Aleria's Adventures

(photo: Messe Düsseldorf / ctillmann)  Seago eBikes (c) D. Blackwell We've never seen so many innovative products at a boat show, or more accurately, a watersports show, as we did this year at boot Dusseldorf. Since so many watersports can work in concert, it makes sense to exhibit them in tandem. For example, we had dive tanks, snorkel gear, wet suits, a hookah, a dinghy, motors, paddles, fishing gear, and any number of other toys on board when we sailed to the Caribbean. We also had folding bicycles, rolling coolers, and various other paraphernalia. Friends had kayaks, others had SUPs. You would have found all of this and more at the show. A few things really stood out. The number of foiling gizmos was impressive, as were all the electric motorized vehicles, including boats, paddleboards, canoes, kayaks and bikes. One of the products that caught our eyes immediately were the  Seago folding electric bicycles.  Reasonably lightweight, folding into a small p...

(photo: Messe Düsseldorf / ctillmann)  The final press release was issued yesterday reviewing the stats for attendance at boot. And it is impressive. They are hailing it as a brilliant start to a new decade in watersports. I must admit, that seeing all the innovation in products we saw there, I found myself wishing I was 18 again so I could try them all out. Even so, I saw a few products that I think will tempt me to 'invest' in some new equipment this coming year. I'll write about those tomorrow. Today, I'll focus on the stats. boot Düsseldorf was in all accounts a hugely successful event. Visitors were enthusiastic about the wide-ranging programme and the enormous selection of products and services provided by the more than 1,900 exhibitors in the 17 halls on the exhibition site. The international water sports community was delighted by nine unique days in Düsseldorf with a mix of stimulating networking, successful business and memorable experiences. More th...

The Rhine in Dusseldorf We didn't really need the fourth day in Dusseldorf, but we had it. I woke up with a sore throat and my toe was still bothering me a bit. Neither one of us felt like going back to the show so we decided to take it easy and see the sights slowly. We checked out of the hotel but left our luggage in their storage area. As the hotel was en route to the airport, that was not a bad plan. We met a guy checking in who was trying to figure out how to get to the boat show. He was from Dublin, and lucky for him, we could explain the whole thing, with all the confusing aspects included. After a leisurely breakfast -- yep, no eggs until the last instant and I had to plead with the chef -- we took the train to Altstadt. We walked along the river promenade. It was a fine day, not too cold and no rain. We went to the museum of modern art  Kunstsammlung K20 which was having a Munch exhibition. It was very well curated and we enjoyed it. We then toured the entir...