Earls Court (again)

[Robih]

We've just returned from EC. I thought i'd post our thoughts as all the negativity on here almost dissuaded us from going at all. However I'm really pleased that we went and I'd encourage others to go and make there own mind up rather than rely upon others analysis.

We found the ability to have sensible conversations on various stands (eg Kemp sails/Jeckells etc) was refreshing after the bun fghts at other shows. Also the ability to visit boats (Hans Christian/Northshore) without the normal crush was much appreciated. Also plently of places to sit for lunch/beer etc.

We were there from 10.00 to 15.00 and found plenty to occupy us. It gets our vote.

rob

 

[Georgio]

Totally agree, I had a great time at the show. EC is a much nicer location than Excel and would suggest that people visit to make their own minds up.

My personal highlight was seing the newly restored CO32 Gigi /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[lyc]

Earls Court gets my vote also.

I was there Saturday 10 – 4. It would be nice to have more exhibitors and stands but it’s a good start and hopefully they will increase if this show gets good reviews and plenty of visitors.

What I don’t think many have grasped is that it is not the old Earls Court Boat Show but a new Boat Show at Earls Court.

Excel did nothing for me, hardly anything of interest apart from the large boats that you couldn’t get on to view, a sterile showcase with an equally sterile salesperson in charge. The chandlers, which I loved to browse, seemed to have been priced out of exhibiting at Excel so hopefully Earls Court will bring many of them back again. I have missed the small and diverse exhibitors, and Earls Court feels like it could just bring them all back again!

Look forward to Earls Court 2008

 

[alldownwind]

Good to hear you enjoyed your day.
I went on preview day but was disappointed, though.
Consider this, though. You seem to say that it was more enjoyable because it wasn't crowded.
But if it wasn't crowded, it surely will not be financially viable, will it? Stall holders won't get a return, and the organisers will lose out on ticket sales.
Surely a successful show has to be a crowded one, or at least one where crowds are spending money!
Incidentally a couple of stall holders told me that they were charged almost as much for their stalls as they were/are at Excel. But they also told me that they'd heard the late bookers were getting big discounts to persuade them to exhibit.

 

[Robih]

I don't know that viable must equal busy. Frankly I can never be bothered to fight through the crowds at SIBS/Excel to look at boats so there's no chance of me being persuaded to buy a new boat at that type of venue. But seeing the Hans Christian today in quiet and with time is much more appealing. So I don't beleive that the quailty builders need volume - they need quailty contacts and if low volume equals quality I'm sure they'd be delighted. I intentially asked the exhibitors today whether they'd done good business and the responce has been low volume but high quality. When I represent my company at our annual trade show this is exactly what I want - low volume but high quailty contacts. So yes, you are right the show must be viable and I suspect that this means more visitors than I saw there today but it needn't be SIBS style. I think that the show has to set it stall out (pun intended) for its targeted market and draw the visitors that its exhibitors need. There is no point in trying to compete with Excel, it needs to be different to be succesful. It was evident that the Sunseeker/Fairline buyer wasn't at the show today - but then neither were those companies so that explains that!

rob

 

[No Regrets]

Just returned from a pleasant couple of hours at Earls court!

Nice to meet Jezbanks at last, and a peek around the Westies, watched some real crasftsmen at work making Wooden boats and Coracles, loved the Antares 740 (I'm on the Thames, don't forget!) and found the whole show quite user friendly.

Better than excel? Not entirely, missed a couple of major brands (Which I have no intention of buying) but far easier to negotiate.

Looked at the much revered 'Trader 42' and liked a few points especially the walk-in engine room, hated the crappy finish inside cupboards though, they would shame a £29 Ikea wardrobe...
Preferred the Beneteau Trawler overall Better for UK weather too!

 

[oldrascal]

Having been pretty pee'd off with Excel in January and being a keen supporter of the enthusiastic underdog, I was keen to see what sort a fist had been made of EC.

So we trained from the coast to Victoria on Press Day with comp tickets, and 15 minutes of District Line later, emerged painlessly in front of the main entrance of the Earls Court exhibition halls.

After the nightmare of the Dockland Light Railway in January, that was a very big plus for me and SWMBO.

In any case, the latter had every intention of sloping off to Knightsbridge with my plastic for some Christmas retail therapy had she been bored.

Well she wasn't and nor was I.

The sense of sheer professional effort and care that was evident the moment you walked up the steps into the hall was a great, great improvement on the Soviet block rudeness and impersonal approach of the ExCel show.

I can't comment on public popularity for obvious reasons as the Press Day was always going to be restricted by definition. But one thing was very clear - nearly everyone present seemd to be animated, smiling and generally having a good experience.

That said, I bumped into an old chum and foolishly invited him to join me in a glass of pink bubbly to celebrate the festive season. Yipes. £20 later we were served our tipple in plastic flutes. That hurt.

The real test, I imagine, is how well the exhibitors do against their expenditure. If results are promising, then EC 2008 is assured. If it is a damp squib, then Whyte and MacKay are going to have to dig deep and commit to the long-term.

The show is a fascinating success of the promoters' spirit, skill and dogmatism in the face of some very negative PR from the opposition.

We can only wish it well as we are the beneficiaries of this new competition to the BMF's January show.

