The show is now on three floors and the third floor is all but sold out, she told BB. ‘We have just three small business zones left and one 3x3 as things stand today,’ she said, ‘but these will be gone really soon!’

That’s nearly 220 exhibitors now. In short, we’ve got us a trade show!

As well as all the new products, we have a programme of seminars that will inform and maybe entertain. The full programme will be announced in the BBEx issue of BB next month, but here’s a taster: we have a couple of seminars that look at the delicate problem of Bricks & Clicks.

One will be a Q&A discussion facilitated by David Lewin that has Mailspeed’s Leighton King and Marathon’s Tim Millinder answering questions from the floor. We are trying to get an Internet jockey along to join the panel. We are also talking to a top executive from the golf world who will hopefully, tell us how they handled the same problem.

A seminar chaired by Nigel John on rejection of goods has a panel that includes Tim Reynolds of Dyer Burdett & Co and Russell Kelley from LA Marine.

Anyone who went to the BMEA Annual Conference a month or two back will tell you that Jeavon Lolay from Lloyds TSB gave a talk on the state of UK and global economics with the impact on the leisure marine industry. The audience sat spellbound – really. He’s back to give us an update.

We have Tim Walrond from the Manufacturing Advisory Service South West. He will run an Interactive workshop on lean manufacturing and applying the principles to everyday office routines. Another MAS speaker will talk on lean servicing and access to funding.

Then there’s the BBEx party.

Free to all exhibitors and preregistered visitors, the party will be in the Royal Exeter Hotel, just across the road from the BIC. And we’ll be presenting some awards there, most in association with the Marine Trades Association (MTA).

So you can email your votes to awards@bbex.co.uk for: the BBEx/MTA Retailer of the Year, the BBEx/MTA Scott Deverill Young Businessperson of the Year Award and the BBEx/MTA Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

And there’s a new award for this year, the BBEx/MTA Lifetime Achievement Award.

We’re not really interested in the current movers and shakers. We want to recognise one of those people who have been around for a long time who have actually made a difference to this industry. Think about it: there are a lot of people out there who deserve this award.

We require 100 words on your nominee and why you think he or she should be selected. The awards will be presented – along with the BBEx/Marine South West Innovations Showcase Award, at the BBEx party.