2025 Annapolis Sailboat Show | A Successful Show for Horizon!

The 2025 Annapolis Sailboat Show in Maryland, USA marked Horizon’s 25th year of attendance at North America’s premier international gathering for sailing enthusiasts, builders, and industry leaders. The iconic waterfront event transformed downtown Annapolis into a global showcase for the latest designs and technologies shaping the future of sailing.

The Future of Sailing

From sharing booths with manufacturers in the early days to taking on our own stand and dock space for over 20 years, we’ve established a strong presence at one of the largest in-water sailboat shows in the Americas!

With Horizon Co-founder and Director, Andrew Thompson, Yacht Sales Manager, Robin Hodges and ABS Event Coordinator, Sally Bailey attending every show since 2001, we’ve tracked the evolution of the Annapolis Sailboat Show visitor profile.  While visitors to our stand in the early 2000s were almost exclusively sailors, we now engage with aspirational sailors who travel to the show to explore what this sailing lark is all about. The team of nine, who flew in from all corners of the world to attend the show, had a rewarding time talking about tariff and tax-free yacht ownership, bareboat, skippered, luxury crewed, and American Sailing learn to sail charters.

This year’s event proved to be one of the most exciting yet with attendees enjoying an exclusive first look at advancements in performance, comfort, and sustainability.

World Premiers & Optimism

Marked by strong attendance and optimism, the show featured 23 debuting sailboats, including three World premieres and 20 North American debuts. Among these were the Beneteau First 30, Beneteau Oceanis 47, Beneteau Oceanis 52 and the Fountaine Pajot New 44.

Presented as part of Fountaine Pajot's 2025 lineup, the New 44 attracted significant attention. Designed to offer improved living spaces, comfort, and performance over its predecessor, the FP New 44 key features include: Expanded living area: A large, three-meter sliding glass door connects the aft cockpit and saloon, creating a seamless, open living space. The total living area on the 44-foot model is 88 square meters (947 square feet). Comfortable decks: A semi-raised flybridge offers extensive seating and two sunbeds, while the forward cockpit has a large sunbathing area. Eco-friendly propulsion: The ODSea+ electric hybrid option offers two 25kW electric motors, large solar panels for charging, and hydrogeneration, which charges the batteries while the boat is sailing. Improved design: A slightly inverted deck sheer and subtle hull chines increase both interior volume and hydrodynamic performance.

The FP New 44 - along with the FP 41 and FP55 - was nominated for Cruising World’s Boat of the Year 2026 award.

Remaining one step ahead of the game, Horizon had placed an early order for the Maestro Version (owner's) – the same layout as displayed at the show: The owner's suite occupies the entire port hull, featuring a spacious cabin and a flexible forward area that can serve as an office, workshop, or children's cabin. Named “Quo Vadis”, she delivers to the BVI in December 2025 and is available for charter and tax-free ownership for private use or charter management in the Horizon fleet in the BVI with the new owners benefitting from forward income.

The Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440 on display at our stand on Dock I, Vacation Basin, was a popular stop. A sistership to the two in the Horizon fleet in the BVI, the SO 440 turned heads (and some minds!) as visitors compared and considered the model and layout as a potential yacht for ownership.

On the Jeanneau stand, the Sun Odyssey 415 made her North American debut. The "all-new" model for the North American market, features a new generation design, walkaround decks, and a focus on easy handling and modern comfort.

The Jeanneau Yachts 55 also continued to impress following her USA debut at the 2024 Annapolis Sailboat Show. Named the "Overall Boat of the Year" in the Cruising World 2024 awards, 18 months ago, Horizon sold a Jeanneau Yachts 55, Casbah IV to a repeat owner purchasing his third boat with Horizon.  Placed into the charter management programme in the Horizon BVI charter fleet, she is the only Jeanneau Yachts 55 available for charter in the Americas and only the second one available for charter globally – the other being in the Mediterranean. The yacht has an innovative "dual cockpit" design, separating the sailing functions forward from the guest relaxation areas aft. She also features a unique interior layout with separate access to the two aft guest cabins from the cockpit. She is available as a bareboat or skippered charter and is also available with the Ultimate Captained charter package that includes a captain, a selection of premium water toys and an upgraded, 60HP, center console super tender.

Other Jeanneaus on display at the stand included the Sun Odyssey 350, Sun Odyssey 380, Sun Odyssey 440 and Jeanneau Yachts 65. In its inventory of brokerage stock, Horizon has a SO 380 (2024) 2 cabins / 2 heads and 3 cabins / 2 heads and a SO 440 (2024) 3 cabins / 2 heads along with other Jeanneaus available to own now in the BVI with forward income if remaining in the charter management programme or for placement in the St. Vincent & the Grenadines fleet.

With Horizon team members present on the Lagoon and Nautitech stands, Robin and Brokerage Sales Manager, Giles Starkey met with potential buyers providing private tours and exploring the latest models - including the premiering Lagoon 38.  Discussions covered tariff and tax-free Caribbean yacht ownership programmes, whether for private use or charter management in the Horizon fleets in the BVI and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

Making Yacht Ownership Work

The buoyant mood and interest in yacht ownership provided the perfect backdrop for highlighting the benefits of tax-free Caribbean yacht ownership. People looking to invest in a yacht as part of their future plans were keen to hear what we had to share and learned how to make a yacht work for them through Horizon’s charter management programmes. This includes flexible sailing time throughout the year and the freedom to sail the Caribbean aboard their own yacht. Some were also piqued by the notion of being able to sail their own yacht at their East Coast marine base in the summer before returning it to the BVI or St Vincent & the Grenadines for the new season!

With factory-direct pricing from Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot, Nautitech and Excess catamarans as well as Jeanneau, Beneteau, Dufour and Bavaria yachts and access to marine finance houses and tax advisors, we provided core information on pricing, projections and charter ownership as a business bringing potential yacht owners several steps closer to achieving their goals.

New Owners New Horizons

With visitors committed to buying a yacht before show’s end, we were delighted to welcome two new sets of Horizon yacht owners into the family with the sale of a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 440 “Air Guitar” and Lagoon 42 “Island Riff”.  The Horizon crew looks forward to their arrival at the Horizon Yacht Charters base in Nanny Cay on Tortola, BVI and helping them set sail on the first of many island-hopping adventures aboard their respective yachts.

We can’t wait to see what the new year brings and to share the latest in designs and innovations and at the 2026 Annapolis Sailboat Show taking place October 15 – 18. See you on the docks!