New at Yachts Miami Beach: Superyachts & Skyline



If you were one of the dozens of yachting industry professionals who attended the Friday night party at Yachts Miami Beach’s new superyacht venue, Island Gardens Deep Harbour on Watson Island, you were greeted by a spectacular view of lighted superyachts lining the docks in front of an electric Miami skyline. The brand new marina, which offers up to 5,000 feet of linear dock space accommodating yachts as long as 550 feet with drafts of up to 18-21 feet, had 24 superyachts on display for the show. 

Billed as the largest superyacht marina of its capacity in the Western Hemisphere, Island Gardens Deep Harbour showcased its modern upland facilities at the party along with its state-of-the-art floating concrete piers. As guests walked down the ramp from the promenade to the superyacht docks, their first impression was a lingering one: the 252.6-foot Silver Fast, Queen of the Show, lit stem to stern with all her underwater lights blazing. This was a first for Yachts Miami Beach, which until this year had not been able compete with the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show when it came to attracting the world’s biggest brokerage boats.

“It’s great to be able to get the large, deep-draft yachts into the Miami show,” said Andrew Doole, senior vice president and COO of Show Management, which organizes Yachts Miami Beach for FYBA. He added that he is looking forward to having large sailing yachts on display as well as motor yachts at the Island Gardens Deep Harbour venue in future years.

“The marina was completed just before the show, and it will take us several years for us to get it to where we want it to be, but for a first effort it was a success,” Doole said. “It’s an incredible setting.