Showtime Finale

It’s the last day of Southampton Boat Show, and as I anticipated, Mayflower Park on Southampton’s waterfront was a hive of marine activity
 
At least I was able to catch up with one or two friends who I had missed during the nine previous days of the Show, and had time to amble on the pontoon.
 
Show organisers tell me that there were something like 109,000 visitors during the event, and more than 10,000 of them too advantage of opportunities to get on the water.
 
Yet whether or not you were intent in getting on the water, there was plenty to see and do, whether or not you are a sailing enthusiast.   However, the vast majority of visitors have an affinity with sailing in one form or another.
 
There was everything from the biggest boat there, the Princess 30M measuring 30.45m, to the smallest, an inflatable from Excel at just 1.6m.  British and international marine companies from the likes of Oyster Yachts, Bavaria, Princess Yachts, Broom, Sunseeker International, Raymarine and Fischer Panda chose Southampton  as the world-leading stage and platform for at least 33 global boat and product launches. Eight others made their European debuts, with 82 UK debuts and 40 new boats and products being welcomed over the duration of the Show.
 
In total some 750 boats were on display, with over 330 of the world's leading sailboats and high-performance powerboats on the water. 
 

I cannot pretend to have seen them all, nor to have photographed them. But each year I find the Show irresistible!