I didn’t write a comment last month because there was nothing to say. There was still no word from the Earls Court Boat Show (ECBS) on their exhibitors. And still nothing from the British Marine Federation/National Boat Shows (BMF/NBS) that calmed the nerves of the industry.

As a result, wherever I went at Seawork the first question I was asked was – what’s going on? And I had nothing to add.

James Brooke, MD of the ECBS, strolled gently around Seawork chatting to people. And one or two of them gave him a hard time. ‘When are you going to start advertising to tell the public you’re running a boat show?’, they demanded? ‘Because we’ve seen no evidence of any exhibitors and no evidence that you are attempting to get the public to go to Earls Court.’

BB has asked the same question from the point of view of selling exhibition space to the trade. They need between 500 and 600 exhibitors to fill the promised Earls Court 1, Earls Court 2 and upstairs in EC 1. But they seem to think casual conversation is the best way to sell to people.

By now they should have at least 300 of their exhibitors in place. But I reckon if there were 300 marine companies booked to go to Earls Court, I – and everyone else in the industry - would have heard about it.

So we were agreeably surprised when the ECBS booked some advertisements in BB this month. There’s not a lot of new information in the advertisements.

But they say one thing big and bold: ‘We’re here.’

And Yes, they do know BB’s stance on their show. And No, they don’t expect BB to change its views.

Some consumer magazines have quoted the ECBS for space. I wonder if their September/October and November targets are suddenly looking very achievable?

But what about the ExCeL show? People just have no idea what is going on. OK, we’ve had news about things like ticket deals, the Type 42 destroyer and the Cutty Sark. But the industry really wants to know the federation’s long term strategy.

They want to know what the management board will tell the federation to do if the 2008 show ends up with an attendance of 80,000 and a big hole in the bottom line?

The industry wants to know plans are in place that will ensure the future of not only the federation, but also the London Boat Show. Right now, they don’t have a lot of confidence…