Extreme adventurer Mike Horn has shared his enthusiasm at opening this year’s Paris Boat Show next weekend.

As previously noted on Afloat.ie, nearly 170,000 visitors are expected to meet the 650 exhibitors spread over two halls at Porte de Versailles for this year’s Salon Nautique International de Paris, which runs from Saturday 3 to Saturday 10 December.

Speaking ahead of the expo, South African-born, Swiss-based explorer says: “After 25 years exploring all corners of the globe during my various adventures, I still prefer navigating the planet’s oceans as my means of transport.

“Sailing has taken me to places I had only dreamed about and awakened a sensitivity for the environments I have ventured into. These two passions have led to the birth of INOCEL.”

This state-of-the-art high power, high performance hydrogen fuel cell is aimed at accelerating the transition to greener propulsion and Horn sits on its board of directors. He says it represents “a new technological solution to continue my adventures and those of others in a more responsible and respectful way towards our planet”.

Horn adds: “We cannot stop what we are doing, but we can change the way in which we do it. I am therefore delighted to be the patron of this year's Paris Boat Show. A place where we can get together and create our dreams of tomorrow.”

Organisers of Nautic 2022 have also shared more details on what to expect across the event’s massive exhibition space.

Hall 1 will feature 700 craft, from sailing boats and motor boats to dinghies, windsurfers and engine manufacturers. It also includes the maritime and river rental area, regions and destinations (Occitanie, Corsica, Brittany, Normandy, Nouvelle Aquitaine, Spain, the Canaries, Tunisia, and more), and banking, insurance and services sectors, including boating licences.

The main hall will also be the host of numerous world premieres, not limited to RM Yachts’ flagship RM 1390, and Rosewest’s Cape Cod 767 Lounge.

Next door at Hall 2.2 will group all the equipment, from the most traditional to the latest innovations: fittings, electronics, fishing, energy, sails, paints and varnishes, decoration and the craft industry. The Galerie Marchande is also located in this hall where clothing and accessories are on offer at attractive prices.

Once again this year, in conjunction with the Swimming Pool and Spa Professionals Federation, a space dedicated to swimming pools, saunas, spas and shelters will round out the range of nautical products and services.

A key date for the Nautic 2022 itinerary is Wednesday 7 December which will see the awards for Motor Boat of the Year and Yacht of the Year on the Nautic stage at 4.30pm CET, in partnership with Editions Larivière.

And that’s not to mention the show-closing presentation prizes for the winners of the 2022 Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe.

For much more see the official Paris Boat Show website.

The 2022 Paris Boat Show will take place from 3-10 December with extreme adventurer Mike Horn opening the doors on the first day of the major trade show.

Nearly 170,000 visitors are expected to meet the 650 exhibitors spread over two halls at Porte de Versailles for this year’s Salon Nautique International de Paris.

In addition, organisers are touting several new features for the 61st Nautic promising great experiences for all lovers of boating and yachting.

The show will have a more concentrated format over nine days, with a preview evening reserved exclusively for exhibitors and their guests and a closing night on Saturday 10 December for a festive nautical night open to all.

Visitors will also be invited to meet the future winners of the Innovation Competition hosted in conjunction with the French Federation of Nautical Industries (FIN).

Some 15 finalists out of more than 60 project entries will be exhibited in this space set aside specifically for this purpose. The grand final will take place on the Nautical Stage on Saturday 10 December in front of a jury made up of personalities and experts including France’s director general of maritime affairs, a skipper from the maxi multihull MACIF and the managing director of VivaTech.

One new feature presented at Nautic will be a virtual reality space to live through an experience without getting wet! “We are experimenting with a new approach, as we are convinced that virtual reality, without of course replacing the pleasure of the activity in real life, can bring us new developments in the very near future,” FIN says.

Preservation of the marine environment will also be clearly reflected through an immersion dive within the exhibition on the Ocean & Climate Platform covering nearly 500 square metres in Hall 1. The visitor will be treated to a dazzling visual auditory experience thanks to a 40-metre graphic fresco and a dome projecting a film at 360 degrees.

In other highlights, the 12th Nautic Paddle on Sunday 4 December will see 1,000 participants for the largest paddle race in the world, setting off at dawn. And the final day will also see the presentation prizes for the winners of the 2022 Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe which sets off on Sunday 6 November.

Tickets for the 2022 Paris Boat Show are priced at €14 with special concessions for members of the French sailing, rowing, water skiing and wakeboarding Federations, anyone who has obtained a boating licence since November 2021 and students and under-16s. In addition, the first 1,000 single-day tickets sold will be available for the special price of €9.

For more details see the official Paris Boat Show website.

