The Friday was, of course, Press and Preview Day and it was encouragingly busy. Of all the presentations, Sunseeker’s was probably the most ostentatious with each of the three decks lined by coloured and white crew in sparkling white uniforms while MD Robert Braithwaite stood on the starboard side deck watching as the band played on the jetty. And played. And played. And played.

Mr Braithwaite got his money’s worth out of them, while the assembled journalists looked nervously between their watches and the crowded list of press events that day…

But what a beautiful boat - £9.5m and the first one already sold to ex-Formula One boss Eddie Jordan.

And the Friday was also Show Opening Day. The ceremony was performed by Joel Plasco from Collins Stewart, Alex Thomson, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Mike Golding OBE and Rob Stevens of the BMF.

Monday night saw a fancy dinner in the luxurious surroundings of The Savoy, courtesy of sponsor Shoreguard, for the presentation of the IPC Marine Media Motor Boat Awards.

A refreshingly short awards ceremony in which a very vocal audience played a great part in adding to the overall atmosphere. Editors Hugo Andreae (Motor Boat & Yachting) and Simon Collis (Motor Boats Monthly) handled the presentations with great aplomb and humour. An excellent evening and a great leap forward in awards presentations.

But what about the sailing boats, I ask?

The Windy 25 Mirage took the RIBs and Sportsboats Award; the Botnia Targa 31 took Wheelhouse & Walkaround; the Swordsman 30 took the Traditional and Retro; the Lissen 299 Grand Sturdy took Steel and Inland; the Nordhavn 47 took Trawlers and Aft Cabins; Fairline’s Targa 38 took the Sportscruisers below 45ft; the Azimut 62S took Sportscruisers above 45ft; the Nord West 420 took the Flybridge below 50ft; the Fairline Squadron 68 took the Flybridge Above 50ft; the Mochi 74 MaxiDolphin took the Custom Yacht Award and the Readers’ Outstanding Service Award went to Penton Hook Marine Sales.

Only three UK boatbuilders in there…

Tuesday brought the Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year Award, presented to Dee Caffari in The Painted Hall down at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich by Lady Pippa Blake, widow of the late Sir Peter Blake. Dee Caffari then presented the Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year Award to Katie Miller at ExCeL on the following day.

Both trophies went to solo circumnavigating girls, with Dee Caffari going round the world to capture the YOTY trophy and Katie Miller going round the UK to follow in the footsteps of Ellen MacArthur and Ben Ainslie in collecting the Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year Trophy.

Tuesday evening saw us at the Marine Trades Association (MTA) Annual Dinner. Usually the province of one award for the MTA Personality of the Year, this year saw a special award made to Toby Allies, director of export services at the BMF

Allies looked totally overwhelmed as he walked up to collect his award to a standing ovation from the assembled diners. A popular choice and thoroughly deserved recognition for a man who has made the BMF’s export service an outstanding success. BB adds its congratulations.

BB also adds its congratulations to a deserving Nick Robinson from Bainbridge for his MTA Personality of the Year Award.

Next up was the MEEMA Dinner on the Wednesday and outgoing chairman Peter Edwards of ASAP Supplies set up one of the best evenings I’ve been to. We were all taken to the Brick Lane Music Hall, which is nowhere near Brick Lane.

It’s actually just the other side of City Airport to ExCeL’s East Entrance – 10 minutes by coach when there’s not an accident holding things up.

And we were all given an ‘adult’ pantomime performance of Aladdin, which went down a storm with the sell-out boat show exhibitor crowd producing lots of ribald comments from the stalls.

Before the show began, Edwards handed over his office to the incoming chairman, David Pougher of Yamaha, who presented the Mic Randle Memorial Award to Liz Holiday, the marine officer for the Kent Coastal Network. MEEMA says she has been an enormous help to the PW world over many years ensuring that PW riders get a fair hearing and have adequate launching facilities round the coast.

LBS Snippets

Waeco’s Tim Shaw told me the company was changing its distribution to the UK leisure marine industry. ‘We’ll add one or two specialist distributors,’ he said, ‘but we’ll be going straight to the dealers.’

The company was a category winner in the 2006 DAME Awards for its Coolmatic CR range – they’re DC compressor driven fridges being built in a new factory outside Macau. The units look just like domestic appliances and are, says Shaw; the ‘culmination of what global boatbuilders wanted’.

Richard Coleman, head of Navigators & General, told me 2006 was a fairly settled year for the leisure craft insurance market. Kind weather conditions, approved repairer schemes, continually improving security and shelter at yards and marinas has helped keep claims costs in check.

However, he added, overall claims costs do continue rise, but he reckons Nav & Gen will be able to keep premiums at a very competitive level; during 2007.

The company’s approved repairer scheme, piloted across England in 2006, has been a huge success. It offers policyholders a faster and simpler process and will help reduce the cost of claims generally, which in turn will help keep premiums competitive. The company is now expanding the network.

The new smallcraft policy launched in 2006 has been a huge success, says Coleman, and was recently reviewed by insurance brokers from Insurance Age and awarded the top 5-star rating. Nav & Gen will be producing the policy in plain English format this year.

Also in a plain English format will be a much improved Yacht & Motorboat policy wording for vessels over 23ft - easier to understand with wider cover.

Finally, Coleman says the company’s specialist commercial division has been developing a number of new products for the marine trade sector. ‘Considerable growth is expected in this area and product launches will be taking place early in 2007,’ he said.

Flatacraft has returned under new ownership. Originally founded in the early 1970s by Tony Lee-Elliott Flatacraft produced thousands of RIB’s from 2.6m to 9.5m until his retirement. The new owner is Glenn Whitfield.

‘The new Tenderlux range is based on a proven Flatacraft deep V hull,’ he told BB. ‘We then undertook an extensive ergonomic, styling and structural design programme and visitors to the Show described it as a work of art, saying there is nothing else like it.’

Sea trials begin in February. 

E P Barrus was proud to point out 40% of boats at the show had its engines installed and Patrick Mackey, head of Mercury Marine, was on the stand sounding quietly smug about the launch of Project Zeus units this summer. That should give Volvo Penta something to think about against its IPS…

And I wonder what Robert Glen thinks about the proposed Earls Court Boat Show?

Houdini has taken on the exclusive distributorship of Moonlight hatches and portlights in the UK.

Manufactured in Denmark by BSI A/S, Moonlight products are supplied, says Houdini, to many of Europe’s leading boatbuilders.

Tacktick was started by Clive and Mark Johnson in 1997, so the pair celebrated the 10th anniversary of the world’s first ever wireless, digital, solar powered compass at ExCeL, pointing out at the same time to all they have now launched 21 wireless electronic products and won numerous industry awards for their revolutionary Micronet range of solar powered, wireless electronics.

 

Captions to the pictures below, clockwise from top left:

The boat; the crew; the band. OTT or what? Yes. But spectacular? Yes! Let’s make a bit more fuss of the UK’s achievements…
Photo: onEdition

The opening ceremony as (l to r) Plasco, Thomson, Dame Ellen MacArthur, Mike Golding OBE and Rob Stevens cut the sash
Photo: onEdition

Dee Caffari went round the world for her Yachtsman Of The Year Trophy. She’s now going to run round London in this year’s Marathon in aid of Sail 4 Cancer
Photo: onEdition

MTA chairman David Lewin (left) presented Toby Allies with his special MTA award

Bainbridge’s Nick Robinson with his deserved MTA Personality of the Year Award

David Pougher presents the Mic Randle Memorial Award to Liz Holiday