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Propane gas, that is. Powering your outboard motor. Really? Yes really… Of course Boat Show means a dazzling selection of boats, many of them with price tags that make your knees buckle… and a legion of pretty girls near or on those boats… and marine beauties of the hull-and-mast kind, too. (Don’t expect decent food though. The main concessions were heart-attack-on-a-plate awful.) But what’s best of all is when you find a brilliant idea like using propane gas to power outboard motors – eco-friendly, easy to refuel (just hook up a bottle), power-efficient, and much less damaging to motors. With an electric starter and a long-life internal battery. But if you meet Captain Bernardo Herzer (picture), you get to know his Lehr outboards in double-quick time. He’ll see to that. And it’s a cracker (as far as this blogger can tell.)

Sweating away back at the Boat Show in Southampton, covering the piece. Day 2 and we have our presenter Martin Muncaster with us, one of the most delightful people to work with you could imagine, and possessed of a beautiful voice and real skill in delivery. Numerous present day TV and radio presenters and journos please note – if you could do your job as well as M.M. you’d be much loved – and much better understood, too. Anyway, lots of STUFF, capturing Martin at the RS Sailing stand (see pic), alongside stunningly beautiful boats in the show Marina etc etc. We work him half to death but he takes it all in his stride! Interview too with the new MD of RS – who make all kinds of boats, including great starters – and Howard Pridding, grand fromage of the British Marine Federation.

First day at the Southampton Boat Show – filming for this year’s Maritime Media Awards film ‘Boat Nation’. It’ll be shown at the Awards dinner in November, when the Maritime Foundation honours those in the media who have done the most to promote the importance of the sea and sea trade to Britain in the past year. 4 categories, including the premium Desmond Wettern Award, named after the late great naval correspondent of the same name. Awards go too to best writer and best TV and film, along this year with a new award for digital media, the First Sea Lord Award. All top notch, blue-chip stuff. Anyway filming ‘Boat Nation’ for the Awards got off to a flying start with shots of about a zillion boats and an interview with the Royal Yachting Association, top guns in UK sailing.

Off to the  Welsh Harp sailing centre this weekend to start filming for the Maritime Media Awards keynote film, ‘Boat Nation’. Welsh Harp, I hear you say? What the confibulation is that?! Well, the Welsh Harp was a Victorian pub in north London, close to what is now the North Circular Road in the London Borough of Brent. When a giant reservoir to feed the Grand Union Canal was built in the area the name stuck. It’s now a sailing centre in a country park, offering lots of sail and training opportunities.  So, since our film for the Awards this year is all about the importance of the “leisure sector” to UK maritime we thought we’d film there – to show how you can get to sail in the most unlikely places, and don’t have to spend £££££ to do it.

First filming today for the Jubilee Sailing Trust at Greenwich in South East London – their sail training ship Tenacious is there for the Tall Ships event. We’re there to film a hello message from the Trust’s new Chief Executive Office Duncan Souster, who’s on board to meet and greet, and help host a visit by Sophie, Countess of Wessex. The ship is looking great even though the light for cameras is terrible – flat and grey, but still quite glarey, so everything kind of blands out. Think it’s all OK. Anyway Duncan Souster is good on camera, natural, relaxed and friendly – we film him with the bowsprit of the ship behind him. Later out on the river aboard the Iris, a former Dutch fishing boat, to catch shots of all the ships from the water. Good event, well organised by Greenwich.

Film planning meeting with the Jubilee Sailing Trust – they have  two specially-built tall ships which can take anyone to sea to experience life under sail on the ocean, very much including the disabled, and indeed soldiers injured on active duty . Their two ships are Lord Nelson and Tenacious –beautiful, specially built square riggers.. You can pay or get support for a voyage, or part – so for example on Lord Nelson’s current two year round the world voyage there are voyage crew members backed by Help for Heroes. They can even take wheelchair users up the masts! Good story: a blind voyage crew member climbed the rigging, high up. When asked how on earth he managed that the crew member replied “Well you wouldn’t think I’d have done it if I could see how high up I was would you?!”

Southampton Maritime Festival Day 2 and we’re filming again for Associated British Ports, this time to catch a flypast by a Hurricane and a Spitfire. After a vain attempt to chicken out and get my Maritime Films UK colleague Andy Jones to do the aircraft while I do crowd reaction, I’m left holding the baby! Trouble with these events is that you have just ONE chance … no good asking the Battle of Britain flight for a retake. Plus, it’s a bright day so the viewfinder is hopeless for catching where they are in all that sky. Plus, they come from where I’m not expecting them. But manage to get some OK shots. Odd, though: as they come for their last pass I can see them clearly – quite close – but not hear them till they’re even closer. Weird!

Another Maritime Films UK day, another world full of great ships at Southampton Maritime Festival hosted by Associated British Ports in the city. Jubilee Sailing Trust‘s tall ship Tenacious, veteran steamship Shieldhall, even D-Day Motor Gun Boat veteran HMS Medusa. ABP Southampton want us to catch the atmosphere and there’s plenty of it, including majorettes, brill singer doing 40’s hits and even a wandering pirate singing sea shanties and telling groantastic jokes. Like “Why are pirates awful? They just arr, arr, arr!” He ought to walk the plank for that one. Tomorrow looks good with Spitfire etc flypast planned. We’re now off to sea courtesy the Captain of Shieldhall… it’s a hard life etc.