More than 1,500 visitors have been attracted by the organisers and exhibitors at the second Hamble Point Boat Show, which took place on 27 and 28 April, 2013. The event marked the beginning of the boating season, bringing together boat owners, exhibitors and families for an eventful weekend, with plenty of new product launches and attractions.

Image from the Hamble Point Boat Show 2013

In addition to hundreds of new and used boats and specialist marine products on display, there were plenty of activities for visitors during the two-day event. These included rowing tug of war and water polo from the Hamble Sea Scouts – which all attracted lots of spectators. Visitors also enjoyed a fly by from the Solent Coastguard helicopter, as well as visits from the RNLI Calshot lifeboat and the Hamble Fire Engine.

Marco Marine used the event to mark the UK premiere of the new Dufour 500 Grand Large, and Nicolle Associates and Key Yachting also held their official office launch events at the show. Key Yachting held a champagne reception and had a number of new and used boats on display, including two beautiful Princess yachts and a J111 racing yacht, which all attracted a lot of interest.

Gemma Dunn, Marketing Coordinator at Key Yachting, said: “We had a great show and were really pleased with the level and quality of customers at the event. We held our official launch party on the Saturday, with Carol Taylor of National Boat Shows opening our new premises, and are really looking forward to the season at Hamble Point Marina and getting involved in next year’s event.”

Andy Cunningham from Michael Schmidt and Partners, commented: “We had a brilliant show and were pleased with the quality of the visitors and the level of enquiries at the show. We took three offers on boats over the weekend and prepared two contracts on Monday morning after the show had ended. It’s fantastic to do business from a weekend event and we are delighted with the response and results. It was also great to see so many of the local community getting involved in the event including the young sea scouts – who we welcomed on board our yachts. You can do everything at Hamble Point Marina and events like this are a great way to bring the business and local community together, and we are looking forward to next year.”

Leading brands at the show included Dehler, Hanse, Nordhavn Yachts, Azimut and Beneteau, with visitors enjoying accompanied viewings, sea trials and workshops.

Those who attended the show also had the chance to visit the BMF On the Water bus, which was on site to promote getting people into boating and treated visitors to free giveaways.

Nicholas Parton, General Manager at Hamble Point Marina, said: “We had a fantastic event and are delighted to have welcomed so many visitors, despite the on and off weather. We had visitors travelling from far and wide and have received some brilliant feedback from visitors, exhibitors and tenants, and have already started planning next year’s event.”