I can’t remember exactly but on dead-reckoning, this was approximately my 30th boat show in Southampton. This year was extra special because, not only was Wetwheels Solent running boat trips all week from the marina but, courtesy of British Marine, we were also provided with a complimentary stand in the main show itself (Wetwheels is proud to be BM’s Charity of the Year 2019).
10 days is a long show and my thanks to all the volunteers who helped man the stand and support Keith and Karen on the boat. We made lots of contacts, old and new, including several leads for funding and potentially locating new Wetwheels boats.
When it comes to the art of attracting people to your stand, we did cheat a bit courtesy of Simba the 14-week-old Cava-Poo kindly loaned to us by Wetwheels south-east. One couple of note lured into our trap was Dan and Kika from Sailing Uma, the famous sailing Vloggers. Great to meet you guys.
Not sure of exact numbers but we certainly took approximately 380 people for trips during the boat show, at least 1/3 of whom were disabled who came on board with their carers and/or members of their family. Once again, this was made possible by the generosity of British Marine who provided the tickets for our disabled participants and to Suzuki Marine UK who provide us with the berth on the marina and cover our costs.
Thanks also to everyone who stopped by to say hello, I’m trying to work through everyone who stopped by and left their details, if you haven’t heard from me just yet, hang fire, I’m doing my best to get back to everyone.