LIBS and weather

Don't be lulled into a false sense of security - 4x4, SUV or wheel barrow they all slide the same way on sheet ice. I passed two separate upturned 4x4s in the central reservation of the motorway yesteday (X5, Landcruiser)

Country 4x4 drivers seem on top of things but many urban suv drivers seem disconnected from reality, hence all at sea. Keep safe folks

Actually used the hill descent control yesterday on a steep hill covered in sheet ice, works a treat. Bit like driving a boat, plan ahead cos breaking is ltd.:)
 
is anyone on here likely to change their mind about going?

We are going on Wednesday,need some new net curtains. :)

Fred now you know my decadent "curtain" days are well behind me I have'nt touched the stuff for 7 years now so I'm doing well.

Dont forget I'm a Princess owner now :~)
 
I note that pre.cold spell, the greenie's were constantly condeming 4 x 4's etc for destroying the planet Funny they've gone all quiet at the mo and 4 x 4's are getting a rest from bad publicity, in fact they now seem to be the carriage of choice.
 
Dont forget I'm a Princess owner now :~)

Hi Clive going round to boat today to check stuff.Regards comments above re lack of attendance at LIBS,they are bluddy lucky to have any visitors at all ,we have not seen a single customer for days.:)....and thought the blimming phone had been cut off...only one call since last Monday and that was a wrong number.
Still there are about a half dozen of us going on Weds,only real problem is no free tickets this year and no Honda dealers locally to blag any either!
Chum has now sold his T43 in Cala Dor so no more "best mate" holidays down there any more.However he having withdrawal systems already and was muttering something about slumming it with a Turbo 36 as some sort of stopgap ,which I might just put up with provided nobody recognises me.
O the shame.
 
A friend of mine went today and reported that he could just see one other visitor at the other end of the hall. Overall, he reckoned visitor numbers were about 50% of last year.
Not that it matters of course since the organisers will always claim that the Show was a huge success with visitor numbers higher than ever
I went yesterday - will do a write-up later - I got there faster than expected as tube and DLR worked well for a change.

From 1015 -1230 is was mega quiet in the S Hall, on several stands I was the only visitor

Fairline did have sign saying all welcome but then have rails and gate with dolly birds 'guards' -all a bit intimidating really still. The others do their stands better in this regard.

The N Hall was busier all day I think.

Liked being able to walk between the two as loads more cross over opportunities. Better atmosphere as a result somehow.
 
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Parking

Anyone know if the multi car parks are big enough to park large Yanky 4x4 truck or are there any outside car parks without tight corners.
Don't want drive all the way up then I cant park.

We still cant get our family car out of the snow.

Might risk it during the week as all our construction sites are closed.
 
was going today, but got up late, then had to get milk from shops as wife said theres a shortage as all village snowed in.
By the time I got back its snowing again and although I have a 4 x 4 its the other twats that make it dangerous.
So lets see how Sunday goes
 
Anyone know if the multi car parks are big enough to park large Yanky 4x4 truck or are there any outside car parks without tight corners.
Don't want drive all the way up then I cant park.

We still cant get our family car out of the snow.

Might risk it during the week as all our construction sites are closed.

I usually park in the west multi-storey, I believe it has a height limit of 2m.

Cheers
Jimmy
 
Went today, pain in the bum parking as there appears to be building work all around Excel, finally got in the entrance next to the Sunseeker VIP area, much to their annoyance as they seemed to think they owned that bit, which apparently they didn't. (note made re future boat purchases, sunseeker staff seem to think they are something they are clearly NOT)
Overall the show seemed about a third down on footfall against last year, & exhibitors have made a fair effort to put on a good show despite a little padding out here & there.
We spent a few bob on cloth's & bits & pieces for our new Absolute, overall not too bad considering all of the adverse factors.
 
Spent the day there today Saturday and met the family too.

Eldest son looking for a speedy dinghy (RS100), younger son ordered new sail covers and foresail u/v strip for his Everitt 29 and we had a look at a number of 8-10m mobos (and bought one or two things). I also had a look at AIS transponders - still too expensive for me at the moment - I'll make do with my existing AIS receiver for this season.

The MBM stand looked busy when we passed.

Good lunch in the RYA lounge.

Great day out, the weather did not hold us up (despite only having rear wheel drive), in fact the most difficult bit was the return down our driveway at home on the, not so sunny, south coast !!

Tom
 
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Excel

Spent the complete day there saturday, DLR worked well, seemed empty of passengers compared to recent years.
Nearly all the major builders gave clears access to the majority of boats which made a change and made go viewing even Fairline with walk through gates.
Deal to be had on the Sunseeker 106 about £7m if anyone go some spare lying around Stunning vessel . but there stand was busy all day long
Some of the holiday stands looked empty RYA lounge good food, Numbers of attendees did seem down , shame as the effort from the manufactures was there , Brooms had more boats this year
Generally good and easy to move around, The guinness bar was very busy from lunch time onwards

Enjoy it
 
Planning to travel up from Gloucestershire tomorrow (Monday), theatre in evening to keep SWMBO sweet, then LIBS on Tuesday.

I considered various combinations of public/private transport, have now decided to go in the Landcruiser, park near hotel and taxi or tube to theatre, then drive over to Excel on Tuesday.

