NEWS FEED
HRH The Princess Royal, accompanied by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, took in the wonders of the boating world as she toured the 63rd London Boat Show on 11 January. This included a visit to two Dorset-based businesses, Royal National Lifeboat Insititution (RNLI) and Rockley Watersports.
Taking place at ExCeL London, this year’s event welcomes over 300 of the leading names in the British and international marine industry, including Sunseeker International and Princess Yachts.
As keen sailors, Princess Anne and the Vice Admiral visited a diverse range of businesses – from global dinghy brand, RS Sailing, and sail charter and holiday giant, Sunsail, to marina specialists, MDL Marina, and the UK’s largest lifeboat and lifeguard charity, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
In her capacity as President of the RYA, HRH The Princess Royal presented the RYA Yachtmaster™ of the Year 2016 to Zara Roberts. Zara (30), from Scarborough, was awarded the prestigious trophy for her exceptional performance across all aspects of the examination.
Alan Brown, Community Safety Events Manager at RNLI, comments: “It was an honour to welcome HRH The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral, Sir Tim Laurence, one of our Trustees to the RNLI stand. As keen sailors themselves, they were really interested in hearing more about our Respect the Water Campaign and the work we are doing providing advice to keep people safe in the water.
“Around 190 people die in British and Irish waters each year and we’re aiming to see that number halved by 2024. The London Boat Show has given us a fantastic opportunity to highlight the importance of safety in the water for everyone.”
Murray Ellis, British Marine’s Chief Officer of Boat Shows, commented: “We were delighted to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to the London Boat Show to showcase our £3.01bn UK boating industry. Many of our exhibitors and British Marine members were honoured to discuss their businesses with Princess Anne, who showed a keen interest in all things boating.”
Ending this Sunday, 15 January, the show is still to welcome a number of sailing personalities and famous faces including acclaimed offshore sailor, Mike Golding, record-breaking British yachtswomen, Dee Caffari MBE and Sam Davies, BBC broadcaster and voice of Radio 4’s Shipping forecast Zeb Soanes, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Trade, Mark Garnier MP and world-renowned hairdresser, Nicky Clarke OBE.
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