As originally published by SunSentinel on March 20, 2026.

Jonathan Beckett, CEO of Burgess, oversees a yacht sales and charter firm with 19 offices worldwide. But when it comes time for the boat exhibition season, it’s the Palm Beach International Boat Show that ranks as a personal favorite.

“It’s the premier boat show in the states,” he said in an interview. “For us, Palm Beach is more important than Fort Lauderdale.”

The reasons: “The location of the show, the size of the boats, and the proximity to all of the wealthy clients who live just up the road.”

The 44th annual show, which kicks off this Wednesday for a five-day run in downtown West Palm Beach, boasted a $1.05 billion statewide economic impact in 2022, the latest year for which an analysis was undertaken.

This year, it is scheduled to attract more than 55,000 visitors, 600 exhibiting brands and close to 1,000 vessels ranging from eight-footers to 250-foot superyachts. There will be more than 100 of the behemoth luxury vessels available for up-close gawking — or for purchase or charter.

“The show is really international by nature,” said Andrew Doole, president and CEO of Informa markets, producer of the show which is owned by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County. “We have 900 boats from runabouts to yachts to cruising boats and fishing boats. It takes a full day to two full days to see the entire show.”

“It’s a wonderful boat show to work,” said Chuck Cashman, senior vice president of global yacht sales for Tampa-based MarineMax. “If you put a pin in the map, it’s one of the best places to be in the entire world. The density of wealth there is exceptional. Palm Beach is a very elegant experience.”

‘Superyacht Show Palm Beach’

This centerpiece feature at Palm Harbor Marina will boast more than 30 superyachts measuring 150 feet or longer, and more than 100 at “more than an 80-foot length overall,” the show said in a statement.

The show’s largest yacht for sale: The Rocinante by Lürssen, at 256 feet. It accommodates up to 12 guests with 10 staterooms; a Jacuzzi; a spa with a beauty salon, massage parlor, and sauna; a gym; and a helipad.

The second-largest yacht: Boardwalk by Feadship, “shorter” than the Rocinante at 254 feet.

Sporting a steel hull and aluminum superstructure, the vessel can accommodate 14 guests.

It offers seven staterooms, six bars, a 120-bottle wine cellar, a gym, a spa with sauna, and a 20-foot-long swimming pool.

Big lift from the wealthy

A yearslong run of the migration of millionaires — well-financed entrepreneurs, wealth management and hedge fund operators, and CEOs of relocating firms into Palm Beach County — has formed a potential buyers’ pool that is drawing more brokers not only from the U.S. but from abroad, Doole said.

“The growth of wealth in Palm Beach is a fact,” Cashman said. “There are more people moving there of extremely high net wealth than any other part of the country. “

AJ Blackmon, CEO of Ikonic Yachts, a brokerage and advisory firm in Miami Beach, called Palm Beach a “wealth ecosystem.”

“North American buyers represent well over half of the global yacht market, and the United States leads the world in billionaire concentration with over 860,” he said in an emailed statement. “When you put a world-class superyacht showcase directly across the water from Worth Avenue, steps from where these families live, vacation, and manage their wealth, the conversion opportunity is unmatched.

“The numbers back it up,” he added. “The U.S. led all markets globally in 2025 with 130 superyacht sales, up 26 percent from the year prior. A huge portion of that volume flows through South Florida. The fleet at PBIBS now stretches well beyond 70 meters, which tells you everything about where Palm Beach sits on the global show circuit.’

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Shifting charters

The warfare isn’t helping the lucrative charter business. But executives said they respond by steering the business to calmer seas. At the show, people with extended waterborne vacations in mind can inspect boats available to charter.

A sample price menu: anywhere from $250,000 a week to $5.5 million, depending on the size of the boat, the amenities and length of the trip, according to Jonathan Beckett of Burgess.

“Nobody’s going to go to the Red Sea or anywhere near that,” Cashman said. “Maybe this is the year you go to the Pacific. We’re seeing a pickup in French Polynesia.”

Beckett said the recent U.S. incursion into Venezuela that resulted in the capture of former strongman Nicolas Maduro and his wife caused concern among charter clients.

“We had people on charter and they couldn’t get back on their airplanes and fly anywhere,” he said. “That certainly made them nervous.”

In the end, stability in the charter marketplace will be contingent on “how long the wars go on for,” Beckett said.

“My guess is that it will not be long and drawn out,” he said. “I hope I’m right.”

Attending the show?

Started in 1982, this year’s 44th annual Palm Beach International Boat will run between Wednesday, March 25, and Sunday, March 29.

The show will take up much of Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach along the west bank of the Intracoastal Waterway.

Show times:

Wednesday: Noon to 7 p.m.

Thursday:  10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Friday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. To 5 p.m.

Ticket options:

None will be sold on site. To book admissions, showgoers should visit PBBoatShow.com.

Adult two-day preview plus general admission ticket: Allows access for two days and is valid Wednesday through Sunday. Price: $85

Adult two-day general admission. Allows access for two days, and is valid Thursday through Sunday. Price: $66

Adult one-day preview: Allows access for a single day Wednesday to Sunday. Price: $63

Adult one-day general admission: allows access for a single day Thursday to Sunday. Price: $37

Child one-day admission (ages 6-15). Access for a single day Wednesday to Sunday. Price: $18

Windward one-day VIP ticket, access for one day Wednesday to Sunday. Provides access to a lounge in the center of the show. Contemplate your boat buying strategy over drinks and snacks. Price $430 each day.

Traveling Brightline? From the higher speed train line’s West Palm Beach station downtown, complimentary Sprinter shuttles and golf carts will meet you for transport to the show just blocks away. Brightline is offering a 15% discount on SMART Business Class tickets for travel between March 22-29.

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