10 reasons to visit the Southampton International Boat Show

1 It’s bigger, again!

The show was given fresh impetus last year and won a universally warm reception from visitors and exhibitors. An impressive 98 per cent of exhibitor space was filled around six weeks prior to the event, even with a bigger footprint this year both on land and on the water. Covering 70,000+ square metres, there’ll be around 550 exhibiting brands, and 650 craft. The bigger layout stretches from the purpose-built show marina (the largest in Europe!) across Mayflower Park and into the heart of the city, with zones for every kind of boating and watersport. British Marine has again agreed the use of land stretching inland towards the Westquay shopping centre, offering a central main entrance and bringing visitors into the show – and into the world of boats – who might not have considered getting afloat before.

With an eye on the younger demographic, British Marine again have ensured the first Zone encountered will be for paddleboarders, kite surfers, kayakers and windsurfers, showcasing the watersports lifestyle and simplicity of getting afloat.

The dedicated Dinghy Zone returns, for all dinghy sailors from high-performance racing, to club members and dinghy cruisers.

This will flow into the popular Classic Boat & Day Boat Zone, celebrating vintage and modern wooden boats (more about this below).

The show then moves into Mayflower Park and the marina that prior visitors will know. There will be more on-the-water experiences and the natural arena between the pontoons and shore will be utilised further to create a safe and constantly active water park. There will be opportunities to demonstrate, compete and entertain, all with live commentary. This proved one of the most popular features