Dear readers,

Nowhere is the exchange with you and the industry more intensive, honest and direct than at a trade fair. Around a week after the boot Düsseldorf has closed its doors, it is time to look back on the nine days in the Rhine metropolis.

There is still a positive feeling and it seems as if the storm has passed. After two years of pitching like a boat in the swell, the industry is breathing again. But we have to be honest - it's not a rapid SailGP start into the Golden Age, but rather a cautious gathering of strength. The positive mood that could be felt in many halls - and not just by me - can be easily categorised based on the current economic barometer of the Association of the Maritime Industry (VMWD) and based on trade fair echoes.

For the Industry barometer the VMWD asks numerous companies 18 questions about turnover, order situation, sales prices and trends. For 2025 it shows: stabilisation! The economy as a whole may be stumbling (Germany's GDP growth is a meagre 0.2 per cent in 2025, current forecasts for GDP growth in 2026 vary between around 0.8 per cent and 1.5 per cent depending on the institute), but we on the water are recovering.

Specifically: 38 per cent of companies see their situation as stable - a jump from 24 per cent in the previous year. Negative reports have dwindled and the cautious upward trend feels genuine. For me as an industry insider, this means that the water sports sector is resilient.

Why is that? The money is there and high-investment customers are returning, especially for medium-sized and large new builds. The industry's annual turnover is an impressive 6.3 billion euros - from boats and moorings to charters.

The Market for used boats also remains an important pillar. Remarkably, more than 30 per cent of dealers reported rising sales of large sailing yachts. The main reasons for this are immediate availability, more favourable prices and the advantage that buyers do not have to deal with long delivery times or rising costs.

Now to the trade fair - one of my event highlights of the year! Over 200,000 visitors from 110 countries, 1,500 exhibitors from 68 nations, 1,000 boats in the halls. These are pretty figures, but they can be experienced. Sailing boat halls 15 and 16 in particular were impressively full at the weekends. "We had long queues of interested parties in front of our boats every day, some of whom had to wait up to an hour to get on board," said a satisfied Bavaria Yachts Managing Director Norbert Leitfeld after the first four days.

Maxim Neumann, Vice President at Hanse Yachts, also drew a positive balance. After a two-year break from boot Düsseldorf, the shipyard from Greifswald exhibited again in Hall 16. Long queues in front of the exhibited models testified to the great interest shown by trade fair visitors. "This year we brought our flagship Hanse 590, as well as the Hanse 460 and Hanse 360 to Düsseldorf. Overall, we are seeing a slow but noticeable stabilisation of the market and are optimistic about the 2026 season."

For boat enthusiasts like me, it was especially nice to see an exciting selection of new yacht models and outstanding boat building. Two German shipyards - Woy Yachts from the Schlei and Pure Yachts from Kiel - secured first place in their categories. Boatbuilding Oscar "European Yacht of the Year". Keep up the good work!

In addition to the purely economic figures, the VMWD also monitors demographic trends and keeps an eye on privately used boats. According to the association's figures, the average age of boat owners (motor and sail) has risen by more than two years to over 62 years since 2015. And the number of boats used by private individuals has fallen to around 440,000 within a decade, which corresponds to a decline of around 40,000.

The challenge of the coming years and decades will therefore be to get our young people interested in water sports. Those who experience the enthusiasm for sailing and life on the water at a young age usually stick with it. The right training can help, and Schleswig-Holstein is leading the way: In some districts, school classes go sailing and kids learn about fun on the water. A wonderful idea: children at the tiller instead of in front of a screen!

Martin Hager

YACHT Editor-in-Chief

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