Grey skies, howling winds and even rain showers couldn’t keep visitors away from the Southampton Boat Show on the opening weekend, as visitors flocked to the show.
The 16-25 September 2016 marks a unique date in the boating calendar, the 48th Southampton Boat Show.
The festival of boating, is hosting over 131 boat debuts; close to 600 exhibiting brands – 27 of which are new for 2016 and hundreds of boats on display, including 330 on one of Europe’s largest purpose-built boat show marinas with over 2km of pontoons.
The 10 day long Southampton Boat Show opened on 16th September and was welcomed for its wide variety of yachts on display. From the Norwegian three-masted sailing barque, Artemis to the revolutionary Team Britannia vessel bidding to break the world record for the fastest powerboats circumnavigation of the globe.
Over 60 yachts made their show debut among them the World debuting Hanse 588, Cormate U23 Racing Edition and Haines 26, the European debuting Dehler 34 and Greenline Hybrid 36 and the UK launch of the Azimut 55S, Sunseeker Predator 68 MK II, Sealine F530 and Fjord 40 Open.
Throughout the 10 days, visitors enjoyed a line-up of live music, fashion shows and expert talks. Attractions, the likes of; On the Water’s Try-a-Boat and Get Afloat, offered a new opportunity for the youngest generation to get on the water. Suitable for children aged 3 to 13, Bumper Boats provides youngsters with a chance to master boat handling.
This year’s Show was the first for Greg Munford in his newly appointed position as British Marine Boat Shows’ Chairman. As Chief Executive of Richardson’s Leisure, Greg Munford is familiar with taking a fresh approach and bold ideas. Already in his short period in office he has been instrumental in planning the changes for this year’s Show. He said, “Helping plan this year’s event with all its new attractions to entertain the diversity of visitors and more importantly, get more people out on to the water has been a fantastic experience. Being a boater myself, the mix of new international and British brands who will be showcasing the latest boats and marine equipment makes this Show even more exciting for me to be a part of.”