One of the great aspects of the
Southampton Boat Show has little to do
with the shiny new boats on offer, or the
latest gizmos: there’s a huge amount of
knowledge crammed into a small
geographical area. This makes it a rare
opportunity to ask a whole host of
technical questions of people at the top of
their respective fi elds – whether that’s boat
repair, installing electronics, the intricacies
of marine plumbing, choice of sailcloth, or
any other technology.
The event is also a showcase for the big
trends taking place in marine equipment- energy saving devices, quieter and more
effi cient engines, advanced safety gear
and touchscreen multi-function displays.
New Gear
Rupert Holmes looks forward to Southampton Boat Show
Spinlock has been busy developing safety
kit on multiple fronts. The Alto infl atable
75N lifering, for instance, can be carried
on a belt if you are near water, but don’t
actually expect to need a lifejacket. The
company makes its lifejacket bladders
from GlowSpot fabric, which is said to
offer twice the refl ectivity of standard hi-vis
materials. Lights are also included in the
bladder, rather than outside it.
Spinlock also has two useful products
that are standard on its own lifejackets,
but can also be fi tted to third-party units.
The Pylon lifejacket light places the lamp
above the user’s head, where it has better
all round visibility. Lume-On works on a
different principle – it’s a small water-
activated light that’s glued
to the back of the bladder.
The effect is that the bladder
glows in the dark, which
makes it much easier to
judge the distance to a
casualty in the water on a
dark night.
Prices: Alto £50,
Lume-On £14.94
■ spinlock.co.ukYou’ll fi nd it all at
Southampton
Safety gear
What is it? Europe’s largest in-water
boat show, attracting more than
100,000 visitors.
When? September 13-22
Where? Mayfl ower Park,
Southampton
Find out more at http://www.
southamptonboatshow.comWhat is it?
An impressive re-imagination of a
conventional emergency VHF antenna,
when stowed Shakespeare’s Galaxy
INFL8 fi ts in a 250mm (10in) long pouch,
but infl ates via a CO 2 cartridge to a length
of 1.6m. The antenna is claimed to offer a
full 3dB performance and three times the
range of standard emergency aerials.
Price: £149.99.
■ shakespeare-ce.comEmergency antenna