This year's show is sponsored by Pindar, the catalogue production and print group that sponsors Emma Richards and her Open 60 Pindar Alphagraphics, world champion Optimist sailor Hannah Mills and Sophie Luther, recent winner of the Pindar Sailing Scholarship.

All the details of this year's MTS are in the catalogue, but set out below are reminders of the opening times, breakfast briefings and other things in case your catalogue becomes detached from your issue in some way.

And remember that BB is sponsoring the Marine Trades Association Retailer of the Year Award, which will be presented at the show for the first time this year.

We have been in discussion with the top distributors and have quite a few names on the rather long shortlist. This will be whittled down to the winning company by the night of Tuesday, October 19 and the award will be presented at the Gala Dinner that night.

Pre-registering You can pre-register for the show online at marinetradeshow. com Your tickets will be sent to you two weeks before the show and all pre-registered visitors receive the MTS Cheque Book with potential savings of £8,000 (see below).

If you don't pre-register, just turn up on the day and form an orderly queue to get in.

Hotel accommodation First Option Events is handling hotel bookings and says it has an allocation of bedrooms at reduced rates held from October 18 for two nights, although bookings can be made for any number of nights.

Contact Joanne Roberts on 0161 440 4252 E: jroberts@firstoption.co.uk or book online at first-option. co. uk Gala Dinner The Gala Dinner runs on the first evening of the show and has been growing every year.

This is the third and promises to be highly entertaining.

The evening starts with a Networking Hour on the main exhibition floor, during which free drinks are on offer - while stocks last, of course.

Then it's up to the restaurant for the Gala Dinner. Tickets cost £38.50 a head, or tables for 10 can be booked for £360.00 and can be booked online, or by calling Lorraine Curtis at Boating Business on 01329 820477 or by emailing her at lcurtis@boatingbusiness.co.uk The after dinner speaker this year is Dom Mee, an ex-Royal Marine Commando with 15 years active service from Iraq to Northern Ireland. He is, apparently, fast becoming one of the country's most respected maritime explorers and adventurers after having recently braved the North Pacific in a rowing boat.

After the gasps of admiration at Dom Mee's adventures, standup comedian Adger Brown will produce guffaws of laughter as he offers what he calls is his "sideways look at life".

Retailer of the Year Award Boating Business is sponsoring this Marine Trades Association (MTA) award and has brought it to the Marine Trade Show for the first time. The presentation will be made at the Gala Dinner on the Tuesday night.

Seminar programme The BMF Seminar Series includes speakers from the federation giving seminars on a variety of current issues.

Among the BMF speakers will be Toby Allies, director of export, Justine Cooper, environment executive, Nik Parker, director of technical, and Sarah Dhanda, director of training.

The seminar programme is:

Tuesday 11.00 - 12.00 Technical - Soundtesting for the RCD; Tuesday 15.00 - 16.00 Environment - Sustainability and the Water Framework Directive; Wednesday 11.00 - 12.00 Export - Understanding Product Liability; Wednesday 15.00 - 16.00 Health & safety update.

These seminars are free to all pre-registered delegates and as we closed for press there were already over 100 registrations - get yours in quickly.

The MTS Cheque Book All pre-registered visitors (see above) receive the MTS Cheque Book, which contains a series of vouchers from participating exhibitors. The vouchers can be exchanged with participating companies for various incentives, such as special show discounts.

Using all the vouchers could save a retailer up to £8,000.