According to the Marine Trades Association (MTA) and National Boat Shows (NBS), negotiations are being carried out with a third party with a view to running The Marine Trade Show again from 2006 on.

We understand the major sticking point in the negotiations is the timing of the show.

Whereas the MTA committee - composed essentially of manufacturers - wants the show to run in October, BB understands the third party company's research shows those who attend the show would prefer the show to run in the spring.

The figures are close, however, and the MTA and NBS has opted to keep the show in October, at which time of the year it has failed repeatedly to attract visitors.

It seems a bit strange to attempt to resurrect the show and make it a success by repeating what has failed again and again. Any retailers out there with an opinion on the show's timing should make their views known to the MTA and NBS.

Hopefully a decision will be made in the near future.

In the meantime, there's still a lot of thought going into the Marine Trade Show process.

Paul Streeter, managing director of NBS told BB : "It may be we don't go for a stand-alone trade show, but end up dedicating two days at Southampton and London as trade days."

And it was inevitable that the gap left by the Marine Trade Show would be filled by the trade itself.

Mark Dowland Marine has already run two of its own trade shows and announced its third event - to run early next March - in our last issue.

The first MDM show ran in 2004 at the Oxford headquarters of its parent company, the Burden Group. This year Dowland transferred the show to Newbury Racecourse and made it a great success, with free food and drink, a free dinner and a Race Night after the dinner. There were also seminars each day on supplier training and business improvement and Dowland enticed his far-flung customers to the event by paying their travel costs.

MDM reckons early in the year is right for a trade show.

"The timing of the show has been set to coincide with the start of the season and offer attending customers the chance to buy at special one-off trade day prices, " he told BB .What about winter stocking?

"There's a move away from winter stocking, " he said.

"Chandlers don't want to carry the stock that length of time."

Early March The 2006 MDM trade show will again run early in March next year, with the week commencing March 6 being the most likely time. The venue has yet to be announced and Dowland says they've been studying feedback from last year's show and already has some ideas on how to make the 2006 show even better.

"One area already identified for improvement is to expand the show to other suppliers who do not distribute through Mark Dowland Marine, " he told BB .Also announced in our last issue was the Navimo trade show. In direct contrast to MDM, Navimo's show will run on October 19 and 20.

Paul Callus, Navimo's managing director, said the show was timed to coincide with the launch of many new products, along with the company's 2006 catalogue.

"We believe this show will be welcomed by our customers as the right time to kickstart their winter buying programmes, " he told BB .Navimo's show will be held at Southampton's Rose Bowl cricket ground, close to Navimo's headquarters. The show will have special one-off deals for all those who attend, plus live demonstrations of products, refreshments and all Navimo's sales staff will be on hand to give it a personal touch.

Ten brilliant days by the sea That's how the NBS press release describes this year's Southampton Boat show that runs from September 16 - 25.

Once again, the release says, the great and glamorous of the boating world will get together for a 10 day extravaganza by the sea.

Hmmm. Assuming you're reading this at the show, do you feel one of the great and glamorous? If not, who are they?

Maybe they're having their own little meeting somewhere.

Bumping up the pressure, the release continues: Celebrity style yachts, sexy motor cruisers, sun, sea and for the first time this year, SAND, all make the Southampton Boat Show the greatest show on the South Coast!

The sand thing is real. And BB hopes it will fare better than the debacle in Brighton a couple of months back when a few hundred tons of Belgian sand, together with some Belgian sculptors, was brought in. The sculptors used the sand to build some very passable replicas of pyramids, sphinxes and things as a tourist attraction.

And then a local planning officer walked past and asked if they had planning permission to do that there 'ere, in a manner of speaking.

All was resolved when planning consent was hustled through in short order.

The sand at Southampton is unlikely to attract such attention as it's not on public territory, is the hope? It will be used, it says here, for beach volleyball, fashion shows and sandcastle competitions.

The major change this year is the new title sponsor: the Daily Telegraph is out, replaced by Meridian TV. The show is now to be known as the Southampton Boat Show, in association with ITV Meridian.

"We 're re-engaging with the local community; the serious boater, " said NBS director of marketing James Gower.

Along with regular coverage on Meridian there will be a networked programme on Sunday the 18th. Meridian will lend its stars - Fred Dinenage and Debbie Thrower. Much of the coverage will feature the business side of the recreational marine industry, emphasising the strength of the industry.

Meridian will make use of the beach for its 50th anniversary party.

Bigger marina There are other major changes, including a bigger marina. "It's got a third leg on it and we can get an extra 70 boats in, " said Paul Streeter, managing director of NBS.

Another big change is the relocation of the Guinness Bar and Sunseeker into Solent Park. Not quite natural bedfellows, the stands will be alongside each other.

The old Guinness spot is being taken by the British Marine Federation/Royal Yachting Association stand, where the Green Blue environmental project will be launched, auditions will be run for the second series of Splash Camp and the Miss Southampton Boat Show contestants will line up against each other in competitions - such as seeing which lady can gut fish the fastest. I kid you not.

And there's more.

