The St Petersburg Power & Sailboat Show for everyone

The St. Petersburg Power & Sailboat Show, the largest boat show on the Gulf Coast, is set to sail into the Progress Energy Center for the Arts Mahaffey Theater Yacht Basin and Albert Whitted Park in St. Petersburg, Fla., from Thursday, Dec. 2 through Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010.

In addition to the large selection of boats and marine gear at this year's show, there will be an array of special events and fun and educational activities. This year’s show offers more than 65 different seminars and educational sessions including a wide variety of marine seminars by Sail America, the new Blue Wild Dive and Travel Show, and youth fishing clinics presented by the non-profit, Hook The Future. Attendees also will be able to enjoy refreshments and live musical entertainment. For a full schedule of events and details, please visit ShowManagement.com.

Sail America will present seminars all show days. Topics include weather interpretation skills, how to get into sailing, exploring Florida’s Big Bend Coast, cruising the Caribbean, fishing secrets of Tampa Bay, using tools properly, winter fishing techniques, marine electronics for safe boating, Mediterranean magic, cruising the Bahamas, stability and safety, survival and rescue at sea, marine refrigeration and air conditioning, boat selection, hurricane preparation, yacht financing, offshore energy management, outfitting for blue water cruising, a family sails around the world, a voyage around Newfoundland, destination Azores, healthy cruising with Yoga onboard, 25 great sailboats for world voyaging, storm sailing strategies, preparations for offshore cruising, and what, when and why to do a boat survey.

The new Blue Wild Dive and Travel Show aims to help people enjoy the ocean safely, whether learning to dive or continuing their diving and boating education. The show will feature renowned experts speaking on safe boating, scuba diving, freediving, spearfishing, and Tampa Bay shipwrecks. Boaters will have a chance to meet and chat with many of the speakers.

On Saturday and Sunday, December 4 and 5, Don Dingman, host and founder of Hook the Future, will host kids fishing clinics at noon and 2 p.m. for kids ages four to16 accompanied by a parent or guardian. Forty-five minute hands-on sessions include casting a rod and reel, how to fight a fish, selecting tackle and lures, tying knots and fishing ethics. Registration begins at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday and participating kids get a free rod & reel, while supplies last.

Charter captain, outdoor writer, fishing school operator, tournament director TV and radio host and all around local celebrity Capt. Sergio Atanes will host his always-popular fishing clinics. New this year on Friday and Saturday, Atanes will man his “Ask the Captain” booth, answering questions on fishing the local waters and fishing techniques in English and Spanish.

Saturday evening December 4th at 7 p.m., LATITUDES and ATTITUDES presents the ninth annual St. Pete Cruisers’ Party, where thousands of cruisers celebrate the cruising lifestyle and enjoy free pizza and drinks. The Eric Stone Band, the top rated group on Seafaring Radio, will be live and in concert direct from St. Thomas. Attendees must be inside the show before closing in order to go to the party. Ticket box office closes at 6:00 p.m.

On December 4 and 5, Sail America will present a two-day Marine Meteorology Weather Course by Lee Chesneau, Senior Marine Meteorologist, formerly with NOAA/NWS's Ocean Prediction Center, and now owner of Lee Chesneau's Marine Weather. This two-day course will provide a challenging follow-up to his one-hour seminar and will teach mariner's self reliance in understanding High Frequency (HF)-Single Side Band (SSB) Radio-facsimile weather charts (also available on the Internet) and predicting marine weather. The two day course includes:

o Concepts of atmospheric behavior and its cause and effects of marine weather
o Cloud formations and related visibility concerns
o Surface weather and patterns
o Interpretation of OPC and TPC surface pressure charts
o OPC & TPC wind & wave chart interpretation
o Introduction to Tropical Cyclone 1-2-3 Rule for avoidance
o Course Certificate

To register, e-mail Lee Chesneau at lee@chesneaumarineweather.com or call (206) 949-4680.

About the St. Petersburg Power & Sailboat Show This year’s show will feature an impressive selection of power boats and sailboats in a new, significantly larger waterfront area and on land, including a 40,000-square-foot clear span tent housing all type s of marine gear.

Show-goers will find hundreds of power boats and sailboats anchored in the man-made marina set adjacent to the Albert Whitted Park and Mahaffey Theater grounds, including family cruisers, runabouts, fishing boats, magnificent sailing yachts, personal watercraft and much more.

Plenty of onsite parking is available at the municipal parking garages surrounding the show grounds. The parking fee for most events is $6. Show-goers can also choose to ride the Downtown Looper Trolley, which offers convenient stops on First Street along the Mahaffey Theater.

To purchase tickets to the 2010 St. Petersburg Power & Sailboat Show, please visit ShowManagement.com. Admission is free for children under age 15 and military personnel with identification. Vendors interested in exhibiting at the show can call (800) 940-7642, or visit ShowManagement.com, for more information.

To make travel arrangements, please contact the show's official travel partner, Identity Travel, at (866) 877-3083, or visit IdentityTravel.com

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