The answer, unfortunately, was "yes".

The 2006 London Boat show, at best, can be described as being very disappointing for the industry.

Before we went to ExCeL, everybody knew the danger with a huge shed in Docklands was falling into the same trap as Dusseldorf and ending up with a boring boat show.

Knowing what could happen meant the show designers were starting from the ideal position: they had a model on which to work. A model everyone aspired to beat.

So what happened?

The first ExCeL show brought tremendous excitement as the crowds turned up in their hundreds of thousands to see what was new. The Inland Waterways feature, close to the central boulevard in the north hall certainly buzzed. The windsurfing eventually got going and had loads of support.

But behind the glitter, the press were unimpressed. The show was just a collection of boats and bits in its vast shed in Docklands.

It's not a boat show, we all said. It's an exhibition in a huge shed in Docklands. We need a boat show: give us some features for the family.

We awaited the second ExCeL show with bated breath.

Would we see some gloss and glamour - lots of that pizzazz we all wanted?

Nope.

Nothing changed. Except the Inland Waterways feature disappeared to the back of the north hall. And support for the windsurfing plummeted as the trade realised a 10-day show at London prices was hard to justify.

So what happened this time around? The Inland Waterways feature had been moved to the north east corner of the North Hall. And this was the feature that the NBS research had proved brought some 37% of people to the show. So why tuck it away?

Oh. And there was a "central feature" in the boulevard. This turned out to be a small stage that really doesn't do a show the size of the London Boat Show credit when the marching band has to march shoulder to shoulder. And the crowd strands shoulder to shoulder, hardly able to see a thing.

Sort it out We have a problem. And we need to sort it out.

Because if we don't there will not be a London Boat Show. We already have attendances falling off alarmingly. We either stop that slide in its tracks with the 2007 show. Or we're on that slippery slope from which the chances of recovery are slim.

Maybe even non-existent.

And when Boot 2006 in Dusseldorf closes with visitor numbers up 5% and we've closed 30,000 down on target, the writing is surely on the wall.

I'm not going to go through all that's wrong with the London Boat Show. For that, simply read what I - and many other members of the press - said after the first ExCeL show.

We repeated it after the second ExCeL show. So there's no point in repeating it again.

That's a waste of my time and your time.

It's time we took a long, hard look at this show. We have an industry where those at the top would be happy with a dozen well-heeled visitors, while the retailers want their thousands. In between, the "speciality" stands will always attract the dedicated boater - as they did this year.

Maybe it's time to consider radical solutions - how about splitting the show into its component pieces? Have a big boat show. A "starter" boat show. An equipment show. A dinghy show.

Or maybe we should go back to "the good old days" where we had lots of local boat shows around the country? Whatever happened to Martin Holliman?

Maybe one UK boat show at Southampton and ditch London.

Or ditch Southampton and have one huge UK boat show at ExCeL in the summer when we could use all that water.

One thing is for certain. Right now we have lost our way.

So it's up to Peter Methven as president of the BMF, Brian Peters as chairman of NBS, John Clarke as chief executive of the BMF and Paul Streeter as managing director of NBS to sort this out. The buck stops with these men. And it passes on to the next in office: Alan Morgan at NBS and Brian Peters at the BMF.

Oh, and the incoming BMF chief executive Rob Stevens.

Welcome to he UK recreational marine industry, Mr Stevens? Start kicking To all these men, I think the message has to be: if there are arses to kick, start kicking. If there are people who should go, get firing. But do something! ! And do it fast! !

But all that aside, Mr Nash, how did you enjoy the show?

Press day was a tad slow, and there didn't seem to be many new product launches.

But the evening livened up with the IPC Media Marine Awards at Old Billingsgate.

What an event! Even at £160 + VAT a plate, some 500 people turned up. But it would be nice to find out how many people actually forked out for their own tickets.

And, OK, there were a couple of hiccoughs. Like trying to present Nimbus with a sailing boat award? But for the event's first running, it was an excellent evening out.

Dame Ellen MacArthur was voted Yachtsman of the year;

another achievement in itself because that's the first time anyone has taken the trophy three times. Does that mean she gets to take it home?

There were a few who thought Ben Ainslie's four Finn Gold Cups deserved the top slot, but Dame Ellen deserves everything that comes her way.

Craig Paul, Sam Coombs and James Hopson scooped the Young Sailor of the Year for their swift and timely rescue of a fellow sailor in distress.