September 24 is National Dating Day. Wait for it? The BMF/NBS is working with Chemistry Events and datingdirect. com to get people to enter for . . . Speedboat Dating!

Contestants will be asked to complete registration forms that ask all manner of datingtype questions. The experts will then select the likely matches and they get sent out for a trip round the Solent in some speedboats.

Quite what happens then, BB is not certain. And how do they determine the winners?

As well as the Meridian deal, NBS has teamed up with IPC Media for a £1m "scratch and win" promotion using six of the IPC's marine titles - Classic Boat, Motor Boat and Yachting, Motor Boats Monthly, Practical Boat Owner, Yachting Monthly and Yachting World .Each title has been carrying the scratch cards since the middle of July and the cards also went out with the Southern Daily Echo's weekend magazine in August.

The promotion is designed to build stronger ties with the core boating community as well as creating excitement in the run-up to the show.

New this year is the Waterside Property exhibition.

It will be held in the De Vere hotel, with an exclusive entrance from the show. It will focus on waterside living in the UK and abroad.

The show opener this year is Gypsy Moth IV , which will sail into the marina with a full complement of celebrities and other hangers-on aboard. At the same time a Gypsy Moth aircraft will fly overhead, probably not a lot faster than the boat is moving. A beautiful little aeroplane: Gypsy Moths were made by De Havilland and made famous after Amy Johnson used one for her solo flight to Australia in 1930.

And how are plans going for the developments that will affect the Southampton Boat Show?

One thing is certain:

Southampton is going to change radically over the next few years if its City Centre Vision becomes reality.

Reconnect to waterfront The object is for the various schemes is to reconnect Southampton to its waterfront, says the impressive brochure. The city will also become more pedestrian friendly, have "iconic" buildings, its own unique historic identity, develop a "night time economy" and have "a waterfront of distinction".

Culture and tourism Add to all that the plans for the city to become a major centre for culture and tourism and you can see there will be big changes.

The redevelopment plans, excluding Woolston Riverside, will create more than 5,500 residential units; approximately 58,000 sq m of office floor space;

about 76,000 sq m of retail/leisure floor space; new and refurbished public spaces and nearly 7,000 jobs.

There will be private sector investment of over £1 billion.

The developments include West Quay phase 3, which brings an indoor arena and casino with 'iconic' residential buildings and a new open plaza.

Northern Above Bar will see the creation of a cultural quarter incorporating an art gallery, a small theatre, a multicultural facility for Arts Asia and state-of-the-art digital/ media facilities for City Eye.

The Central Station area will get a new landmark public transport interchange.

Ocean Village will turn into a mixed-use scheme creating a 4-star hotel and a marine innovation centre with office and residential buildings and access to the waterfront.

Woolston Riverside will be regenerated to create a thriving and sustainable mixed-use community, providing up to 1,500 homes and 60,000 sq m of commercial space. The council wants to provide new employment opportunities with a marine related employment area.

But the bit we're interested in is the Royal Pier development.

It's described as a major reclamation of land which will create a new waterfront quarter connecting the city centre with the waterfront, with a public promenade and an extension of Mayflower Park safeguarding the future of the boat show.

Completion date The original completion date for this project was 2009, when we would get the whole show on one site. But talking to Richard Smith, Southampton's city development manager, casts some doubt on the date.

The city's development partner is due to be announced at the end of September, he told BB.So when will the first spadeful of earth be turned, asked BB? "Probably in three or four year's time."

You can probably work out what BB's next question was.

And the answer was it's "still possible" the show will be on one site in 2009. But it doesn't sound an odds-on bet.

"Once the developer is selected it will take at least a year for them to do all the preparation to submit the applications for the necessary consents, " said Smith. "And it's almost inevitable the development will be called in by the government to be dealt with by them. And that will take a couple of years. . ."

It's all a big juggling operation right now, involving the city council, a handful of developers, ABP, Crown Estates and the government. If it all drops into place, Smith reckons it will be alright on the night.

"We're still just about on course for that to be possible for the 2009 show, " he said. "If there is any slippage in it - and it's a big project, so there is likely to be - there will be further discussions between the council and ABP about the continued use of berth 101."

But, in the best traditions, the show will go on.

"We would try to phase the works so they had the minimum of effect on the show, " said Smith. "We would hope to be able to do the reclamation works between shows, which is physically possible. The moorings in the east end can be then be moved out further into the channel so there will be a surface there for the boat show. And for the first show, it's going to be difficult to promise it will be in its final form."

Settled properly?

Will it have settled properly, BBasked?

"It depends on the fill used.

The initial advice is that if the right sort of fill is used, the necessary settlement would take place to enable the weight of the boat show to go on there."

What about a picture of the development for BB's readers, we asked? The shots on page four of Southamtpon's City Centre Vision brochure look just right. "The trouble is I've seen the presentations put forward by the developers and none of them look anything like those pictures."

They all follows the basic principles, said Smith, to BB's relief.

So we will have a Southampton Boat Show on one site. And it's possible that might happen for the 2009 show. . .

As usual, BB will keep you informed.

