Event News

Stars of ITV soap Emmerdale are hoping to knock previous fundraising totals for six on Sunday when they take on Crakehall Cricket Club in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Cast and crew of the Yorkshire drama compete in the charity cricket match at Crakehall near Bedale each summer and last year helped raise more than £4,000...
read full article

With the UK’s most celebrated marine event nearly upon us, Mike Pullen investigates what the 2010 Southampton Boat Show has in store . . .

From 10 to 19 September 2010, the UK’s leading outdoor boat show will once again return to Mayflower Park and open up its salty embrace to the boat lovers of the world. Bringing hundreds of boats, exhibitors and visitors together on the south coast for the 42nd time, it aims to fulfil its reputation as one of the most interactive boat show experiences around.
It also aims to showcase the very best of the British marine industry, with boats of every shape and size, ranging from dinghies to powerboats, sailing cruisers to catamarans and inflatables to kayaks. You get plenty of small stuff too, with marine products, accessories and services, plus the latest clothing ranges, chandlery,
electronics and engines. You can find out about your local sailing club, enroll on a course or gather inspiration for your next holiday.
Andrew Williams, Managing Director of National Boat Shows (NBS), explains the idea behind the 2010 event: “We are really looking forward to the PSP Southampton Boat Show. There is so much for visitors to see and do this year. It’s a great day out for everyone in the late summer sun, from boating enthusiasts to families with children of all ages, to the ‘just curious’.”

Down in the marina
Construction of the show’s two kilometres of pontoons takes well over a month to complete, but it is certainly time well invested. Not only does it enable the venue to claim the mantle of ‘Europe’s largest purpose built marina’ but it also enables the organisers to display 350 boats on the water alone. That is precisely the kind of thing that makes the Southampton event special. It’s outside, in the UK’s spiritual heartland of recreational boating, and it has a huge fleet of boats down on the water where they belong. From ocean rowing boats to luxury ocean cruisers and everything in between, you should be able to find it down on the show pontoons.
The marina will also host a selection of feature boats, one of which is the University of Southampton’s research vessel, Callista. The ‘science ship’ will be on the marina for the duration of the show and is designed to encourage curious minds to come aboard to see, feel and touch the fascinating ‘other world’ of life beneath the ocean. You can even take part in experiments, see live specimens and play with the ship’s marine gadgetry.
Also on the marina will be Calypso from the Jeremy Rogers yard, a greener version of the iconic Contessa 32. Now it might not be that sporty, but it is resoundingly green and that alone makes it a vessel of great importance to us all. Embracing hybrid engines, hydrogen fuel cell technology, solar panels and reclaimed and recycled fixtures and fittings, Calypso embodies a green vision supported by the only bespoke environmental boating programme of its kind from the BMF and the RYA - The Green Blue. Take a look and see just how far the latest cutting edge green technologies have come.

To read more check out the September issue of Sports Boat and RIB or subscribe today