Irish Exhibitors anticipate a competitive advantage over British rivals at the 44th London International Boat Show when it opens at Earls Court this morning. The high cost of sterling is making Irish boatbuilders, sailing schools and yacht charter operations seem attractively priced - for the first time in many years - to an expected gate of 200,000 show goers.
Some 33 Irish sailing companies, amongst 120 overseas exhibitors represented at the show, are reporting a 25 per cent increase on last year's yacht charter and sailing school bookings.
"We're more competitive than many of the UK firms and this is proving beneficial in summer bookings for Irish firms," the Chairman of the Sailing Holidays in Ireland marketing group, Mick Loughnane, said yesterday.
The Tralee-built 1720 sportsboat at £15,250 (excluding VAT) costs nearly £5,000 less than its nearest rival and promoter Joe English anticipates three or four sales for the Irish design over the next nine days. This will bolster hopes that further UK fleets of the five-man, one-design could be established alongside growing fleets on the English south coast.
Boats and equipment worth £70 million are on display at Earls Court, as the UK marine industry sets out its stall during the first international exhibition of 1998. Following years of record numbers of company closures, this show opens with the 600 exhibitors experiencing renewed prosperity, yet it is marred by the fact that the show dates clash with next week's German show in Dusseldorf - a mix-up that could have been avoided say many of the exhibitors, who usually attended both.
Company closures and repossessed boats, a rarity until the early 1990s, ravaged the hardpressed marine industry, which witnessed the closure of 20 British Marine Industry Federation (BMIF) companies in 1993. Five years later, however, there is something of a rebirth and organisers are anticipating £60 million worth of business will be generated from the show.
Activity in the hall centres around the pool area, which is effectively an Olympic-sized swimming pool and is the berthing place for 36 exhibiting yachts. It is also the focus of attention for dinghy sailing demonstrations.
The largest and most expensive craft on display is a 71-foot Princess motor yacht priced at £611,500, while the Heyland Tadpole dinghy at 6ft 8in is priced at £300 and is the cheapest craft.
The show runs from January 9th to January18th. Admission is £9 at the door.
Meanwhile, there has been a broad welcome from the Irish Sailing Association (ISA) for the proposal from Minister for the Marine, Michael Woods, to establish a national coastguard.
A coastguard service is an international standard for search and rescue and until now, the Irish Marine emergency service (IMES) has, effectively, been a coastguard in all but name. The clarification of its role will be a recognition of its far reaching search-and-rescue tasks which include the co-ordination of coastal units, the RNLI, the Marine VHF network and helicopter search and rescue.
The change of name not only brings Ireland in to line with international standards, but will be "an easier handle for seafarers to grasp" according to an association spokesman.
Three International Sailing Federation (ISAF) world youth championships within a 12-month period have resulted in a new selection process for the Irish team. Anne Blaney has been named as team leader for all three regattas, the first of which is in South Africa in December. Finland will host the 1999 world championships six months later and Sydney, Australia, is the venue in the year 2000.