London Boat Show 2006 The show is, says Paul Streeter, sold out already with a waiting list of people eager to jump at the merest sniff of a cancellation.

There are several major changes to look forward to.

The first is the show is a day shorter. This was announced earlier this year to some astonishment in the industry, although Streeter insists: "Our survey confirmed the shorter show - only 6% wanted a 10day show."

Many people complained the decision had been made with no reference to the exhibitors, but the research apparently shows solid backing from the industry for the move, even though the space rates didn't reduce by one tenth for the shorter show.

Whatever; the show is now a nine day event, beginning on Friday January 6 and ending on Sunday January 15.

So while recent BMF e-news bulletins imply the show still has two Thursdays by telling everyone the late night will be on the first Thursday, BB can assure everyone there is no second Thursday in the 2006 London Boat show.

Again, reducing the late night opening to just one day was the result of NBS' exhibitor survey that was, apparently, overwhelming. But BB can confirm that early on the Friday morning last year, Paul Streeter told us: "That was a mistake and we won't do it again." No survey required.

And to prove the NBS does listen, the 2006 show will have a focal point in the central boulevard.

No central focus "The criticism we got was there wasn't a central focus and it took a long time before you saw a boat, " said Streeter.

"That's all being addressed.

You'll see boats as soon as you come in, probably on the West Podium outside the main entrance and maybe at the foot of the steps as well."

And there will be a focal point in the central boulevard.

It will be where Honda was this year and will be a dedicated area with a central stage feature for the show opening, for presentations, meet the editors events and celebrity interviews. "We're working with IPC to get an entertaining line up, " said Gower.

Will there be lots of room for people to stand and watch, we asked? "There will be an area for the audience, but again there are restrictions. We can have seating, but it can't be bolted down."

Among other improvements, the ExCeL PA system has been worked on and should be more easily understood this year.

Adding to the PA announcements, NBS is thinking of having the roller bladers as at Southampton to be mobile information points. And the signage will be lowered so people may find out how to get out to the dock and marina area without getting lost.

Marina may expand The marina area may be expanded. "Murray Ellis is talking with the dock people now to see if we can put more pontoon anchorage points into the dock floor, " said Streeter. "If we get enough companies wishing to put boats in the dock marina, we'll make it larger."

The Inland Waterways feature is being moved to the top right corner, at the other end of ExCeL to the Guinness Bar. "Having it in the middle of the run broke up the sailing boats last year, " said Streeter.

And what about the East Hall, BB asked? The answer is the windsurfing competition is back, but run over four days to finish on the final Sunday.

Equipment and structure remains virtually the same as the 2005 show, but they've got about 100 more seats in the events hall. "We've also tweaked the fans, " said Gower.

"There was too much wind on the first gybe this year, so the engineers have sorted that.

And next year's competition will have the top riders from the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) and the United Kingdom Windsurfing Association (UKWSA) - only the very best."

Other tweaks to the fans will be welcomed by the spectators, who will not get so wet this time. But please remember to tell any friends coming to the show to make sure they have a warm jacket to wear in the windsurfing hall - sitting facing a 30kt breeze is a chilly business in January. And make sure they take the earplugs offered: those fans are loud.

But the programme in the hall will be varied, so the fans won't be running all the time.

Wakeboarding will return, canoe polo will return and there will be lots of public participation. "There will be periods of calm, " said Gower.

And traffic flow in the exhibition area of the East Hall will be helped by putting a bar in the middle and building the stands around it. "That should help retain people in the hall, " said Streeter.

One improvement that will help exhibitors is the opening of a Tapas Bar that will stay open until 23.00 each night. The side halls will be closed and security will be in operation.

And what sort of target audience is NBS aiming for?

"170,000, " said Gower and Streeter in unison. A brave target in the light of this year's show returning a final audited attendance figure of 154,041. Of that, the paid attendance was 124,606 with 16,036 complimentary tickets - exhibitors, etc.

Having heard the rumours that the show seemed to be bringing in a lot more visitors from Essex than the south coast, BB asked what the NBS research showed.

Virtually identical "The research says the geographic draw was virtually identical, not just on 04, but also on Earls Court, " said Gower. "A 1% or 2% shift, mainly to the east, but the figures are virtually identical."

Surprising, that. So why did some 60,000 people stay away this year, we asked? "The show will probably find its natural level. Curiosity played a big part in the first one, " explained Gower.

And how much is the promotional spend for the 2006 show? "Exactly the same as this year, although ExCeL's investment is on its contractual decline. It was £500k in year 1, £250k in year 2 and it will be £125k for the 2006 show. But our bit is the same."

So that's £2m?

"Yes, " said Gower. "That's the money we put in, ExCeL puts in and the Daily Telegraph , " added Streeter.

And what about a title sponsor? Gower: "No success yet, but a few irons in the fire."

What happens if we don't get a title sponsor?

Not the key "The title sponsor is not the key to the success of the show, " said Streeter. "The title sponsor puts a bit more on the bottom line, which gets invested in the federation, but at the moment, we're just holding back some of the things we might have spent."

170,000 after a year that saw nearly 20,000 less than that is a brave target?