Sailing

Southampton Boat Show Images

The Southampton Boat Show saw a mixture of weather patterns this year especially over the last weekend with blazing sun and 18 degrees on Saturday, and the highest visitor attendance of the week, to high winds and torrential rain on Sunday.   Attendance figures for the Southampton Boat Show were down slightly on 2011 to 109,722.  Retailers reported good sales.

Here are some images from the Southampton Boat Show in case you could not get down to Mayflower Park this year.  Just a reminder that the London Boat Show runs from 12th-20th  January 2013 at the ExCel Centre in London Docklands.  Also running at the ExCel Centre from 17th to 20th January 2013 is The Outdoors Show, The Active Travel Show and The London Bike Show.  One ticket should gain entry to all four shows.

The Pontoon was a hive of activity this year with lots of boats to look at and board.  One of my favourites was the Amelie Rose the replica Isles of Scilly Pilot Cutter that appeared in the ITV programme The Hungry Sailors.

My picture does not do her justice.  If you can hunt her down do so, as she is so beautiful.  She is a working cutter so there are many ways to experience her from taking RYA qualifications to traditional boat building courses.  Also down on the Pontoon was the Free Do and Try.  Visitors new to sailing could sign up and have a go, and those with some experience had a chance to participate in free workshops to improve their skills.

Whatever your boating interests, there was plenty to satisfy you down on the Pontoon at the Southampton Boat Show.

Back on dry land, there were lots of attractions around the showground.  One of my particular favourites was the Sea Kitchen Theatre at the Southampton Boat Show.  Fabulous talks on all manner of subjects could be heard here throughout the day, from Sarah Donohue talking about her life as a Power Boat Racer to cooking with celebrity chef Mark Sargeant.  Running talks throughout the week was Katy Davidson

from Mangez-Moi.  Katy is very knowledgeable about all things oyster.  She wants to raise awareness about the health benefits of oysters and to highlight the plight of the native oyster which is functionally extinct in the wild.  Katy’s talks were very informative, funny and she was a joy to watch.  Her enthusiasm for the oyster was contagious and I for one, an oyster virgin, decided to give them a try.  Oysters from different Oysterages were given out for visitors to try and also compare and I can confirm they were delicious.  Let’s hope Katy will be attending the London Boat Show in January so more visitors can sample all the delights that oysters have to offer.

Once the oyster tasting had finished it was over to the Burley Fudge stand to try some crumbly (crumbly is the best) fudge.  There were many flavours to chose from including chocolate (my absolute favourite), rum and raisin, strawberries and cream and good old clotted cream fudge.  After dessert, it was decided that lunch would not be complete without a drink so it was off to the Guinness Bar for refreshment and to meet up with some members from the site.  

Always a good place to meet friends and make new ones, the Guinness Bar is a firm favourite with many a seasoned Southampton Boat Show visitor.

Suitably refreshed I had to make my annual visit to the GN Espace stand for a chat with Julian and Ralph.  Always at the forefront of galley equipment, I like to catch up with what is going on in the field of cooking on board.   GN Espace is now proud to be partners with the Wonderbag.  The Wonderbag is a heat-retentive cooking bag that can be used onboard to save gas used during cooking.  It’s a bit like a slow cooker.  Food is heated up in a pan on the stove and then the pan is placed into the bag where it continues to cook without the need for additional energy.

Last of all but by no means least is a stand that always seems to have a presence at the Southampton Boat Show.  Latitude Kinsale is a family run business that specialises in unique handcrafted 3D nautical charts that are custom made to order.   Using selected charts from any part of the world, they create a relief 3D chart showing the depths and contours around the coastline.  They look terrific and would make a great gift idea for a birthday, wedding, anniversary, retirement or the “C” word!  Not only can they be hung on the wall they can be made into furniture.  Any chart can be chosen so it could be where you live, sail or a special place where you have fond memories.

So all that remains is to tell you the dates for next years Southampton Boat Show 13th – 22nd September 2013.  Also take a look at our article entitled The Boat Show which gives you information on how to get to the Southampton Boat Show, where to park, where to eat and where to stay.  All from a local perspective.

Erica