London Boat Show

Published 14:08 on 2 Mar 2016

On Wednesday last week, a bunch of sailors from WSCÄôs cruiser class bravely ventured into uncharted waters (north of Dorchester) for the London Boat Show.With Rob ÄòScenic RouteÄô Horton on navigation, we spurned the traditional Jubilee line passage at Waterloo and instead took the high-risk but far more peaceful river service from the London Eye to North Greenwich pier.Amazingly, we managed to get on the right West-bound (East-bound?) ferry and after making landfall 50 minutes later, only had the challenge of how to cross from one bank of the Thames to the other.ÄúTrust me,Äù said Mr Horton, ÄúIÄôve got a planÄùĶThe plan turned out to be the Emirates Air Line, a fragile cable car suspended over the Thames with spectacular views of the Greenwich observatory and the city. As we stepped into this frankly alarming contraption, one of the crew, a 747 pilot no less, announced he was scared of heights!The show itself was great fun. Being smaller than Southampton Boat Show there were certainly less exhibitors, but the lack of crowds make for a far more leisurely experience. Jeanneau had their Sunfast 3600 on display, J-Boats were exhibiting the new J11 and J112E yachts and Hanse had a good range of boats including their new 315 model.Having a beer after lunch, we bumped into Jerry Thompson (another WSC member). Jerry and a few others went on off to see one of his old mates (Sir Ben) and wish him all the best at another type of BAR.We also bumped into Brian Thompson. In 2012 Brian won the Jules Verne Trophy as helmsman and trimmer for Loick Peyron on the maxi-multihull Banque Populaire V. He then became the first British sailor with four non-stop laps of the world under his belt. We were honoured to buy him a beer!All in all, a great day out!

Last updated 15:13 on 28 July 2025