Boats and Boating

Most of us with a passion for boats will have been to the Southampton Boat Show and the London Boat Show.

They are events that the boating community look forward to every year.

Boat builders, and the providers of many ancillary services and products that are necessary or just fun to have, crowd into the exhibition spaces hoping to make a sale or get a subscription.

Often there are offers at the shows and nautical bargains to be made.

But the best bargains happen when you buy something you were going to buy anyway and get a 'bought at show' discount.

If you buy something you didn't really want and won't really use, then no matter how much money you 'save' it isn't really a saving.

But you knew that anyway didn't you?

Me too.

But we all do it anyway.

So which of the two do you prefer and why?

Is the Southampton Boat Show the best?

Or do you prefer the London Boat Show?

Please pop along to the group and let us know.

Which are your favourite stands?

I recently became the owner of a brand new powerboat.

It isn't a massive one with rooms downstairs, just a small one with a cuddy and some seats. It has twin Yamaha engines.

We were moving to live on a small Greek island and it was vitally important that we had a reliable craft as this boat would not only be a leisure vehicle but very much a necessary transport vehicle for us.

Hubby is a qualified powerboat instructor (although not teching over here), son has his PB2 and I am an enthusiastic wearer of a life jacket and saying 'ooh' about things as we zoom about on the water

I am more at home in the water than on it. But hubby and son like their engines, and also enjoy sailing and we hope to have a sailing boat of some sort soon as well.

We already have an Aquaglide to keep us in practise of jibing etc

I am also hoping to get kayaking soon as well.

So whatever water craft you are interested in, please join the group and we can all share our experiences and have some fun and maybe help each other out as well.

This is a short video clip I took over the side of the ferry from Patras to Kefalonia, on the way back from collecting our new powerboat which we towed back through France and Italy and part of Greece.