Yachting Events Returning this Fall 2021

The transition from summer into fall comes with excitement for new beginnings and the final quarter of 2021. Now that the world has taken more control of the situation, large social events in the yachting industry are preparing to return within the next few weeks. Every guest must be vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination and/or a certificate of recovery from Covid. Additionally, they must present a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to event entry. Our focus gears towards the Cannes Yachting Festival, the Monaco Yacht show and the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Among those attending are the yacht brokers, managers, ship builders, yacht owners, buyers, charterers and other industry professionals, etc. These trade shows are, by Oxford definition, the quintessential way for companies to advertise their latest products and services, network with industry partners and customers, observe the strategies of their rivals, and examine recent market trends and opportunities.  

Cannes Yachting Festival – 7th to 12th September 2021 

Chronologically, first comes the Cannes Yachting Festival, making a return on the 7^th until the 12^th of September after being cancelled last year due to Covid. The event is split between the Vieux Port presenting the motorboats, superyachts and the Luxury Gallery (in Palais des Festivals where luxury, crafts and the art of living are displayed). The Port Canto will hold the sailing, brokerage and water toy area along with an area dedicated to innovation. It is well known to be the leading in-water boat show that will host nearly 600 boats, 430 exhibitors and more than 140 previews (10% more than in 2019) according to the official website.

Monaco Yacht Show – 22nd to 25th September 2021 

Next, the Monaco Yacht Show will be held from the 22^nd until the 25^th of September on the quay of Port Hercules and will exhibit the largest and most technologically advanced superyachts to date and their accompanying water toys. After the show was cancelled in 2020, the influential event will hopefully set the tone for an enthusiastic and economically prosperous year. The MYS attracts some of the most prestigious brokers, charterers, buyers, yacht interior designers and ship builders in the world. They also invite luxury clothing, jewellery, supercar, private jet and even helicopters to surround the area and participate in the affair. Among the most well know European builders attending include: Lürssen, Feadship and Benetti. Each year the evening before, the Monaco Yacht Summit features several panel discussions about all aspects of the yachting profession. Potential and existing clients are able to ask any questions and network among the industry experts.

This year it will be a much more exclusive event allowing less people to attend without intent on purchasing or chartering the yachts. The focal point of this year’s MYS is to attract the next generation of buyers with a yacht design innovation hub where you can connect with consultants and enquire about building and designing from the ground up. Meanwhile, the event will take stricter health and safety precautions with enhanced cleaning, hand sanitising stations, PPE and social distancing.

Fort Lauderdale Boat Show – 27th to 31st October 2021 

Finally, the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show is hosted on the other side of the pond in another one of the yachting capitals of the world. It did not miss a beat last year in 2020.  Beginning on October 27^th until the 31^st, this American treasure puts a more casual spin on the Yacht shows in Europe and comes with its own charm and a wonderful beach to set the scene. This event includes all of the luxury and glamour that the Monaco Yacht Show and the Cannes Yachting festival holds; plus, some western comforts like outdoor BBQs, lifeguard huts, and more family friendly spaces. The state of Florida is the United States’ yachting hotspot and then some. Since it is so strategically placed up north from the Caribbean, locations such as Miami and the Florida Keys attract tourists from all over the US and North America. Guests attend for some of the best weather, gastronomic scene, all under a happy and friendly country club-like environment.

Innovation and Outlook

Each of these yachting events are equally prestigious but clearly have their own character about them. There is no mystery as to why they are so popular and well renowned. Everything associated with them is extravagant, over the top and crawling with millionaires and billionaires looking to flaunt their success on the various “playgrounds” such as the French Riviera, Switzerland, and even South Florida/Caribbean.

In the most recent years, the problématique de recherche has been transforming the yachting industry and its various activities into a more environmentally sustainable and technologically advanced process. Much like in the Cannes Yachting Festival, there is an even larger section dedicated to innovation at the Monaco Yacht Show where the future of technology is being implemented into yacht and superyacht design just as it would be into any atmosphere for high profile clients. It has become increasingly difficult for builders and designers to differentiate their products and services for clients who have everything at their fingertips and money is no object. They have decided to “use sustainability as a catalyst for innovation”. There are endless possibilities of what the future of yachting can look like. Some of the newest developments include:

• More fuel efficient-solar powered, hydrogen powered or hybrid fuelled engines
• Creating less noise pollution by silent cruising with stronger propulsion and lighter materials used in construction (carbon composite).
• Building with extremely durable materials that can withstand disaster. Prepared for emergencies to improve safety for vessels-expedition yachts.
• Boats designed after different animals or shapes occurring in nature-i.e. yacht designed to look like an orca whale.
• Yacht designed to look aerodynamic/hydrodynamic like a supercar, or even designed after a space ship.
• Underwater viewing Lounge-Yacht interior below deck with floor to ceiling windows with extra strong fibre glass (or bullet proof glass) for a panoramic view of the surroundings.
• Yacht transformable into submarine
• Updated-navigations systems, and cyber threat defence systems for cyber security
• Autopilot navigations system
• Smart yacht-similar to smart house with a central control system wired throughout. Results in better communication, accessibility, control of all functions like temperature, lighting, entertainment systems.