The main complaint about the evening was that all the major awards went to foreign boats. Only the Scilly Islesproduced Powercat 525 got an award. And that's marketed as a workboat. So what's it doing in this awards ceremony? Will we see gritty tugboats and rig support vessels next year?

And I do find it difficult to believe a similar ceremony in, say, France or the USA would have given as many (if any) awards to foreign boats.

Tacktick deservedly took the marine product award for its Micronet instruments; Volvo Penta also deserved the engine award for its IPS drive and Spinlock's innovative harness with integrated lifejacket took the marine product award.

The service excellence award was shared by Garmin Europe and Southwater Marine. While their businesses are very different in nature, said the commendation, each has consistently stretched far past its formal obligations to ensure that its customers get real enjoyment out of their boating.

Other events around the show included the Marine Trades Association (MTA) annual dinner. The entrance was guarded by two very lifelike statues that twitched occasionally to surprise anyone walking past. Very amusing.

Good jokes Also very amusing was the after dinner speaker, one Mal Rich, who not only told a couple of very good jokes, but also tailored one around Howard Pridding, Gill's Bryan Stewart and one Peter Nash? (I have a long memory, Mr Morgan) The speaker also presented a This Is Your Life book to John Clarke, outgoing chief executive of the BMF. The comments were harsh, but fair, although Clarke's smile seemed to develop a certain rictus element as the rather long epistle went on.

The MTS dinner saw Tacktick collect yet another award when Clive Johnson was voted MTA Personality of the Year. And long serving (long suffering? ) MTA secretary Maria Hassall received a nice bunch of flowers as she retires from office "when we let her go, " said Alan Morgan.

The Marine Engine and Equipment Manufacturers' Association (MEEMA) also held its annual dinner; another jolly affair that saw Geoffrey C Warde MBE giving the after dinner speech and the MEEMA Personality of the Year Award being presented to Mike Nichol.

In addition to all those boats and things, a lot of meetings and talks go on during the London Boat Show.

The BMF ran another Meet the Buyer event, with support from UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and IBI.

Held over two days, the event provided direct access to decision makers from UK boatbuilders and distributors. It involved an organised programme of one-to-one meetings, lasting 20-25 minutes, each with international buyers.

The BMF says there were 460 individual meetings with 30 buyers from 16 countries, including India, China, Taiwan, Argentina, Turkey, Croatia, Europe and the USA.

"This event has grown to become a key event in the inter-national calendar, " said Toby Allies, BMF director of inter-national development.

"Initial feedback has been extremely positive and we look forward to turning interest into actual export business for UK marine companies."

VAT on 2nd hand boats And BMF company secretary, Nigel John, hosted a seminar on VAT on second hand boats.

This was very well supported, proving there is still a huge amount of confusion in the industry.

A brief outline of the seminar: in 1993 the Dover Yacht unit was theoretically disbanded, but kept on issuing Tax Opinion Letters until mid1996. The BMF then received the following letter:

Due to the increasing number of requests for tax opinion letters it is no longer possible for the unit to continue issuing such letters.

Any UK Yachtsmen cruising within the EC or returning from outside the EC are advised to carry with them whichever of the following documents are relevant:

Either 1) Evidence of VAT payment within the EC (i. e. Purchase Invoice) 2) Evidence that the vessel a) predates 1.1.85 and B) was in the EC at 31.12.92 or 3) That the vessel was purchased within the EC second-hand from a private individual John says the BMF has now learned that point 3 was "transitional", as was 2 initially.

Item 2 was initially withdrawn but has now been reinstated.

A full statement is being prepared following the seminar and BB hopes to run it in the March issue. But John will give another talk on the subject at the forthcoming Boating Business Exhibition at the BIC: he is up to talk at 11.00 on Wednesday February 22 and will take questions from the floor as well. Register for the show at www.bbex.com The BMF was also very busy behind the scenes at ExCeL, lobbying government ministers hard on a number of issues.

In all, four government ministers and 12 politicians visited the show, enabling the BMF to reinforce its key messages, such as research results from the recent Economic Benefits study, issues surrounding Red Diesel and planning regulations for marina developments.

And the BMF tell me more than 30 new member companies were recruited to the federation during the show.

So that, all in all, was my London Boat Show. I rounded it off with a trip to Egham for an update on the RCD, which proved very interesting.

The London Boat Show is always hard work, but it's great fun at the same time. I get to meet and talk to a lot of BB readers and hear their views on life, the universe and everything.

It makes for interesting listening, I can tell you.

But I reckon there must have been some ears burning over at Egham?