03 January 2018

Campaigning sailor and budget boating evangelist Dave Selby is appearing on stage at the London Boat Show to talk about his small-boat adventures and explain how to get afloat for less.

You can catch him in the PBO theatre on Friday, 12 January at 5pm and at 3pm on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14. Dave will also be on the show’s main stage at 12 noon on Friday 12.

In 2016, Dave sailed Marlin, his 18ft boat, 340 miles from the east coast to exhibit his 40-year-old Sailfish at the Southampton Boat Show.

What the Practical Boat Owner columnist wanted to demonstrate was that in this day and age sailing has never been more affordable and accessible.

‘Everyone who doesn’t sail thinks it’s hugely expensive and exclusive,’ said Dave.

‘The fact is there’s an ever growing fleet of good old fibre-glass boats and they’re getting cheaper all the time. For a tiny outlay, certainly a lot less than a single holiday, you can buy a boat that will open up a world of adventure and give you holidays of a life-time, for a life-time.’

In Marlin’s Mission, Dave will tell the story of his big small-boat adventure and show you how you can get afloat affordably, with examples of some of the great sailing boat bargains at the budget end of the market.

He will also be talking about the life-changing events that inspired his adventure. In 2012 he was struck down by a rare viral condition called Guillain-Barre Syndrome. In Dave’s case it means that the messages stop getting through to his legs every four weeks or so; then he spends three days in hospital where antibodies from the blood of 800 donors are pumped into him to restore his legs.

‘Far from holding me back, it gave me the drive for what became one of the richest experiences of my life,’ notes the sailor.

To date, Dave has raised over £9000 for the charity (gaincharity.org.uk) that funds research into this rare illness and provides support for those with it.

The PBO columnist will also be signing copies of his first sailing book, The Impractical Boat Owner, a light-hearted commentary on “the yachting condition,” charting his meteoric rise from total novice to complete incompetent. ‘Everything I haven’t learned is in there,’ said Dave proudly.

The London Boat Show will run from 10-14 January at ExCel London.

Continues below…

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The golden age of yachting: David Selby’s latest Mad about the Boat podcast

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Dave Selby will also be appearing in London’s West End next week.

He is doing a talk at Arthur Beale, the historic Shaftesbury Avenue chandlery at 6.45pm on Thursday, 11 January.  For details see www.arthurbeale.co.uk.

30 November 2017

We are pleased to offer subscribers of Practical Boat Owner 2 for 1 entry on advance London Boat Show tickets from £15*. Back for its 64^th year, the London Boat Show returns from 10-14 January 2018 at ExCeL London, celebrating everything you can do and enjoy on the water. Bringing a world of inspiration, stunning yachts and on-water experiences visitors will be treated to five days of the very latest in the boating world. You can buy your tickets now from londonboatshow.com and access this offer by using the code PBO15.

*Please note a £1.95 transaction fee applies per transaction not per ticket. Promotional offer 2for1 allows two tickets from £15 to use any one day between 10 – 14 January 2018 ends midnight 31 December 2017. Normal price £20 per person for advance Preview Day tickets and £15 per person for advance Standard Day tickets. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Excludes premium tickets. Ticket offer is restricted to two adult tickets per transaction. 15 years and under go free with paying adult, max 2 per adult ticket. Terms and conditions apply. See londonboatshow.com for details. All details correct at time of going to press. E&OE