In the wake of the Chancellor’s VAT reduction announcement yesterday, James Brooke, the Managing Director of the Sail, Power & Watersports Show which opens tomorrow Wednesday 26th November, is confident that this is absolutely the right move as far as his Show exhibitors are concerned and exhibitors have, in turn, been quick to praise the move.

Mike Williams of marine engine distributor E.P. Barrus said, “In my opinion it’s a small amount but if it encourages purchases at the Show I will be more than happy. Any small advantage to making a sale in the current climate is welcome.”

Gary Piercey of Gibbs Marine said, “Every little helps. With high value products such as ours, 2.5% is a great saving making this an even better time to buy. So a further £1200 saving on a £40k boat is more than welcome.”

Paul Heys of Key Yachting commented, “As Hamble-based importers of high quality yachts, the Darling discount will give an amazing boost to our Show. On the Grand Soleil 54, this relates to a saving of an amazing £12,500 which covers a great deal of electronics on board or indeed 12-month berthing on the French Riviera.”

The Show is being opened tomorrow by Katie Derham, the ITV newsreader and presenter, and she will be joined on stage by some well-known names from the world of sail, power and watersports.

With just a few hours to the opening of the show, James was out and about checking out the exhibits today including a 60ft whale, the Show’s largest exhibit! James was persuaded to carry out the full Pinocchio style 'walk through' tour and ended up at the 'bow'.

The whale, caught by a Norwegian fisherman in the 1950s, is now an interactive 'hands on' walkthrough exhibit and is expected to attract
huge attention when the show opens tomorrow.

“We have a really great show lined up for the visitors,” says James Brooke. “The amazing collection of boats and general watersports kit for people to see is astonishing and it’s all under one roof in central London. It’s been really exciting watching the show emerge from nothing as Earls Court has turned from a massive empty space into a thriving maritime scene over the past few days.”

The Sail, Power & Watersports Show at Earls Court runs from Wednesday 26th November until Sunday 30 November.