THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED, AWAITING A NEW DATE. Plymouth is holding the Mayflower Ocean Festival Week from Monday 4th until Sunday 10th May 2020. The festival is part of the Mayflower 400 celebrations which commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage to the New World. Continue reading
The annual RYA dinghy show at Alexandra Palace takes place from Saturday 29th February until Sunday 1st March 2020. Saturday opening hours are 10:00 – 18:00 and Sunday 10:00 – 17:00. Continue reading
I’m a bit behind with the blogging this month due to a two-week sailing trip in the Ionian. Part of the trip included a few days in the Faraway Islands north of Corfu, Greece. Continue reading
Quite of few of the Lovesail members are prolific writers, here are a few of the blog posts that have been added recently:
Great trip to Two Harbors on Catalina Island. Now, whenever you use your ( or I use mine) boat and take it out for a day or two there is always a fix-it list upon return. So mine is:
Here are a few of the winter crewing posts 2018 that have been submitted by the Lovesail members. To find out more about an individual crewing post just log into your Lovesail account and click on the crewing section. If you are not a member yet, come and have a look at our friendly sailing community.
This year the Southampton Boat Show 2018 will celebrate 50 years of boating festivities. The show runs from Friday 14th September until Sunday 23rd September and, as usual, will be located at the Mayflower Park venue as it has been for the last 50 years.
So what’s to see this year? Well one of Europe’s largest show marinas with 2km of pontoons, with space for more than 330 sailing and motor craft. Step aboard beautiful sailing yachts and tall ships, or book a free “Try a Boat” experience.
Si King and Dave Myers, the Hairy Bikers, will be opening the show and then attending the show on 22nd September demonstrating their culinary skills.
With around 700 exhibitors from the marine industry showing their wares over the 10 days, there is plenty to see in 3 purpose-built undercover halls and outside stalls around the show site.
This year YachtingMonthly magazine is advertising a ticket offer of 2 standard any day tickets for £26, available until 13th September 2018. The advanced purchase price of a standard any day ticket is normally £21 each. Just use code YM26 when using the official Southampton Boat Show online ticketing facility.
The Southampton Boat Show 2018 is situated at Mayflower Park, Town Quay, Southampton, SO14 1AQ. There is ample parking near the show if you are driving, but it can get very busy so arrive early. Try and use the West Quay Multi-Story Car Park, normally £5 for the whole day (check out Parkopedia). Avoid the West Quay Podium Car Park (very expensive) and also NCP car parks as they tend to hike the price for the duration of the show. Southampton Central Station is within 10 minutes walk of the show, as is the National Express Coach Station.
Here are a few of the sailing opportunities for June 2018 that some of the members have posted on the Lovesail site. Log into your account for more details. If you are not a member of Lovesail then please come and have a look, we have full memberships starting at £22/$30 per month and Lifetime membership for £52/$70 (one-off payment), not many dating sites offer this. We don’t connect to other dating sites so you are guaranteed a global database of thousands of sailing enthusiasts.
Sailing an Oyster 61 from the UK to the Med, departing 7 July 2018. Legs something like: Tyne to Southampton; Brest; La Corunna; Porto; Villamoura; Benalmadena; Almerimar; etc.
Flexible joining and departing, as you like. Likely stops are going to be close to Easyjet airports to make it easy to come and go.
The boat is well found and comfortable. The cruise would be a good way to pick up experience and miles. Plus the sun will shine!
Am planning to sail down to The Scillies and back from Poole in August 2018, probably leaving on 8 August. May also go from Scillies to France if time and weather permit. Have 1 crew coming and room for 1 more. My boat is a Westerly Storm 33. Seaworthy and quite quick. Message me for more information.
Looking to connect with more New England sailors. I sail out of Winthrop and could take out small groups.
I co-own a boat in the Aegean – she is a Hanse 350 – a few years old now, but still quick and easy to sail. I have a 2-week slot Sunday 1st July to 15th July. I am offering the opportunity to sail the magical islands of Greece for no cost (other than your own expenses). If you have time free for a super-cruise from Zea marina (near Pireaus/Athens) where the handover will take place to Aegina, Hydra and possibly beyond, please let me know.
