Southampton Boat Show 2017

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I was kindly invited to the 2017 Southampton Boat Show by Marine Super Store, now I’ll be honest I’ve been invited to quite a few events now and I wasn’t sure if this one was really for me. I’d never been to a boat show before and didn’t know what to expect. Well, except for boats of course.

Tony always jokes that one day he’ll like a boat and so I figured it would be something nice we could do together.

We had such a lovely time and it was so nice to do something different. 1st off we just wandered the different stalls and I was quite blown away by the size of the event. If you’re into sailing, water sports or just boats in general then this is the place for you.

There was literally a stall for everything, even down to glue! I mean I had no idea of the scale of the boating world, I was a little mind blown, to be honest.

I love adventures and seizing the day and you really get that vibe from this community. Tony and I went Kayaking a few weeks prior and it was so lovely that you can see how people can really get into this lifestyle.

After browsing the stalls we then went to the Show Marina to see the boats. There was everything from little sailboats right through to a US Navy Gunboat. My favourite, of course, was the luxury Sunseeker Yachts. Let’s just say we were in our element nosing around the boats for a millionaire’s lifestyle.

You could also take part in water sports, although I’ll be honest I chickened out of those. I’d really like to give it a go, but I was scared I would be appalling and embarrass myself.

I mean we had so much fun kayaking a few weeks ago, but if you’d of seen me you’d know what I mean. I basically just sailed us around in circles whilst we laughed about the fact I couldn’t even sail straight. So yes, water sports are something for the bucket list….maybe!

What really impressed me about the event was the facilities. There was so much to offer food wise, something that is usually a problem for me. I don’t eat meat and outside events tend to just be burger joints and fast food. Not here. There was food for everyone. I spotted burger joints, vegetarian food, pancakes, waffles and lots of specialised little foodie places.

I always paid attention to how well-planned events are for families having had one too many days out where my kids have struggled. Let’s be honest if your kids are bored nobody gets to have fun.

I noticed there’s a buggy park and rides for the little ones including bumper boats. As well as the park. Alongside learning to sail and boat rides I feel little ones could really enjoy it. 15 years and under go free too with show tickets.

I sort of wished I’d taken the kids actually. I wasn’t sure if they’d enjoy it so we thought we’d leave them with Nanny so we didn’t have to worry but actually, I think they’d of loved it. Especially our youngest Clark, he’d of been in this element exploring the boats.

Before we went home we went into Marine Super Store and chatted to the lovely staff. I was asking about the life jackets for the kids as Tony would like to get a Canadian Canoe boat so we can have family days out on the river.

Marine Super Store sells a range of sailing clothing and technical gear so I was keen to get their advice. They really go all out on their life jackets ensuring kids have the safest introduction to life on-board. They even come with a little storybook to teach kids the importance of wearing a life jacket. I particularly love that they have a fun cartoon design, very cute!

So, all in all, a really great day. Below is a little vlog of our day. So who knows we could all become sailors yet.

Disclaimer: I was given free tickets to the Southampton Boat Show from Marine Super Store. All opinions as always are my own.