Earls Court Boat Show

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Bomber

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What a great day we had at the Earls Court Boat Show.

I appreciate there are politics involved but many of us mentioned how disappointed we were by the lack of the RYA and it wasn't just for the free cuppa!

The RYA is the collective voice of the UK's boating community and the RYA should definitely have had a presence.
 
My Al is exhibiting up there, he went upstairs to see the photography collections and was somewhat surprised to see one of our pictures!!

It has been put to canvass on the 'pillar' with 'Canon amateur photographic competition '07' above it. He didn't know I had sent it in, and when he got up close he saw that it had won best in show!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

How chuffed are we!

The prize draw should have been on the Saturday, but nowt happened, we are still waiting to see what is to happen, I would love to have the picture!!!!

Tina.
 
I went to the London Boat Show on Sunday.

In the pool, there were about 30 boats up to 35 ft long and mostly sailing including one catamaran. In addition, there were an additional 4 or 5 yachts on the hard stuff that you could go on too. The boats that you are maybe used to seeing were absent (Moody, Oyster, Beneteau...). In hall 2, there were the boats without sails. There were 3/4 canal boats and about 20 larger motorboats. Non of the usual suspects were there (Sunseaker, Sealine...). There were several sailing dingy stalls, and areas for specialist interests such as diving and windsurfing. There was a wakeboard display area but I didn't see any action on there at all. There were 4 to 5 chandlery stores for clothing, books, charts, electronics etc. There were 3 sail makers, lots of sailing schools and lots of charter companies. There was also a few interesting feature items like Gypsy Moth IV and Shackleton's lifeboat. There was even the worlds first windsurf.

Now what was not there: They forgot to fill the upstairs area with boat gear. They put in a display of photos and inflatable sea animals instead. There were almost no manufactures standsl. Garman, Raymarine, Furuno, etc were all absent. No wind steering gear. No deck hardware such as Lewmar. No Guniuss bar.

What was also missing was the crowds. They must have been off doing their Christmas shopping. This was great for us who were there as there were no queues for anything, no hustle and exhibitors had plenty of time to talk to us. In fact, they seemed desperate to talk to us. I think you would be disappointed if you wanted to see a range of products of a particular type in order to compare and get information, you would be very disappointed. There were very few manufactures there so there was no one to discuss those technical details with. There was nothing new being showcased. Perhaps you may get an extra good deal as the exhibitors sales will probably be down and they may be keen to shift their goods.

We did enjoy the show, but then again, we were given the tickets by friends for free. If I had paid for the tickets, I might have been much more critical. We were there at 10:30 and finished looking around by 14:00, bartly because there were no queues and partly because there was not enough there. I really would like the Earls Court show to be a success but maybe the Excel show in January is much too big and overshadows this one.

(I posted this in The Lounge. Sorry if you read it already /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif)
 
Wots this no Raymarine & no Guinness?

I had a nose at the Raymarine offering & the Guinness tasted good.

All in all I thought it was a good effort considering it is something of a rogue show.

I have to say that I enjoyed everything & Earls Court makes you feel very comfortable.

It gets my vote.

Martin
 
[ QUOTE ]
.... what was not there: .....There were almost no manufactures standsl. Garman, Raymarine, Furuno, etc were all absent. No wind steering gear. No deck hardware such as Lewmar. No Guniuss bar.

......


[/ QUOTE ]

Just because you failed to see it does not mean it is not there! Raymarine have a stand and there is a proper Guinness bar in Hall 2. If you take it on yourself to report on things get the facts right!

Don’t know what you were doing but we went on Sunday and filled the day nicely. Saw plenty of action on the wakeboard stand, watched the commandos drop from the roof , got time to actually talk to the companies that had stand there and even had a massage from the girls by the stage!

I hope this show continues as I don’t like Excel as a venue. It is after all a ‘SHOW’ and you want other things to do and places to go/see as well as spending money. Not everyone lives n LONDON!
/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif
 
Here are some pix - for my thoughts on the show click on the link to my blog.

ECClassic8m(400x267).jpg


ECoverview1(400x267).jpg


ECClassicboats(400x267).jpg


ECClassicspeedboats(400x267).jpg
 
I stand corrected. I just didn't see the Guinness stand, but then again, I wasn't looking for it. Every time I walked passed the wakeboard area, a lot of nothing was happening, but I guess you get to see all the action from the massage area which seemed to be the most popular area of the show. The Guinness bar might also have been just as popular.
 
James
You are probably right. But Earls Court allowed the stallholders to provide service,Tom Cunliffe and Sam Llewellyn to have an engaging chat,Andark to have time for my lad to try on a dry suit(and buy it) as well as venturing to the canal boats and dream about a trip down the Canal du Midi.
I am sad there was insufficient footfall. Trade shows such as METS have small stands for even the largest names,the courier replaces the carrier bag and the cost of exhibiting comes down. Finally,UKSA proved that there was still life in the old man's legs. This type of participation and engagement without long waits really gets one interested in doing more.
Let's hope the sponsors try again and again and the names are persuaded.
 
Took most of the family on Sunday. They are into sailing and wakeboarding and all really enjoyed the day out.

And I found the Guinness bar, where there were very comfortable seats!
 
Another vote for EC, and yes the RYA is one organisation that should have been there. There were several stands offering training, the RYA should have been there to offer independant advice on what is involved in RYA qualifications, and what the RYA does. This show will attract newcomers to boats. I didn't miss the RYA lounge as the cafes were better than in the old EC.

Not a huge show, but well executed with variety and entertainment. I was there for over 3 hours which is enough for a show, I don't think I missed anything, which is what happens at Barcelona, METs.
 
[ QUOTE ]
James

What's missing from your photos?

People!


[/ QUOTE ]
My pix were taken within a hour of opening on press day so it's not surprising there are so few people about - on the other hand it sounds like there weren't many around on other days and times either. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
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