to enlarge)
Unlike many other important products, the creativity behind the evolution of
yachting’s advances comes not from the engineers and industrial designers, but from the dreams of the end users, the owners passionate enough to push and prod and ask "what if," all the while spending
great sums to build their vision of perfection afloat.
At the end of the day, that is what ShowBoats International has been about, bringing perspective to the relentless pursuit of
perfection afloat.
 "The average yacht we are designing today is twice
the size of the
average yacht we were designing 16 years ago, the yards are more
professional and the clients are more educated. I’m very happy
ShowBoats has
stayed true to its vision of focusing on the best of the
large boats. As a
designer, it meets my need to keep abreast of what’s
going on in the
industry." Glade Johnson, Interior
Designer. (Click image to enlarge)
The following anecdote proves the point about perspective: In
1968, Bieb de Vries and Frits de Voogt of Feadship were having a meeting with a
captain named Don Kenniston about building a yacht for his boss. The three men
discussed the future of luxury yachts from the points of view of a naval
architect, a yacht builder and a yacht captain. These three gurus concluded that
while yachts had gotten large and elaborate, there would never be a yacht
costing more than a million dollars. Twenty years later, as founder Jim Gilbert
and I formulated the content for this magazine, you could get a pretty good
Feadship for $12 to $15 million.
ShowBoats originated in 1982 as a quarterly brokerage catalog, subtitled
The Finest Yachts for Sale
and Charter. The reformatted ShowBoats International debuted as a bi-monthly publication in February 1989. We were, as
Gilbert wrote in his first Viewpoint column, "proud to be the first magazine
to document the international breadth of yachting, covering the best that
yachting has to offer." First and Best: 100 issues later, that remains our
perspective.
1989- Top: The only ShowBoats
cover to feature a classic yacht and a model, issue #3 also marks the magazine’s
design change to full-bleed cover photos. Bottom: Westport’s Jack Sarin-designed 98' Golden Delicious revolutionizes ideas about luxurious GRP motor yachts and creates buzz
about West Coast composite skills. Soon-to-be-former Hatteras dealer Herb Postma
opens Westship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to market Westports. (Click images to enlarge)
1989
• Ron Holland’s breakthrough atrium-style upper/lower salon design and Fabio Perini’s purchase of Picchiotti’s yard give
rise to megasailers. Perini’s vision for captive winches and triple-level
superstructures brings motor yacht-size spaces and easy operation to sailing
yachts.
 1989- Gentry Eagle breaks Richard Branson’s 1986 record for fastest Atlantic crossing
– 62
hours, 7 minutes. (Click image to enlarge)
• Detroit Diesel installs its first DDEC engine system. MWM Deutz raises the bar in 1991 with an
engine control system that automatically phones home via SatCom for
diagnostics.
• J-Class
resurgence begins with Elizabeth Meyers’ refit of Endeavour at Royal Huisman. The other
remaining Js, Shamrock V
(2001) and Velsheda
(1997) are also rescued. In 2003, John Williams launches a near-replica of
Ranger.
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