An estimated 300 people visited Aventura on the opening day of this, the largest and most popular boat show in the United States. As many as one third of the visitors came from abroad, with a large contingent of Canadians, mostly from Quebec, but also from much farther away, from South Africa to Costa Rica, the Philippines to Hawaii.
Journalists from various sailing magazines came for an initial visit as the Exploration 45 will be judged for both the Boat of the Year Award, run by Cruising World magazine, and Best Boats by SAIL magazine.
As always happens when Jimmy Cornell is present at a boat show, many former participants in one of his rallies came by to say hello, two of them, Charlie Doane and Hank Schmitt who sailed in America 500 in 1992.
