We got off to a slow start at the Boat Show – a day late to be exact. The dreadful weather meant that we had no stand set up and only one person manning the space (out of a booked 6) on the first day.

The Boat Show featured a special area for owners’ associations – something we have been requesting for several years. We were sited at the far end of the boulevard from the car park entrance and main gate and the stand was quiet in the mornings until people started drifting to the far end of the halls.

It was interesting to share experiences with the other owners’ associations and we are hoping that the area will be seen as a success and we will have a better location next year.

The combination of snow, location and the recession meant that numbers were down overall 9% at the show – the worst day being Wednesday, down 24% at the gate from last year. We registered 12 new members (compared to 24 in 2009 and 43 the year before when we exhibited a Merlin).

I am really grateful to all who braved the weather to man our stand, especially Nigel Hudson who single-handed on the first Friday. There were many WOA members who found their way to us to say hello and it was delightful as always to meet old friends and share stories with new.

Denise Easteal

The Westerly Owners’ Association enjoyed a successful time at the Boat Show. Over 130 people signed the Visitors’ Book, 27 new members were recruited, numerous topics were discussed and old acquaintances were renewed. None of this would be possible without the continuing support of Ian Cochrane and Rotostay, to whom we are most grateful and the enthusiasm of our members to help with manning the stand.

If you would like to help at a show in the future, please contact me as I am always keen to enlist “new blood”. You are only occupied for about half of the day and boat show tickets are provided. It is also good fun.

Judith Symonds

Our stand at Excel was manned by a willing group of volunteers who, by all accounts, had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Although the overall attendance at the show was down, more than 250 people signed our Visitors’ Book and exchanged advice and experiences. 21 new members joined at the Show and the sale of 28 burgees will raise our profile on the water.

Once again we were hosted by Ian Cochrane of Rotostay and we are very grateful for his continued support.

I shall be looking for help at the Southampton Boat Show, which is held in September. If you haven’t offered your services before, don’t be shy. It’s not difficult. In addition to the free admission ticket, I supply copious (some would say too many) instructions and there is invariably an old hand sharing the day with you. I start my planning in July so I shall be contacting people around that time. Do let me know if you would like to be included.

The Show itself was very quiet with low attendance. Despite this, there was keen interest in “Westerlys” and 14 new members joined over the 5 days – not a bad result. The volunteers manning the stand enjoyed chatting to existing members as well as selling some regalia.

If you would like to volunteer at either Excel in January or Southampton in September, please contact Judith Symonds and remember that you get free admission on the day that you help.

For the second year in succession WOA has been to the London Boat show, ExCeL with a member’s boat on display. This year Roger and Wendy Gentle kindly loaned us Rowen, their beautifully maintained 23 year old Merlin 28.

Our display formed a major part of the show’s ‘Start Boating’ feature. This was a new, major feature of the show based on the success we had at the show last year talking to novices about the sort of sailing we do, how to get involved in it, and the sort of money to budget for it.

The show was again a great success for us. With a team of 50 volunteers ably manning the stand, we talked to hundreds of new sailors, existing members and other Westerly owners, and signed up nearly 50 new members into the WOA family. Again the boat was the star with almost every visitor, especially Centaur owners, admiring the space that Ed Dubois managed to pack into 28ft of boat and the condition in which she was maintained.

Roger was very pleased too; when he realised Rowen was to spend a few days immediately prior to the show in the warm dry atmosphere of ExCeL, he decided it was the perfect time to apply 4 coats of epoxy based ‘Coppercoat’ antifouling. Those nice boat show people even laid a new carpet under Rowen for him just before he began painting!