Passengers on outbound flights from BAA Southampton Airport last week were treated to an airborne view of the annual Southampton Boat Show, the massive 30-acre waterfront site impressing on whatever side of the aircraft one was sitting. The show is on the runway centreline. It is created by using the Solent waterfront park near the cruise ship terminal, an adjoining industrial site and with the construction of a show marina involving 2km of pontoons, which the public are allowed to traverse. For ten days the whole area becomes a bustling well-organised waterside village.
Now in its 36th year the Southampton gathering of those involved in the waterborne leisure industry is an established part of the international boating calendar and easily the biggest outdoor exhibition of its kind in the UK. Something in the order of 150,000 visitors were attracted to the exhibition during its run.
Working closely with British Airways Citi Express, Southampton Airport used the opportunity afforded by the show to demonstrate once again that it is the most aggressive of the seven BAA airports when it comes promoting what it has to offer. Last year the airport had a 76% growth, probably the largest increase by any major airport in Europe. It is forecasting 1.4m passengers for 2004 and is about to announce a ”5m re-development of the passenger facilities. Sadly plans to integrate the airport with the adjoining Parkway station, rather like sister airport Gatwick (see last week”s ABTN Comment column), have fallen foul of the Strategic Rail Authority. When it is raining passengers get wet in their endeavours to and from the station. And the bridge for those northbound (London) is at the other end of the platform!
British Airways and the airport hosted a lunch at the show for its business users made the most the occasion to announce that the popular Dash 8 turboprop service to Manchester is to go up to six flights per weekday from the start of the winter season. Hot breakfasts are to be introduced on that route, and also to Edinburgh and Glasgow, with hot evening meals to come shortly. Our photo shows celebrity chef Ross Burden, who cooked lunch for guests at the show, with Steve Cassidy, British Airways general manager commercial (centre) and David Cumming, managing director, BAA Southampton Airport. Mr Burden's superb cuisine is sadly not being used on the routes.
Boats are a complicated business. There were 900 of them at the show with prices from ”1.4m to ”200. Buying a new seagoing vessel is like purchasing a house but further complicated by the fact that is moves and has to satisfy all sorts of maritime safety requirements. Hence over 600 exhibitors at Southampton ranging from builders such as Sunseeker and Princess with their super luxury cruisers, through hordes of equipment suppliers, banks and insurance companies, water sport providers and of course training in all its aspects. For the first time the Royal Navy was involved, HMS Newcastle, a type 42 destroyer, a sort of guard ship offering open house to visitors. For those who had a couple of hours to spare on offer was a two-hour trip on board the French contender for the America's Cup. Not for the meek, one was expected to help as part of the crew. And if that was not exhilarating enough there were always the high-speed Honda Formula 4-stroke race boats. Very hairy! For ABTN the model boat racers were more the scene, in a special pool organised by the RYA and Sunsail.
Promoted most visibly at Southampton is the London Boat Show in January, now very successfully transferred to Excel in the docklands. Next year it will feature a 3,000-seat indoor arena where the first ever British Open Indoor Wakeboarding championships will take place. Even more important, and offered as a sneak preview, is Sea Britain 2005 a national venture to celebrate Britain”s relationship with the sea, taking as its inspiration the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar ” 21 October 2005.
http://www.southamptonboatshow.com
http://www.seabritain2005.com