blueboatblog

After yesterdays attendance, I hadn’t expected a busy day today but I was wrong.  Within ten minutes of the doors opening we were swamped and we stayed that way until closing. 

Ordinarily, we would be trying to pack up and leave an hour before the show ended but today we actually had to be asked to leave as we were still chatting to clients, oblivious to the time.

Sharing the stand with Sailing Networks to launch the new Blue Sheets 2.0 directory was a new experience.  I’ve had companies ask previously but have never felt comfortable with the idea.  This time it was a pleasure and I feel that we managed to compliment each other perfectly.

I think we’re all looking forward to doing the same at Seawork in a few months time.

Business Boating, our first show of the year was, as always, a mad rush to get ready for.

The backdrops arrived last Friday and the printed material arrived yesterday afternoon, in the nick of time.

We’ve joined forces with Sailing Networks for the show to launch our new ‘Blue Sheets 2.0′ online directory so at least the organisation was shared.

The doors opened on day one this morning and after a few technical hitches (3 laptops, no power) we got underway.

A shortfall in the footfall didn’t stop us taking the opportunity to go and chat to other standholders and we ended up having a very productive day.

The odd thing with a two day show, for those of us used to the ten day extravaganzas, is that you’ve no sooner got over the first day and it’s the last day.

Beautiful weather down here in Bournemouth though….

Last week, everything was going well with our stand plan for Earls Court.  The designs were finished, the staff were booked and the materials for construction were ordered when we received news that we had been given a larger, more prominant stand downstairs in a busy area.

Great we thought…. but soon the reality kicked in that, because the new stand was double aspect, we would need to completely redesign the space from scratch, re-order the graphics and materials and build the stand in less than ten days.

It was a tall order and we realised that there was no way to complete all of this in time for the show to end up with a professional looking stand.  As such we had to take the difficult decision to pull out of the show all together.

We we’re hugely disappointed not to be able to exhibit at the show as I know it’s going to be one of the highlights of the marine Christmas calendar.  It was also going to be our platform to launch the new Blue Sheets 2.0 database with Sailing Networks.

We will still be visiting however and giving our full support to the show and all the people who’ve put so much work into launching a brand new venture in under a year.

I can guarantee that we’ll have a presence there next year.

No matter how often we promise to be ready months before the next boat show, it never happens.  There is always the mad rush a few weeks beforehand to get everything ready or, in this case, designed and built.

Yep, with only a couple of weeks to go until the Earls Court Boat Show, we’re still designing the stand……

We’ve then got to get all of the graphics and vinyls printed…

Then build it….

And then pack it up, hope it survives the journey to Earls Court and fight with the other contractors to put it up.

….All in two weeks.

Oh, and to add to the workload, we’ve joined forces with Sailing Networks to create ‘Blue Sheets 2.0′ our new fully featured database that we’ll be launching at the show.

This requires a whole new interface and operating system along with transferring many thousands of records.

No rest for the wicked, eh?

With a rapidly changing forecast, we headed down to Watergate Bay, Cornwall to watch our race team compete in the final weekend of the Zapcat UK championship.

Sunshine quickly gave way to cloud and mist with a warm wind and heavy surf that made the onshore races even more challenging than usual.

After an entertaining evening at The Phoenix in Watergate Bay, most teams got an early night to prepare for the day ahead.

The surf on Friday didn’t disappoint with 7-8ft peaks and clean breaks which made the outbound leg of the course difficult to push through.  Great for the spectators but painful for the teams, a few injuries were quickly dealt with, including one trip on a backboard to the local A&E.

A big night ensued as the racers eased their aches and pains before retiring and contemplating the final heats on Saturday.

Saturday made Fridays racing look flat calm.  Bigger, more unpredictable wave sets led to many restarts and the racing program was cut short to allow all divisions their chance.

A quick final race revealed the overall winners and everyone headed back to their rooms to get ready for the grand award dinner at the Watergate Bay Hotel.

A wild evening ensued and, bolstered by the England rugby victory, many people partied till the morning.  A slow start was the order of the day on Sunday with teams making the long journey back home to ponder over their performance or revel in their victories.

A great time was had by all and I can’t wait for the next season to start.  Many thanks to everyone at Zapcat and to all the teams that made this years racing so exhilarating.

Everywhere I look these days, from website builders and design agencies to fast food outlets and mechanics, there seems to be a rash of evangelical American catch-phrases used in thier advertising.  From ‘thinking outside the box’ to ‘monetize’ and dynamisism’.

If you have a question, rather than speaking to a person that can actually help, you have to now call one of the dynamic assistance team members who can appraise your current situation and, looking forward, can create a bespoke assessment for you to maximise the helpification corresponding to your requirement needs.

And you just wanted a quote for a few flyers to be printed??….

Why do we have to be bombarded with piles of these nonsensical sound bites when all we need is the answer to a simple question…does your product fulfill my expectations?

