The appalling weather this morning did little to dampen the spirits of the 1,000s of visitors flocking into Mayflower Park for the opening day of Southampton International Boat Show.

The show, which runs from 10-19 September, has 20 per cent more exhibition space than last year including a new Solent Park area to the west of the main site. Here, dwarfing everything in site is the impressive naval vessel, HMS Newcastle that is open to the public.

One of the most impressive sites seen here at Southampton this morning however, was the arrival of the British Olympic sailing team aboard Emma Richards’ Open 60 Pindar which was escorted up Southampton Water. Hundreds of visitors lined the banks of the dock to pay tribute to the team’s amazing successes in Athens and witness the official opening of the Show.

The British Olympic team then moved on to a special event aboard Pindar’s mothership ‘The Hatherleigh’ to launch ‘Uncovered in Gold’, a calendar produced to raise funds for the RYA’s Sail for Gold campaign. The calendar, shot by Kos, includes a stylish array of ‘interesting’ black and white shots of the medallists including Shirley Robertson, Sarah Ayton and Sarah Webb as well as Britain’s most successful singlehanded Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie.
Probably the most risky shot of all is the one of Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield. As you can imagine the calendars are already selling like hotcakes, so make sure you head for the RYA or Kelvin Hughes stands where you purchase a copy for £16.99? believe me; it’s a small price to pay!

Among the many other stars to visit the show today was Steve Curtis – Formula 1 powerboat world champion and current Raymarine Yachting Journalists’ Association Yachtsman of the Year. Curtis joined the British Olympic team at the Raymarine Stand to promote next year’s Yachtsman of the Year awards inviting visitors to the show to nominate candidates for not only the Yachtsman of the Year but the Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year award too. For a nomination form visit Raymarine stand G64 (Ocean Hall).