Marine advertising firm hosts industry at annual Gosport lunch

The seventh annual Marine Advertising Agency’s press lunch took place at Haslar Marina in Gosport on Friday.

The event, organised in conjunction with Haslar Marina owners Dean & Reddyhoff, saw more than 120 people network and hear guest speeches from the director of racing at the Royal Yachting Association and double Olympic medallist Ian Walker and David Pougher, the president of British Marine, which organises the London and Southampton Boat Shows.

The organisation announced on Wednesday that it would not be holding a London Boat Show in 2019.

Mr Pougher said that the show could not run due to commercial reasons.

He said: ‘Rest assured that the Southampton Boat Show will be better than ever. It is up to us to make it a success’

Mr Walker spoke of the sailing selections for the 2024 Olympics and the need to keep sailing affordable.

He said: ‘The sport needs to maintain accessibility and affordability. That is why the sport grew as you could build a boat in your front room.’

Firms such as Stanbury Chameleon, Crewsaver, Sea Sure, Selden Masts, Landau, Sailtek, and Navico Simrad were showcasing their products.

Navico Lowrance, a fishing electronics company, was giving demonstrations on the water of its systems, which provide photo-like images of where fish are.

Charity The Andrew Simpson Foundation was promoting its annual Bart’s Bash and Gosport Marine Scene was encouraging people to help them get more young people into sailing.

Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage and local councillor John Beavis were also present.

Cllr Beavis said: ‘It is a great networking event and great for marine business to get together as marine is a very important part of our local economy.’

Mike Shepherd, director of MAA, said: ‘It’s been fantastic. We have had some interesting speakers and we are looking to the future of our sport, how we can improve it and how we can get the next generation into our sport.’