The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is back, baby! I’m sure you’ve got questions.
Q: I do not have what you would strictly call Let’s Buy a Yacht money. Is there still stuff at the boat show for me?
a: Absolutely! There are great boats of a decidedly non-yacht variety. There’s also good food and drinks as well as lots of other events, including fishing and ocean stewardship classes for kids.
Q: My kids already give me an earful about sea turtles every time I touch anything plastic. Should I really give them more ammo?
a: Fair concern. But they can also learn about fishing without their parents trying to teach them – and let’s face it, parental fishing lessons typically involve tangled lines, no fish and a demand to be taken home to the PlayStation.
Q: It’s like the old adage: teach a child to fish, and there’s a half decent chance they won’t spend the entire weekend playing video games.
a: Indeed.
Q: What if you also teach that child to surf?
a: Then he’ll cut first period algebra and head up to Hillsboro Inlet in a van.
Q: Kids on the water is great, but what about safety? I want my kids to be safe but they don’t want – and I’m quoting here – “to look like dorks.”
a: Glad you asked. In this issue, we talk to the founder of ThrowRaft, a personal flotation device company that is releasing the first ever NFL player-themed life vests. They’re made to look like player jerseys. You can even get a Tua Tagovailoa life jacket.
Q: Any Jets ones?
a: Come on. Nobody wants to sink to the bottom of the AFC East.
Q: True. So, I can find these products at the boat show?
a: Absolutely. Everybody who’s anybody in the boating world will have a presence at the boat show. Watersports toys, fishing equipment, waterproof speakers, those coolers that have WiFi and smart cooler technology and will do your taxes or whatever …
Q: Will I have any opportunities to buy shirts with images of fish on them?
a: You know, I suspect you just might.
Q: Well thanks for this. Hey, can I interest you in a boat beer?
a: Absolutely. Just no plastic cups; I’d never stop hearing about it from my kid.