TOM TRIPP

The organizers of the Newport International Boat Show always spend the second week of September with their fingers crossed because you never know what the New England weather will bring. There have been opening days in the 90s and rainy days in the 40s. Today was perfect: The sun was bright, the sky was blue and the VIP Day crowds were comfortable and happy. It's pretty hard to tell if anybody is buying a boat, though. The crowd was nice, but the show wasn't jammed today; perhaps an average VIP day. School is in session and most of the folks who are here have a specific reason to be here.

As befits Newport, Rhode Island, the northeast sailing capital of the U.S., the wind-driven fleets are in their glory; the aluminum and carbon fiber masts soaring into the blue, fall sky. There is also a TrawlerPort here, sponsored by Passagemaker Magazine and several other companies and Outer Reef's new 63' Pilothouse is the star of that show, although there are some nice go-slower boats to look at. The really draw a crowd of people who have fuel prices in the back of their mind.

We'll have a closer look at some of the boats here for you in the morning. One of the stars of the show, the brand new Tartan 5300 is late getting here. The Tartan folks expect her late tonight, so we'll get some photos and a quick look for you tomorrow.