Should be OK with snow chains on board, unless roads blocked with other vehicles. We shall see.
 
Planning to travel up from Gloucestershire tomorrow (Monday), theatre in evening to keep SWMBO sweet, then LIBS on Tuesday.

I considered various combinations of public/private transport, have now decided to go in the Landcruiser, park near hotel and taxi or tube to theatre, then drive over to Excel on Tuesday.

Should be OK with snow chains on board, unless roads blocked with other vehicles. We shall see.

We went yesterday (Saturday).
We didnt go last year so its a bit of a shock to see it so small.
As far as I'm concerned, Fairline, Sunseeker and Princess are still supporting it with lots of exhibitions but the rest was very poor.

All done for us in about 4 hours so, I'd book a matinee performance!!! and get home early.

We took our Landcruiser and parked underneath the halls - it says its for VIPs but nobody checks and you still pay £10 - I think you'd have to be there before 11 oclock though, becaise it fills up. The overflow car park seems to be on the west side.
 
We were there today, easy journey up from Brighton by car, hardest bit is getting out of my road which is still covered in ice, but once on the motorways it was fine. Very little traffic, lots of space in the west multi-storey at Excel. Show was very subdued I thought, not quiet, but hardly jam-packed either (and the Sundays are normally the busiest days I believe). More chandlery this year than last I think, but plenty of stands around with no punters at all on them.

Sunseeker busy, we really liked the new Portofino 48; not too much new stuff to see at Princess, and the omission of the V45 from the stand was telling; the forthcoming V52 wasn't ready in time for the show. The Targa 58 from Fairline is much nicer in the flesh than the renderings in the magazine suggested; I still think the passerelle and dinghy launch system are a gadgetty step too far. The drawings of the new Targa 50 are a slight disappointment in that it looks like they're going for a three-cabin layout only (a la Targa 52); it's a shame that there doesn't appear to be a two cabin option.

Done and dusted in about 3 hours for us, thanks to Princess for looking after our coats, to Fairline for the free hat and to Sunseeker for the factory tour in a couple of months time!

Cheers
Jimmy
 
We were there today, easy journey up from Brighton by car, hardest bit is getting out of my road which is still covered in ice, but once on the motorways it was fine. Very little traffic, lots of space in the west multi-storey at Excel. Show was very subdued I thought, not quiet, but hardly jam-packed either (and the Sundays are normally the busiest days I believe). More chandlery this year than last I think, but plenty of stands around with no punters at all on them.

Sunseeker busy, we really liked the new Portofino 48; not too much new stuff to see at Princess, and the omission of the V45 from the stand was telling; the forthcoming V52 wasn't ready in time for the show. The Targa 58 from Fairline is much nicer in the flesh than the renderings in the magazine suggested; I still think the passerelle and dinghy launch system are a gadgetty step too far. The drawings of the new Targa 50 are a slight disappointment in that it looks like they're going for a three-cabin layout only (a la Targa 52); it's a shame that there doesn't appear to be a two cabin option.

Done and dusted in about 3 hours for us, thanks to Princess for looking after our coats, to Fairline for the free hat and to Sunseeker for the factory tour in a couple of months time!

Cheers
Jimmy

Funny, Jimmy, how different people spend their 3 or 4 hours.
We actually liked the new big Princesses but didnt think that Sunseeker (or any of the builders come to that) had anything new for the small sports boat.
That doesnt mean that we were in the market for the bigger Princesses. In fact there isnt anything in the Princess range that meets the 20m market - I suspect that they think that it isnt worth competing with Fairline now that they have already filled that niche.

In fact I have a big hang up with all of them.
Ther doesnt seem to be ANY sub 23 metre flybridge cruisers available now with an internal staircase to the FB. It seems to me that the designers are now pampering to those owners who dont actually use their boats - as anyone who has done any serious flybridge cruising will agree.

I have a personal list of priorities when I'm looking at FB cruisers - some of these are probably a bit stupid but it how I see it.

1. Must have a full beam master cabin
2. Must have an internal staircase
3. I like to have the dinghy stored on the FB - out of the way - quite important to me.
4. Good access on and off the cockpit - preferably two gate/doors.

I'm very bias because the P67 does everything I want - shame it isnt available any more - the closest IMO is the Squadie 65 but there are several things that I really dont like about it. Not sure what we would do if we were buying again - right now.
 
Don't be lulled into a false sense of security - 4x4, SUV or wheel barrow they all slide the same way on sheet ice. I passed two separate upturned 4x4s in the central reservation of the motorway yesteday (X5, Landcruiser)

Country 4x4 drivers seem on top of things but many urban suv drivers seem disconnected from reality, hence all at sea. Keep safe folks

How much do you reckon the weather is gonna effect the turn out? is anyone on here likely to change their mind about going?

Went up by train Sunday 1hr20mins Reading to Excel. Not much longer coming back. When we got there the place was very quite we were the only ones in the waterside resturant lunchtime.Were able to access all the boats without reservation inc. Sunseeker Fairline& Princess. The place did not even start to fill until 1pm. Have these large firms changed their policy to allow the general rif raff on? After all its not a cheap day out.
 
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