What’s on?

Bluewater forum

World Cruising Club’s Ocean Sailing Forum will be taking place on Saturday 16 September, from 10am to 12pm at Harbour Lights Picturehouse, Ocean Village.

This two-hour panel discussion is designed to suit anyone considering making a long offshore passage, crossing the Bay of Biscay, the Atlantic or further blue-water cruising. It costs £15 per person, which includes a ticket for the Southampton Boat Show. Attendees must register in advance at http://tinyurl.com/ OSForum17

Charity challenge

MDL Marinas staff will be completing a charitable initiative at the Southampton Boat Show to complete a 910 -mile row to help raise funds for Ocean Youth Trust South.

It follows the installation of rowing machines across 19 of its marinas, where staff and customers have already been rowing for the worthy cause.

The challenge will culminate at Southampton Boat Show with a final ‘row-in’. A rowing machine on the MDL Marinas stand E52 will invite visitors to go head-to-head against their friends for the worthy cause.

The Hampshire-based Ocean Youth Trust South charity specialises in using adventure under sail to help young people to develop confidence and problemsolving skills.

Petition relaunch

A petition launched by the Cruising Association (CA) to make marking of lobster pots safer is being relaunched at the Southampton Boat Show after it was shut down by the Government until after the General Election.

The petition obviously hit a nerve with the boating public, as it received nearly 6,000 signatures in two weeks. The CA also received hundreds of emails from people around the world who shared their experiences of boats becoming entangled in lobster pot tethers.

The CA has been working to establish a consensus amongst interested parties, including representatives of fishing organisations as well as the RYA, RNLI and others.

Find the CA stand at J419.

Live Q&A

Seldén Masts Ltd will be hosting a live Q&A session with the hosts of sailing adventure TV series Distant Shores, Paul and Sheryl Shard, on stand J213 at the Southampton Boat Show. The Q&A will take place and be streamed live on Wednesday 20 September at 14:00 on Seldén Masts’ Facebook page. Questions can be posted in advance on the Facebook page or asked in person on the stand.

Education week

As usual British Marine will be running its Careers, Skills & Education Week, welcoming hundreds of schoolchildren to the show for free throughout the event to inspire them to get into boating and consider a career in the marine industry. The annual British Marine Apprenticeship Graduation Awards ceremony will be held on 19 September.

Ladies Day

Ladies Day will be taking place on Thursday 21 September, encouraging female visitors to get dressed up for a day full of fun.