Live From the Opening Day of FLIBS 2017

By Rebecca Bradbury 1 November 2017

The highly anticipated Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2017 officially opens its doors today and, on the ground in Florida, the YachtCharterFleet team is on hand to check out all the action.

Arriving into Fort Lauderdale yesterday, YachtCharterFleet will be in town for the duration of the five-day show, keeping updated on the latest happenings in the world of boating, networking with industry professionals and touring the superyachts in attendance.

As the largest on-water boat show in the world, more than 1,200 vessels are currently on display, ranging from sports fishers, tenders and inflatables to sailing yachts, catamarans and motor yachts.

The 58^th edition of the show is also expected to welcome around 100,000 boating enthusiasts, who come to discover what’s new in the global boating industry and to do business.

superyacht Matrix Rose lines up at FLIBS 2017

Feadship superyacht VANISH lines up in port for FLIBS 2017

FLIBS sign signalling entry onto the boardwalks at the 2017 event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Among the scores of superyachts in attendance is an impressive selection available for luxury yachting vacations and YachtCharterFleet will be taking a closer look at the very best in show.

Leading the way in the size stakes is Lurssen’s 78m/257ft motor yacht TV while, already attracting much attention, the ground-breaking 73m/238ft expedition yacht CLOUDBREAK from Abeking & Rasmussen is sure to be the highlight of this year's exhibit.

Other must-see charter yachts include the 63m/208ft expedition yacht SURI from Halter Marine, Benetti’s 62m/203ft motor yacht ‘Mine Games’ and the brand new 50m/164ft Tankoa charter yacht VERTIGE.

Another yacht sure to make headlines is Feadship's 66m/217ft superyacht VANISH. Unfortunately, this yacht is not open for charter, but YachtCharterFleet captured a shot of a helicopter landing on her helipad.

Already attracting much attention, ground-breaking expedition yacht CLOUDBREAK is sure to be the highlight of this year's exhibit

yellow umbrella on the foredeck of a yacht at FLIBS 2017

superyachts line up for the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show 2017

Seminars have also begun to take place in Limezone on the south side of the Bahia Mar. These include educational sessions on docking skills and boat control, powerboating, anchoring and multi-vessel rafting techniques and open water boat handling skills.

The busy events schedule has also got underway. It started this morning with an annual news conference and media breakfast, and this was followed by announcements from boat builders including the Ferretti Group, Burger Boat Company and Sunseeker.

This year’s FLIBS will run until Sunday 5^th November. Show opening times are from 10am to 7pm, apart from Sunday when it closes at 6pm. Be sure to check back on YachtCharterFleet to find out the latest news, as well as our live feed of Best Show Photos: FLIBS 2017.