But neither happened. The fuel protest fizzled out. And Press Day saw lots of people bundled up against what they thought would be a wet and windy day, but which turned out to be a touch chilly, but dry and sunny.

This show was always going to be an indicator of the winter ahead. The retailers had a lousy first six months to the year and were hoping for a good show.

Boatbuilders have been ticking along, but that' all.

They were distinctly worried that the rather dull year would leave dealers with lots of stock and therefore no real orders to keep the builders going over the winter months.

But while the attendance was slightly down on last year - 122,000 to 123,000 - the show really did turn out to be the "sparkling success" claimed by National Boat Shows (NBS) in its end of show press release.

Fairline - selling through its own dealers for the first time - reported a record 48 boats sold, as did Sealine with 62 boats sold. Peters sold over 80 boats and Sunseeker reckoned it was one of their best shows ever.

But not everything was rosy, with the move of the Sunseeker stand to Solent Park adding a whole new dynamic to the traffic flows of the show.

Alan Morgan of Avon said the change had brought changes to visitor flow in Windward Hall, while many of the "E" stands thought visitors were coming in Gate F and walking straight along the top of Ocean Hall and Windward Hall, straight into Solent Park, then down into the marina. "We don't see anyone down here until lunchtime, " said one annoyed exhibitor.

Exhibitors in the "F" row on the west side of the children's play area also felt the pinch and those in the row of "H" stand to the south of Ocean Hall also had a very quiet show.

We 'll have a full review in next month's BB .