Hello everyone, There is a boat show in London that takes place from 8-17th January 2010 at Excel London. I will be attending to look for accessories for our new sailboat on Thursday, January 14th. I was wondering if there is anyone else attending the show and what their overall impressions are. I would be interested to know if we have any members here in London. I will try to post some pictures on Thursday evening. Cheers, Vivariva
Comments Overall, an adequate show to be honest. Only a few major brands (mostly British naturally) and some tenders/RIBs that are interesting. Fairline and Sunseeker expectedly had very good looking stands. Sunseeker introduced a 104 ft Predator. Anyway, starting with Riva, here are the photos that I took during the event. Sorry for the quality, I only had my iPhone with me. Note: There are many clothing suppliers available; if you are in need of any foul weather supplies, the show is a good opportunity.
1. Interesting Jet-ski 2. An Oyster sailboat. In terms of sailboats, only 4-5, very small yachts were present. 3. The marina section, Sunseekers dominating...
London show is becoming quite borring, and even some British builders are skipping it in the last years see Sealine... many blame this to its recent Excel location change. I think a single big UK show as Southampton should be established in the coming years
Hi, Do they have the Guinness Tent at this location? That used to be a great feature when it was at Earls Court.
On another site, one exhibitor said most customers at London were just lifestylie moochers(tyre-kickers), where he has to stand around for 10 hours a day in overpowering artifcial heat and that the Southampton on the water show is in summer and only an 8 hour day in sun for real buyers. He was begging for some mates just to come over and say Hi, poor sod.
Liam; the location is too small for a big event. The above-mentioned brands had good stands however nothing out of the ordinary. K1W1; there are a couple of places near the stands where you can have drinks. Mostly brokers and other people working are seen resting from standing up all day. There was no specific Guinness stand/tent inside. Fishtigua; on one occasion, I thought the same thing as you have written. The attendees were mostly people who will never buy a boat. There were a few serious buyers, but their interest were with smaller cruisers. Sailboats, being cheaper than motoryachts in same length, gathered attention as well. The economic conditions affect the buyers that are looking between 50 to 100 feet much more than 300 ft. mega-yacht customers. On the positive side, I have bought the foul weather clothing that I was looking for and went through the accessories that I wanted to see. For a few hours, I did admire all kinds of boats and I think it was worth it. Despite the minor inconveniences, I really love boats and everything else that are associated with them, as I am sure everyone here are. My opinion is that its a small and boring show as you have indicated in your posts Liam& Fish. However it is a nice distraction for a few hours in a wintery day. Look at the weather outside . The Southampton show, unlike this one, is worth going.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, do you mean the light effects on the upper part of her hull/superstructure? They were using coloured spot lights on the few Sunseekers at the Marina section. If you're referring to the lower hull section (blue paint), I do not know. Regards
