Shiver Thee Timbers

All right, all ye boaters. It’s time to stop flogging your boatswains and crawl out of your tropical depressions. The economic waters have stopped receding; high tide is coming back in, and not a moment too soon either, with this Friday being the first day of the 16th annual South Florida Boat Show. Beginning at noon and ending Sunday at 8 p.m., the expo will see 20,000 other salty dogs wash up on the steps of the Miami Beach Convention Center for the 250,000 square feet of wall-to-wall hull. The show will feature all kinds of ships, from luxury 40-footers replete with flags and poop decks, down to one-rudder dinghies designed for island-hopping, not to mention all the swag you can pillage from the sutlers peddling nautical accessories, engines, boat lifts, fishing tackle, dive gear, and marine electronics. All you buckos looking for some mental booty can attend one of the many seminars on boating, fishing, and diving. Fill yer sack with doubloons, untie yer wench, and splice the main brace.
Fri., June 5, 12-9 p.m.; Sat., June 6, 12-9 p.m.; Sun., June 7, 12-8 p.m., 2009