In June the NCI received confirmation from British Marine that the 2021 Southampton International Boat Show was to go ahead as planned from Friday 10th September to Sunday 19th September. This was great news as the NCI has had a presence at the boat show since 2013, except for last year when the boat show was cancelled as part of the Covid restrictions.
Despite slightly lower than usual visitor numbers this year, the show was a huge success for us. The stand was always busy with visitors who found it interesting and entertaining. The big yellow binoculars, (a collecting bucket in disguise), manufactured and donated by Motley Engineering in Lincolnshire, were a constant source of interest to all our visitors. In fact, throughout the show our visitors were very generous. Many were also very interested in volunteering and completed applications on the spot.
Many visitors were particularly impressed with the professionalism of our watchkeepers and the work that we do, describing it as 'brilliant', 'fantastic', 'splendid' and 'amazing' throughout the 10 days. For example, Mike from Sussex said, "I'm new to sailing and I know it can be hazardous, so I can't tell you how good it feels when we're out on the water, to know that someone has an eye on us."
Our presence at the Show was boosted by the fact that Solent Coastguard are now actively encouraging coastal craft to use Channel 65 for radio checks. This ‘on the air endorsement’ was the subject of much positive discussion. Another factor that greatly helped our profile at the show was the timely publication in Yachting Monthly of a five-page article on the use of VHF radio, which promoted the use of NCI Channel 65 for routine radio checks and other local information.
The AIS equipment on the stand also attracted much interest from boat owners requiring AIS checks as suggested in recent editions of yachting magazines.
The free prize draw on the last three days created even more interest around the trailer – and was only made possible thanks to the support of Nikon, Yachting Monthly, IMRAY Publishing and The Cruising Association. The daily prize draw was made by representatives of IMRAY Publishing and The Cruising Association.
Overall, the 2021 Southampton International Boat Show was our best ever and we'd like to say a huge Thank You to all the watchkeepers who gave their time to crew the stand and here are some of the crew involved and at work.