 

[rwoofer]

Just got back myself, stayed till 6:30pm. As soon as you walk in the doors you feel this is a different boatshow. It has an atmosphere and that is something that Excel can never get close too. Found it easy to get around and look at boats that I would have not normally seen because of the crowds. Even had a nice neck massage.

I can understand some of the negative feedback as there is not a comparable number of boats compared to Excel, but this is the first year and I think they have done remarkably well.

 

[Slow_boat]

It's good to see the positive feedback. I won't be able to go due to work commitments but it does sound like the show has a little atmosphere which was definately missing from Ecxel, which, on the whole, seemed to attract exhibitors who would have been just as happy selling white goods if there was money in it.

So it sounds like a 'well done' so far.

 

[SailorFrank]

Please all go and vote http://www.ybw.com/forums/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1667737/an/0/page/2#1667737

be good to have a lot of votes and therefore a true reflection of the scuttlebutt yachting community

 

[Norman_E]

I'm glad I went to Earls Court today. It will serve to remind me not to bother if there is one next year. Sure it was easy to get to see boats, even though there were few yachts, and that Hans Christian is very nice, but that was because there were so few people there. On today's showing, and given the rumours about free tickets being handed out. I doubt there will be one next year.

I did not bother to buy a show guide, a ripoff at £5 when LIBS gave theirs away last year. If attendance is as bad as it looked today I bet they will be reduced, or given away by the end of the show.

I wanted to buy a few small chandlery items, fat chance, as there are virtually no chandlers there. Even Aladdins Cave appear to have very little but clothing at the show.

Ease of transport depends on where you live, but I am only slightly closer to Excel than Earls Court, but it is much more difficult by car so I went by train and tube, which took twice as long as the drive to Excel.

I was in fact so disappointed with the show that I baled out at 3PM and went to the Science Museum for a couple of hours. On reflection, I would rather have spent two hours at Earls Court and five in the South Kensington museums.

 

[mikejames]

Just took the family today. Set off by car from Hamble at 1000 after Hamble Winter Series final races were canned and I had spent an hour and a half collecting the racing marks in a Hamble River SC RIB in the wind and rain. I dried out in the car on the way up.

It was a strange feeling being able to drive around the Earls Court area without having to look out for hundreds of people wandering about. Had a quick flash of thinking we had come on the wrong day ...
Arrived 1130 and still had space in car park under Earls Court 2.

We were first into the restaurant on the middle level where we had more than we could eat.

The kids liked being able to do ice skating (actually PTFE) for free and have a go on the Royal Marines rolling climbing wall.
We all enjoyed the wake boarding demos as they were rather different in style to the usual boatshow, jumping from one pool to another via ramps ..


The children liked buying snorkels and face masks, watching Father Christmas and the marine fashion show. I liked the art and photographic exhibition and the miscellany of museum exhibits and presentations.

We liked being able to sit down to eat and drink at tables , not fighting for floor space to sit in the dead space behind stands.

And to be able to lean on the balcony and watch the pool below all lit up and bright. Just like before. ..

It was nice to see the mixture of aspects of sailing and motor boating under one roof without being overwhelmed by huge display stands from a single manufacturer.


It is different to the boat-shifting sheds of Excel and even Southampton which is now beginning to lose the smaller people as well.


Our children actually spontaneously thanked us for taking them. We left at 1650.

We spent about £200-300 on clothing footwear and chandlery.

 

[bilbobaggins]

I went along today as a guest of Smiffy ( Darryl ) and 'is mates from Chepstow and thereabouts, and I certainly had a good day out. Of course the exhibitors were concerned at having enuff 'footfall' - under 1000 on Saturday and over 3000 on Sunday, so much depends on the next few days. FWIW, I have 'gathered' a couple of complimentary tickets which are free to a good home, AND I have the tel no of an exhibitor who has about a dozen more freebies that he'd like to give to forumeers who are willing to 'collect at the door'.

They're mad-keen for us to visit, so I'm keen to encourage us to visit......

Sure, it's not as full as the ECBS we remember, but IMHO it's enuff. In my view, ExCel will fold anyway, before long. I'm supporting the ECBS Nouveau.

/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[snooks]

Pics are here

If anyone fancies a looksee

 

[ROSSCO]

I also went on Sunday primarily because I want to see Earls Court Boat Show back - as I hate the Excel one - Shame not many other people there as it means it is unlikely to succeed - The exhibitors are somewhat limited but those that were there managed to extract more money off me than Excel as it was far more pleasant to shop without the crowds. Get down there and support it -

 

[jbweston]

I went yesterday as I had to visit London and thought it was worth taking a look.

As a trade show, I don't think it's a patch on Excel. Few exhibitors and a much smaller show, which makes it less worth the effort of attending. That's not to say Excel is perfect.

A small show would be fine if it was specialised, but this isn't. It tries to cover the whole ball park and so it has few exhibitors in any category. Also the 'fluff element' - fashion shows etc - are wasted on me.

I did like going on Gypsy Moth.

The location is debatable - more convenient for some, less for others.

 

[bluedragon]

I had to be honest and vote "no"...but it broke my heart, as I really wanted EC to be a winner. It's probably true that my expectations were too high, and it didn't help that I went on Monday (it was virtually devoid of visitors). But...for those who haven't gone yet...PLEASE DO...form your own opinion! Everyone has different needs and expectations and I will be overjoyed if I'm in the minority here, and it can grow and build into something I look forward to every year.