ON THE WATER
Back row (left-right) Mark Beeley, Hugo Montgomery-Swan, Paul Lemmer,
Front row (left-right) Andy Warrender, Julian Saxby, Ed Gould, Pete Goss
Ribex rocks on
Despite the continuing economic
uncertainty, the annual RIBEX event
at Cowes Yacht Haven proved a
popular attraction with some 3,500
visitors attending the world’s only boat
show aimed solely at rigid inflatable
boats.
Organiser Hugo Montgomery-Swan
was pleased with the response,
pointing out that even though
Plymouth and Liverpool Boat Shows
were both cancelled this year, and
Sandbanks Boat Show did not charge
an entrance fee to try to attract
potential customers RIBEX managed
to buck the trend.
But Hugo revealed to Island Life
that he had been contacted by several
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mainland venues to stage the event
next year, and although he hopes it
will be even bigger and better in 2012,
he is still undecided whether it will be
coming back to the Island.
Entertainment included family RIB
rides provided by the Royal Yachting
Association. Participants were taken
into The Solent in a championship
RIB to give them a taste of the
adventurous form of travel that the
boats provide.
The show, sponsored by Suzuki, was
opened by popular sailor Pete Goss,
who used the occasion to announce
that he would be making his bow in
offshore power-boating, by taking
part in a RIB expedition to the Arctic
Circle. He will be one of a team of
eight who will set off from Scotland in
a six-metre Humber RIB, with the aim
of getting into the Arctic Circle in just
six days.
The RIBEX event, sponsored by
Suzuki, saw more than 80 RIBS on
show, and Hugo was pleased that there
were some notable sales throughout
the weekend, while £525.00 was raised
for the RNLI charity.
RIBEX ran alongside RIBFEST,
sponsored by Rib Eye and Skua RIBS,
which Hugo claimed was the only
disappointment attendance-wise
despite several top acts taking to the
stage, including Dr. Feelgood, The
Hamsters and Swans in Flight.