Oakland Strictly Sail and Northern California Power Boat Expo 'review'

Not really a 'review' per say, as the review standard set by YachtForums and Company is one that I will for certain fall short of meeting, however I did walk the docks, view a few boats, catch up with some friends, stroll the vendor area, grab a couple of great great meals, and enjoy the day at the boat show. So with that, rather than a "review" I offer you some images, a few thoughts, and sharing the day on the water, a common theme among us all, which we can surly agree on being a delight.

Held at Jack London Square in Oakland, and dubbed the Northern California Power Boat Expo (one show) and Strictly Sail (another show), they have recently combined their respective weekends, and share the same space and weekend for the two shows. I believe this is the second year they have done this, as I recall 3 years ago the two shows being mutually exclusive to one another.

Attendance at the show in general was light on Friday. Which is typically the case with most shows, but you really tell the difference in the size of the show, number of boats being shown, and particularly the vendor / exhibit area which has (as of this year) been paired down to the old Barns and Nobel building (for those of you local / familiar with the area) rather than a tent or number of tents which is has been in the past years.

There were far more sail boats on display and noticeably more traffic on the sail boat docks than there was in the power boat area, however as you'll see in the images, the power boat expo was rather slim in comparison to earlier years.

Upon arrival, you notice the lack of usual population of tents, vendors,etc. on the walk just outside the docks.

I can't figure out how to post images inside my thread and organize text after it, so I'll do this in various posts. Please bare with me, and or Carl / Mods, clean up if your so incline.

This area, usually busting with trailerable boats, dinks, outboards, tents, etc.

We finally arrive with some tents and vendors here and there, but nothing as in years past.

Somewhat of a view of the sail and power areas.

Of course with Strictly Sail, Beneteau, Jeanneau, J-Boat, Catalina, Hunter, and Island Packet are pretty popular through the show.

On the power side, Ocean Alexander is the largest pull, and the local brokerage house or two offering anything from OA, to Sea Ray, to Defever, to Sunseeker.

A couple of more from the Sail side of things:

Why I don't know, however stuck right in the middle of Strictly Sail is Ranger Tugs. Cute little boats, aren't they?

I hopped aboard one to check it out as I've only read about them and seen them online, and they are that.... "cute" They are for sure designed, made, and sold to a niche market. From what I learned they are quite popular in the Seattle / Puget Sound Area and north along the Inside Passage.

They had two boats on display, and this is the one that came across my viewfinder. I believe she was in the 26 foot range.

This was the absolute height of traffic at the bottle neck of the docks where you come off the scissors and onto the main dock, so there is naturally a traffic jamb of people. Happy people, poking around the docks, jumping on and off boats... oh what a life!

I did spend a fair amount of time on this beauty, the Jeanneau 57. I'll start another thread on it once I clean up some images, and rezise them.

Sneaking a peek at her bow and lines just makes you want to peek inside doesn't it! (it did me, and I really liked her) They were offering a heck of a price on her as well at the show. Perhaps a sign of the times in a downsized boat show, not quite 'dead' but certainly hungry for proper customers.

Rounding out the day, the rather disappointing vendor area which as I recall, only 2 or 3 years ago, was a solid 150 vendors. This shot captures about 60% of the vendor area. I don't know an exact count of total vendors, but I'd guess somewhere around 40 or 50.

Was it FLIBS, Miami Boat Show, Trawler Fest, or something that draws thousands and thousands of people? No. Not so much.

Was it a great day walking the docks, looking at a few particular boats of interest, talking to some great people, taking in a wonderful day of sunny weather, meeting some new people, learning a few new things, and seeing some of the current offerings in the Northern California area? Of course! And that, is a good thing.

With that being said, I also know that I was there on Friday, so I'd guess that traffic on and around the docks come Saturday and Sunday was sure to have picked up a little.

If you're in the area and haven't gone, I'd recommend it. It's not a giant show like FLIBS or Miami, but it is a great show with a fair amount of hands on attention due to the smaller size of the show in general. Hopefully it will grow in the coming years as business picks back up for brokers, new sales, and vendors peddling their wares as it was back a few years ago.

Hope you enjoyed walking the docks with me.

Glad you enjoyed! That's the whole reason for posting!