United States Sailboat show has something for everyone

Accents from around the world could be heard in Annapolis yesterday, as sailboat buyers - and curious shoppers - crowded into the United States Sailboat Show.

All of the boats attracted a lot of attention, but some more than others.

Boat fanciers, for example, came upon a Morris Yachts 48-footer, its varnished teak trim gleaming and its creamy off-white deck inviting.

"You can see it," Linda Landreville of Montreal Canada, said of the boat's quality.

She and her husband, Francois Yanire, said they own a 43-foot Beneteau, but would like to buy a larger boat.

"We want to sail around the world in two years," Ms. Landreville said.

Mr. Yanire said as he came out the boat's paneled cabin, with its floor of stained teak highlighted with narrow strips of French pear wood, "We like it; we like it a lot. Only, the price, I don't like ... The budget is not there."

Bill Hunsinger, from Medford, N.J., and Carole Lowry, from Woodlyn, N.J., also were smitten with the Morris.

They own a 37-foot Beneteau, which they love, but were curious about what else was on the market.

One big difference between the boat they own and the custom-built yacht they were admiring was simple: their boat cost about $200,000 stripped-down, while the Morris started at $1 million.

Add a few luxuries, such as air conditioning and a washer and dryer, and the yacht could reach $1.5 million, a manufacturer's representative said.

Mr. Hunsinger laughed and said he wouldn't be buying the Morris this weekend, but would shop for some accoutrements for his current boat.

"I always buy something," he said of his annual trek to the Annapolis boat show. "I am looking for a cruising spinnaker and, possibly, a radar."

This is the 39th annual United States Boat Show, and about 600 vendors are there, selling boats, equipment and gear.

About 250 boats are in the water, and another 150 are on land, according to Dee Newman, the show manager.

This year's show has some new offerings, Ms. Newman said, including a section of one-design boats, which generally range from 10-footers to 25-footers and are used for racing.

Ed Hartman, owner of the boat show, said attendance is running about the same as last year, despite the spiraling economy. He declined to provide attendance figures, citing competition between boat show operators.

"It is going great," Mr. Hartman said. "Despite the stock market, everybody seems happy and upbeat."

Mr. Hartman said he increased advertising about 40 percent over last year, in order to make sure customers filled the walkways.

Vendors at the show range from Snyder's Bootery shoe store on Main Street, to boat builders from Europe, and the show was providing a chance for networking yesterday.

Ken Hoeft, from Home & Patio, located on Main Street in Annapolis, was there, talking about a teak-treatment he is selling.

The product, he said, has existed for 25 years, but has never been marketed to boat builders.

"It is a polymer product; two coats, and it'll last eight years in this environment, five years in the Caribbean, and 10 years in Canada," he said.

However, the teak must be sealed on the backside, so boat builders need to treat the wood before installation, or when a boat is being rehabbed.

Other people, many with a less nautical bent, were strolling the piers, enjoying a fall afternoon.

Actress-photographer Nicole Donge and photographer Scott Allinson, from New York City, were buying shoe inserts.

Neither Mr. Allinson nor Ms. Donge is a sailor, but they are going out on a boat today that belongs to some friends of a friend, whom they have never met.

"It's a sailboat," Ms. Donge said.

"And not a big one," Mr. Allinson said.

"And oh," Ms. Donge added, "on Sunday we're to crew in a race."

Another member of this group, Lynne Fisher, from White Plains, N.Y., came up, and provided some more details.

The boat in question, she said, is a J 35, a 10,000-pound cruiser that belongs to Mike and Annette Mullarky of Pasadena..

With that, Ms. Donge said her plan was to stay in the middle of the boat and hope that no one notices that she knows nothing about sailing.

At that point, everybody started laughing and discussing dinner, with Mr. Allinson leaning toward something near the State House, and Ms. Fisher voting for any place that has good crabs.

"Every time I come here," Ms. Fisher said looking up toward St. Anne's Church, "I want to live here."