Yesterday I attended the Norwalk, Connecticut in water boat show. Normally it is the biggest in the USA with 500 boats and dozens of vendor tents as well as many food vendors.
These photos are actually from a previous year.
Yesterday there were probably half the boats, one entire section of tents missing, probably 30 to 40%, many vendors not present, some marine stores had only a booth with their catalog and no merchandise as in the past, no fishing seminars, and the food court vendors booths were all in one place and numbered about a half dozen, down by over half.
It can be said that people who own boats and yachts have deep pockets. Yesterdays Queen of the show was a 72 foot yacht priced at $3.9 million. The norm for the median class of boat owner, boats seen in the major marinas, on the Connecticut, New York, New Jersey shore is probably in the range of $100,000 to $850,000 with perhaps 10% in the over a million range. A 34 foot boat that sells for $330,000 requires $80,000 down and $250,000 financed over 240 months *( 20 years ) at $1738 per month payments. Marina summer docking cost is around $3,500 and winter storage is close to the same. Marine gasoline and diesel is $3.00 per gallon so a 200 gallon tank fill up *( small ) is $600. The boats that go offshore to the canyons for tuna, 100 miles out, will suck up probably over $1,000 in gas or diesel on one trip out, cruising, trolling and back to port. These boat/yacht owners are comprised or executives/professionals/business owners who earn $100k to $250K and up. The big yacht owners are millionaires.
Thus it appears that it isn't only the blue collar working stiff that is being crunched by the present economy. But the upper 10% of wage earners are also hunkering down.
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Yesterday, as you many know, we had President Obama in New York at the UN addressing the assembly. The occasion was Iran's presidents appearance. President "O" and the Democratic party threw a fund raising dinner at a hotel. Elite tickets were $500. Common tickets $100. They couldn't fill the room !!!!! One reporter said she received an E-mail invitation and then three more followed. The $100 ticket prices were dropped to $50 and STILL there were plenty of empty seats !!!!!
09-24-2010, 05:07 AM
Sign of the Times ?
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