At Blue Sheets we don’t have ‘thought showers’ or ‘brain stews’ we get on with the job in hand of looking after our clients and visitors throughout the year (not just when the next cheque is due).

This doesn’t mean that we’re not inventive, it just means that we don’t dress it up in an overpriced outfit hoping to ream the extra 10% from any client willing to pay it.

If you are considering advertising, read between the lines and see what the guy in the cheap suit is really offering before handing over the cash.

As a well known Slough business manager once said, “Be the first vapour trail in the blue sky scenario”…..

I don’t know how that helps, but it always makes me smile.

Southampton showcased a lot of new yachts this year with higher specifications, promises of racing pedigree and more electronics than I could fit in my house, but the one worrying aspect was the fashion trend occuring below decks.

It’s just my personal opinion but I like the inside of a yacht to look like just that, the inside of a yacht…

I like oak and teak, fiddle rails and finger holes, gimbles and parrafin heaters.  The obligatory wine rack in the fold out table and reading lamps.

What I don’t want to find inside my new purchase is a trendy Chelsea loft apartment, complete with neo-70’s decor and features that are mostly useless in anything other than a Mediterranean marina.

Built in cookers without gimbles, bookshelves with no form of restraining bars, bands or rails.  Suede seat covers that will ruin at the first sign of a wet oilskin and odd, angular Ikea-esque furniture and fittings that are just waiting to injure you at the first sign of a swell.

How can these boats sell themselves as ‘racing’ yachts (and many were pushing this aspect) when the harsh reality is that the first wash from the cowes ferry will have half the cupboards emtying over the galley floor?

We were brought up on a Westerly Fulmar.  A yacht that could be hosed down, inside and out.  I’ve made the tea, with my feet on the cupboard doors and the leeward windows underwater as we heeled over, crossing the channel in a gale. 

I threw up in the sink on that occasion, but at least I could hose it out and not worry about the Corian worktop. 

I know that it’s a case of ‘different strokes for diffent folks’ but I believe that, if you’re buying a yacht, then you’re buying a yacht - not a Park Lane penthouse suite. 

If you buy some of the trendy new yachts, they may look great at the show or in the brochures but the realities are that you’ll never keep the deck carpets dry…..mildew WILL appear on every bit of headlining and you’ll never use the galley outside the marina.

Wouldn’t a caravan at Rockley be better?….

I thought I’d write from a different angle today, our last day at the show.  I could tell you how many copies we handed out or what the weather was like but I’d only be repeating myself. 

The last day is a time for reflection on the success we’ve all had to greater or lesser degrees during the show.  For us, it’s been a great chance to meet up with existing clients and forge new friendships with prospective clients.  I dislike the word networking but that’s exactly what we’re doing.

I noticed that, after re-reading the show blog, there are quite a few references to beer, ‘Fizz at Five’ and the Guiness Bar.  I wouldn’t want to create the impression that the industry spends the majority of it’s time getting drunk, as they don’t. 

It’s simply a case that, in such a close knit community, a lot of the meetings, introductions and business deals are held at the variety of bars and restaurants around the showground. 

The carnival feel of the show adds to this atmosphere and gives the trade a more relaxed environment to talk business rather than the stuffy offices and factories used for this purpose during the year.

Some of our best relationships are born over a glass of champagne on the Boatshed stand as the normal sales-pitch facade is dropped and we meet the ‘real’ client.

I would like to thank everyone at the National Boat Shows/British Marine Federation for another great show and to everyone that came to see us on our stand.

As the sun set after an enjoyable 10 days, we we’re all shattered but already looking forward to next years show…

It was ‘hold on tight for the white knuckle ride’ time today as thousands of visitors visited the stand.  As predicted the children found and finished the sweets, like a swarm of locusts, in a short time.  All I saw was a blur of small hands and a snow flurry of sweet wrappers as they passed.

The weather was as unpredictable as ever.  Warm one minute, cold the next with large black clouds threatening rain at any minute.  This still didn’t dissuade the crowds though.

Visitors and exhibitors flocked to the marina to watch both the Queen Mary II and Navigator of the Seas leave port amidst a cacaphony of horns and sirens.  It was quite a sight.

With most of the hard work completed during the week, we looked forward to the last day and a bit of fun before the show ended.

Today was the last ‘family free’ day and we made the most of it.  Tomorrow was guarenteed to be controlled chaos as children (bless ‘em) swarm through the stands devouring anything in their way.

The staff enjoyed chatting with the visitors whilst I ventured off to find the EMG crowd at their usual watering hole, the Guinness Bar.  Hannah White (who has been helping to look after our RNLI bear, George) was there and brought me up to date on up and coming adventures aboard her new Class 40 yacht.  Watch this space for more info.

After a respectable amount of time at the Guinness Bar, we decided a change of scenery was in order and relocated to the busy Sailing Networks crew bar.  After all, it’s not all work, work, work.

With my social networking completed for the day, I drifted back to the stand and explained to my colleague, Alex, that she was driving back tonight……