Nestling alongside the shiny new motor and sailing yachts lining the marina at this year’s PSP Southampton Boat Show will be a collection of fascinating boats, each with an amazing story to tell.

Free Southampton Boat Show stand finder and map to download here

With over 350 years sailing experience between them, as well as a number of world records, this year’s line up can boast a tale or two, and features Jolie Brise, Rosenn, Steam Pinnace and science ship Callista.

In keeping with this year’s Show theme, the marina will play host to record breaker Geoff Holt’s revolutionary boat Impossible Dream, Dame Ellen MacArthur’s yacht Scarlet Oyster, and Katie Miller’s BluQube, as well as ocean rowing boats that will take part in the toughest marine endurance event in the world this December.

The feature boats on the marina can be reached by bridges from both Solent Park and Mayflower Park.

For the first two days of the Show, berth 525 will show Scarlet Oyster , Dame Ellen MacArthur’s yacht, which will arrive fresh from almost 2,000 nautical miles and more than four months at sea, finishing a Round Britain voyage. Scarlet Oyster will sail into the marina once the Show has opened at 10am on the first day, fulfilling an ambitious challenge mounted by the Dame Ellen MacArthur Trust and a crew of young people recovering from cancer and leukaemia to sail around the British Isles this summer.

Katie Miller, who has recently returned from the Fastnet Race will be bringing along to berth 525 on Sunday 13 her boat, BluQube, in which she recently completed the OSTAR 2009 single-handed trans-Atlantic race. Katie is not only a previous Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year Award winner she is also the youngest ever female solo sailor to have ever completed this transatlantic challenge.

Geoff Holt will then take over berth 525 from Monday to Thursday with modified boat, Impossible Dream. In 2007, Geoff became the first quadriplegic yachtsman to sail solo around Great Britain, and in December this year aims to sail the Atlantic Ocean unassisted. He will sail a 60ft, custom-built, wheelchair-accessible cruising catamaran completely independently nearly 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean.

Steam Pinnace
Maintained and sailed by volunteers from the Society of Friends of the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth, the 98-year-old Armed Steam Pinnace 199 , is one of the last few boats in working condition still powered by steam.

Armed Steam Pinnace 199, along with her Hotchkiss three pound gun and a full crew dressed in the uniform of the era will arrive on the Show’s marina on Public Preview Day to kick off the world record breaking semaphore attempt.

See Armed Steam Pinnace 199 on Friday 11 September, berth 521.

Tall Ship Caroline Allen
The Caroline Allen is one of two 30 foot steel brigs operated by the Little Brig Sailing Trust , and is the world’s smallest tall ship. She is fully equipped to take five young sailors aged 10 years and above for their first trip out on a tall ship.

A typical trip sees five new sailors on the water for up to three hours, two each working the sails on each mast and one to steer. Caroline Allen has the same rigging as a much larger vessel, but with smaller sails the loads are a lot lighter, and to make things easier the ropes are colour-coded.

Caroline Allen will be at berth 521 on Sunday 13 and Monday 14 September.

Jolie Brise
The last sailing boat to carry the Royal Mail, Jolie Brise is a 96 year old gaff pilot cutter that became world famous upon winning the very first Fastnet Race in 1925. A former fishing boat, Jolie Brise has also recently become a record breaker by setting a new ship’s record speed of 14.1 knots whilst surfing down a wave.

Jolie Brise is sailed by pupils of Dauntsey’s School and has successfully competed in six Tall Ships Races – twice being the overall winner of races to the USA and Canada and twice winning the award for the youngest crew in the fleet.

Jolie Brise will be at berth 521 on the marina on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September.

Rosenn
One of just 22 yachts built at the end of the 19th century, Rosenn is the last of the Solent One Design yachts still afloat, not to mention still racing and is part owned by renowned yachtsman and journalist, Bob Fisher.

After spending an astonishing 60 years on the River Crouch, she returned to the Solent where she races from Lymington, recently completing the 2009 Round the Island Race

Rosenn will be at berth 521 on the marina on Thursday 17 and 18 of September.

Callista
Returning to the Show for a second consecutive year due to popular demand, the University of Southampton’s research vessel Callista will be open to visitors for the 10-day duration. With real experiments, live specimens and plenty of on-board gadgets to satisfy the most inquisitive of minds, Callista is the perfect way to explore underwater without getting wet in a unique hands-on environment.

Callista will be on berth 520 of the marina throughout the Show.

Ocean Rowers Berth
The marina will also showcase a range of smaller boats throughout the 10 day duration of the Show. For the first weekend, berth 531 will host Dave Brooks , who is not only taking part in the Woodvale Challenge, but will then row across the Caribbean Sea, through the Panama Canal and then across the Pacific to Australia passing through Tahiti! This mammoth trip could take up to 500 days and will cover over 13,000 miles of ocean.

Monday to Friday will see record breaking rowing boat, Vivaldi take over berth 531. Back in 2005, a four man crew took her across the Atlantic in just 39 days, making them the first four to row the North Atlantic West to East, and the first crew to row the North Atlantic from Canada to Europe, as well as the overall speed crossing record as recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Simon Chalk heads up the development team at Woodvale Challenge, designers of Vivaldi, and will appear alongside the boat for the duration. Holding a vast number of world records himself, this duo is certainly an inspirational addition to the line up.