I am a 59-year-old retired American attorney. Thirty years ago I sailed from Texas to Florida and into the Bahamas. I swore I would once again liveaboard. It has taken a while but now I am in Mazatlan Mexico the proud owner of a 2007 Hunter 38. It will go into the yard soon to install A/C, bow thruster and a generator.
By the end of July I hope to untie the lines and head for La Paz and the islands off the west coast of Baja – truly incredibly beautiful.
I am in search of a lady, a bloke or a couple to share the journey for a bit or more. Who know whats next the Panama Canal and the Caribbean may beckon.
Sailing experience a definite plus but a willing attitude and easy demeanour are equally if not more essential. Not looking for financial assistance or a sharing of vessel costs.
Lovesail.com is a global online dating and social networking site for sailing enthusiasts since 2004. Come and join our friendly sailing community to meet other like-minded nautical nomads and sailing soul mates.
As many of you will now be aware, the London Boat Show 2019 has been cancelled. Whether this is going to be a permanent fixture still remains to be seen but it was not a shock to many in the Marine industry.
I have been attending the London Boat Show since 2011, only since owning Lovesail. Up to that point, it was not on my radar. I had attended the Southampton Boat Show before but I live not far from the city so that was a given. In the seven years, I have been visiting the London Boat Show there has been discontent among the visitors and exhibitors alike. I made it a habit to ask everyone I met at the show, both visitors and exhibitors what their thoughts were about it.
Visitors have been far from happy for some time. The London Boat Show used to be run from Earls Court and was a popular venue. The move to Excel had to be the main reason for their unhappiness. Earls Court is central and easy to get to. Once you had visited the show you were free to pop into “town”. This was especially important if you had travelled far. It was a weekend away, a treat, something to look forward to. Excel, by comparison, is over in Docklands, a hassle of a tube ride which takes 30 minutes from Waterloo station. Nothing much else would compel you to visit Docklands, the city airport? Beckton Sewage Works?! It’s a bleak place in January. This coupled with the stark exhibition halls, lack of atmosphere and sky-high prices in the on-site eateries, it’s no wonder ticket sales struggled.
Exhibitors were complaining too. A nightmare to get to and not much to do in the evenings if you were staying locally for the duration of the show. The timing though was the big problem. The London Boat Show falls just before the much bigger and better Boot Show in Düsseldorf, quite a feat for the London exhibitors to pack up and be in Germany in time for the Boot. The Boot is a must diary date for anyone serious in creating connections in the marine industry.
Many reasons were cited for the move, the need for water, better infrastructure, Sunseeker had insisted! Only a select few will know the real reasons but if it was to display the boats in water why were the docks empty?
Southampton Boat Show. by comparison, is huge, with a purpose-built marina to house the boats, the vibrant city of Southampton within striking distance and good road and rail links. If you are there from afar, you can take a short break and visit the Isle of Wight too, capital of sailing.
I for one hope the London Boat Show does not return. There must be a need for a boat show for our Northern countrymen with plenty of brilliant venues to choose from.
A close friend summed up the London Boat Show rather succinctly, “…..that London venue is ****. The place is inaccessible, soulless, dreary, small etc etc. Manky modern docks are not a good place to showcase beautiful yachts and boats. There’s no emotion down there, no spirit of adventure. As for boats being displayed in the exhibition hall……aaarrggghhhhh! Ghastly. In Southampton you’ve got the movement of the sea, the wind in the rigging and you can imagine getting on board and casting off there and then”.
Lovesail.com is a global online dating and social networking site where you can meet fellow sailing enthusiasts for dating, friendships and crewing opportunities.
Lifting a boat is a task that comes round periodically, often from the Autumn onwards. However, for those who have not done it before it may be a bit of a mystery. Here are an explanation and some tips. Continue reading
As the summer seasons draws to a close, there are some Autumn Crewing Posts 2017 from the members that might pique your interest. Continue reading