With multiple yacht and powerboat sales and more than 5,000 people pre-registering for tickets, the South Coast Boat Show, which ended on 8 May, delighted exhibitors, with many already signed up for next year’s event.
While enjoying the incredible sunshine, potential buyers and boating enthusiasts were able to compare and contrast over 70 global power and sail brands on the water in the stunning surroundings of MDL’s Ocean Village Marina in the heart of Southampton.
Richard Marsden, UK sales manager at show sponsor Raymarine, said: “The 2022 South Coast Boat Show not only bought us fantastic weather, but lots of enthusiastic boaters. It was great to talk about our new products and help with technical questions. The marina was full of RIBs, sail and power boats flying their flags. Thank you to MDL Marinas for putting the event together, we loved being a part of it.”
Brett Sawyer, sales manager at Galeon Yachts, said: “Being based at Ocean Village, the South Coast Boat Show was highly anticipated and did not disappoint, with a noticeably huge increase in footfall in comparison with last year’s show. We had six Galeon Yachts’ models on display, all making their UK debuts and we sold two of them, the 460 Fly and the 325 GTO. It was a highly successful show for us both in terms of sales and leads generated with an added opportunity to communicate our new stock boat allocations coming this season for future sales.”
Exhibiting at the show for the third time, Craig McCarthy, sales director at MCC Marine, said: “We had strong interest in both our Nord Star range of boats and our Rupert RIBs brand, for which we have recently become the UK and Channel Islands distributor. We also secured sales on our SUR Marine tenders without actually having them on display. It was a good show for us.”
The land-based exhibition area, showcasing smaller boats and supporting products and services such as ancillary gear, finance and insurance, also drew large crowds with exhibitors reporting high footfall, genuine interest and interaction from a very receptive audience.
“It was an incredible show,” said James Kent from professional yacht valeting company, JDK Marine. “We could not believe how good it was for us in terms of the numbers of people we saw and the contacts we made. We have also signed up quite a few new customers to our monthly wash programme. We will certainly be back next year.”
Andrew Adams, director at Parker Adams Boat Sales, said: “We had a steady stream of people coming to our stand throughout the show – we were busy talking to people all the time. Our aims for the show were to generate new listings for our brokerage, take bookings for our Axopar Charter business and generate strong sales leads for our Hamble dealership of Cobra RIBs – we achieved success in all of these areas and could not be happier with the outcome of the show.”
MDL’s sales and marketing director, Tim Mayer, said: “We are thrilled with the turnout at the show, both exhibitors and visitors. The South Coast Boat Show is growing in size and importance year on year, and we intend to ensure it continues to do so, providing a solid platform for brands and marine businesses to meet and present to the boat buying public.
“There have been multiple power and sail yachts sold over the weekend. It is very encouraging for the marine industry that even in the current uncertain economic climate, people are continuing to invest in boats and the boating lifestyle. Following the success of this year’s show, 90 per cent of the landside exhibitors have already signed up for next year and multiple brands have also secured marina space.”
Alongside the South Coast Boat Show sponsors, Raymarine and Dream Yacht Charters, brands which exhibited at the show included: Arcona, Astus Boats, Axopar, Beneteau Power and Sail, Boat Shop Group, Boxmarine, Broadblue Catamarans, Coppercoat Antifoul, Dazcat Catamarans, Dragonfly Trimarans, Dufour Yachts, Elite Teak, Fjord, Fountaine Pajot Catamarans, Freedom Boat Club, Galeon Yachts, General Yachting & Leisure Finance, GT Yachts, Hallberg-Rassy, Hanse, Hylas Yachts, J/Boats, JDK Marine, Jeanneau, Lagoon Catamarans, Mastervolt, Nautitech, Nord Star, Overland Boat Movements, Parker Adams Boat Sales, Parker Boats, Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, Princess Yachts, Regal Boats, RS Electric Boats, Rupert RIBs, RYCK, Salona Yachts UK, Saxdor Yachts, Sailing Holidays, Sea Ray, Sealine, Seaward Boats, Ship Shape Bedding, Sunseeker, Vanclaes Stainless Steel Boat Trailers, Viko Yachts, X-Yachts and Yamarin.
Now a firmly established event in the boat show calendar, the South Coast Boat Show will return to MDL’s Ocean Village Marina 5 – 7 May 2023.
For more information about next year’s South Coast Boat Show keep an eye on:
