It's a boat show like no other. New, old, big, small, foils, keels, kit and more....Many of the stands are manned by volunteers who are strong advocates for their class. Sharing the crammed aisles are boat builders, sail makers, sailing schools, chandleries and pretty much everyone else with a part to play in the dinghy and small boat world. The UK has led this scene for many years so it's perhaps of little surprise that the only show specifically aimed at this market should continue to be successful. And yet with renewed pressure on wallets and less than inspiring winter weather, it was encouraging to see the aisles rammed with buzz aplenty at the Farnborough based show.
This show has long been a favourite for Team Sheahan and once again we headed up to get our pre-season fix. Here's some of what we found.