by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Eight years ago, Jimmy Hill floated an idea past his friends and associates.
None of them were overly enthusiastic, but Hill decided to give it a try anyway.
What he wound up with is the Jacksonville International Boat Show, which now lays claim to being the largest in-water show in the Southeast.
“If it floats, it’ll be here; from kayaks to yachts,” said Hill. “I’ve never counted them, but there are hundreds and hundreds of boats.
“They come from all over the country. We’ve had people come from out of country, too, including a boat from Portugal.”
The eighth annual version of the boat show will be held April 16-18 along the waterfront around Metropolitan Park and the City Marina.
In addition to all the boats in the water, a wide assortment of makes, models and sizes will fill about seven acres that run along the waterway.
“We actually use pretty much every square inch of the park we can, including the soccer field,” said Hill. “We estimated it at seven acres of boats. It’s a fairly good-sized spot of land.”
Even additional docking is put up to handle all the boats that are expected, said Tom Johnson, Hill’s field coordinator for the show.
“It takes a week to get it all set in,” Johnson said. “That by itself is a huge project. We fill this marina.”
Most of the boats will be for sale. Some will be used to display a wide range of accessories, including engines, life vests, fire safety equipment, electronics and boat cleaners.
“Literally, this show represents the market,” said Hill, who works year round pulling the show together. “This is the engine that drives the marine industry in Jacksonville.
“A very, very large percentage of the boats sold in the United States are sold at boat shows. It allows all the vendors to get together and kind of compete head to head without too much problem.
“And it creates some excitement.”
Based on the turnout for the previous seven shows, apparently a lot of excitement is created. Hill suspected that would happen from the outset.
He had been in the yacht broker business, selling yachts out of an office at Pablo Creek Marina, when inspiration struck.
“I knew that we needed a boat show that was able to show larger boats in the water,” he said. “Other individuals in the industry who were doing indoor boat shows thought it wasn’t time.
“I met an individual from Colorado, and we launched into it. It was go from there.”
It started off big, and it’s only getting bigger.
There will be live music, fishing and boating seminars, children-oriented amusements and a spring fashion show.
“And excellent food,” Johnson added. “We really strive for that. It’s not an accident.”
Also attending will be some waterfront project developers “who recognize this event as a great avenue to see their potential customers,” said Hill.
There will even be some vendors who sell docks.
Hill sold his yacht brokerage business early on to devote all his time and energy to the show.
“I didn’t want to have a conflict of interest, bringing yachts to the show,” he said. “There could have been some potential negative that I might have premium space or something like that.
“So I sold the business to concentrate on the show, devote more time and energy to it.
“It’s worked out well. I met the right people, got the right people involved. The show has grown because of it.”
There is an $8 admission fee for the event.
“We know we offer way more entertainment than a movie, so our price tries to reflect that of a two-hour movie,” said Hill. “But you can come and be entertained for the entire day.”
The year-long project is made up of “millions of details,” said Hill, who conceded he’s “not a detail-oriented person by nature.”
“It’s a one-man deal right now,” he said, “but nothing happens without the help of Tom and the support of a huge number of volunteers. The event is literally the result of energy applied into it. And that’s all promotion turns out to be.
“If you find you have a weakness, find somebody who’s really good at it and apply their energy towards it.”
Hill figures he gets a brief respite after each show before planning starts on the next.
“It starts about a week or two after the last show ends,” he said. “You do some follow-up work; then It crescendos.
“You do steady work toward it for the entire year. It’s lighter in the beginning, and it builds up to the month prior.
“Now it’s game time.”