AC Boat Show kicks off March 1

You might call it the final exclamation point punctuating the outdoor show season in our neck of the woods. Yep, we're talking about the Discover Boating Atlantic City Boat Show. This huge and popular event, held in partnership with Progressive Insurance, returns to the Atlantic City Convention Center from March 1st through 5th. In addition to hundreds of vessels of all shapes and sizes on display, the event features plenty of family friendly exhibits along with a full slate of boating and fishing seminars.

Among the most popular of these exhibits is the Boating Skills Virtual Trainer that provides participants with handson practice in docking, turning, stopping and controlling the craft with a steering wheel and Mercury throttle.

Another watersport gaining in popularity is paddleboarding. Every summer when drifting the back bays of Ocean City, Md., I see ever increasing numbers of paddleboarders navigating the bay waters. If you're interested in checking out some stand-up paddleboarding, you'll find that the Atlantic City Boat Show has plenty of on-water demos and test runs for guests to enjoy courtesy of Fin-atics Marine Supply of Ocean City, NJ. The paddle pool is open to anyone aged ten and older on a first-come, first-serve basis.

And if you're looking for some marine maintenance advice, the experts at Fred's Shed How-To Center are eager to share tips, tricks, and DIY advice relevant to every boater. Meanwhile, if you'd like to enhance your fishing abilities you can improve your casting skills with instructions from the experts at Goose Hummock, a leading Northwest Saltwater Fishing Outfitter with all pointers provided atop a 30foot fishing tank.

Of special interest to the youngsters who attend the show will be the BUILD-A-BOAT toy boat building exhibit where kids can create their own customized toy boat to take home with them as a show souvenir. Kids can also actually get on the water themselves by piloting a pintsized paddleboat on a specially designed “mini lake.”

For adults looking to improve their angling fortunes, the show offers a variety of seminars providing tactics for catching more striped bass, tuna, sheepshead, wahoo, tautog, fluke, and black drum. Other seminar topics include wreck and bottom fishing,