One of the big winners at the recent Paris Boat Show is a drive-in hull cleaner, as Marine Industry News reports.

G&G Boatwash was awarded the jury prize and €1,000 in the innovation category for its appropriately named Drive-in Boatwash, which promises to scrub fouling from boats in just 15 minutes — negating the need for antifouling paint.

Already the technology is operating at more than 15 marinas in the manufacturer’s home base of Sweden as well as in Norway, Finland, Canada, the US — and Les Sables-d’Olonne in France, where boats of up to 53ft in length can be accomodated.

Marine Industry News has more on the story HERE.

Classic yacht owners in France have been encouraged to join Volvo Cork Week 2022 with the introduction of a dedicated class at next summer’s regatta.

Royal Cork Yacht Club Admiral Colin Morehead made the announcement at the 2021 Paris Boat Show last week along with President Pascal Stefani, Yves Lambert and Yves Gaignet of the Atlantic Yacht Club.

The two clubs have entered into a collaboration — Goto Cork 2022 — aimed at attracting classic yacht owners in France to participate in Cork Week when it returns in July 2022 after a pandemic-enforced absence in 2020.

COVID restrictions also delayed celebration of the Royal Cork’s reciprocal agreement signed with the Yacht Club de France in March 2020.

While in Paris, Admiral Morehead took the opportunity to exchange burgees with Yacht Club de France President Philippe Heral at its clubhouse in the city.

Earlier today, Afloat.ie noted the inclusion of a Cape 31 fleet in next summer’s regatta comprising boats from both the UK and a burgeoning Irish fleet.

This year’s Paris Boat Show has been cancelled in the wake of new coronavirus restrictions in France which would have limited the event to just 1,000 visitors.

The Salon Nautique International de Paris, which is scheduled for December each year, usually hosts more than 200,000 people and over 800 exhibitors — among the regulars being Irish dealers MGM Boats and BJ Marine — at the Porte de Versailles.

Plans has been in place to adapt the 2020 edition to abide by previous rules which limited such exhibitions to 5,000 people and mandated social distancing protocols.

Similar measures were put in place at Europe’s first post-COVID indoor boat show, INTERBOOT at Friedrichshafen in Germany this week, where visitor and exhibitor numbers were reportedly down.

However, with the latestrestrictions those plans are no longer possible, according to organisers the Fédération des Industries Nautiques (FIN).

“The new measures hasten our decision and leave us no choice,” said FIN president Yves Lyon-Caen. “The consequences will be serious, especially for all SMEs for which trade shows are key moments for their turnover.

“The autumn and winter shows are real places of business where 70% of annual orders are processed. They are essential landmarks in our economic ecosystem.

“We will do everything in our power to continue to provide the best possible assistance to all companies in the French nautical sector to get through this new ordeal and to prepare for the future for 2021.”

The FIN says it will soon announce a digital replacement for this year’s Paris Boat Show under the heading ‘tourism, territories nautical destinations and innovation’.

Meanwhile, a free online boat show hosted by Bateaux.com is set to open from Thursday 8 October at boatshow.fr

Details for next year's course of the La Solitaire du Figaro race were revealed at the Paris Boat Show yesterday. The race will comprise four French towns and Dun Laoghaire will be the only foreign port of call when the boats are expected to arrive on 10 August.

In spite of Dublin airport weather delays a National YC contingent headed by Commodore Peter Ryan made it to Paris in time for the announcement.

Following several days for rest, the fleet shall once again set sail on 7 August for the second leg, of 470 nautical miles, that will take the Figaro Bénéteau 2 towards Dún Laoghaire. After leaving the Bay of Seine, a 40-mile or so run, the first obstacle will be the passage of the Barfleur point. The course remains inshore, as the single-handed sailors will sail along the Cotentin to the cape of the Hague, before heading towards the Channel Islands.

It will be compulsory to leave the islands of Aurigny, Herm and Guernsey to starboard. The skippers will then take on a long crossing of the English Channel, 120 nautical miles to Land's End. The last third of the course is a sail up almost full north over 190 nautical miles to reach Dún Laoghaire.

The Dublin Bay harbour is set to be a discovery for the visiting sailors and where the National Yacht Club are to be the host venue. After a few days rest and recuperation, the fleet then will set sail on 14 August to The Vendée and Les Sables d'Olonne. This third leg is long at 475 nautical miles with boats expected on 17 August.

Four days later and the final leg departs on 21 August with the boats setting a course for Dieppe, to arrive on 24 August. On the following day the Normandy port will also be hosting a closing regatta. For more information www.lasolitaire.com

Preparing for La Solitaire du Figaro here