OK, ‘Düssel’ (as in Düsseldorf) doesn’t rhyme with ‘bustle’ – though it does the way many Brits pronounce it, which is pretty painful to the ears.
Whatever the niceties (or even the fundamentals) of pronunciation, Düsseldorf in January is home to the world’s biggest boat show: 17 halls full of everything from paddleboards to blue-water cruising yachts. Just imagine the London Boat Show – when it still existed – at Excel, only about 10 times bigger.
We had no plans to go to Düsseldorf this year but were persuaded at the last minute, so we hopped on a plane and spent an intensive couple of days checking out a selection of new boats for a forthcoming magazine feature. We also caught up with a European boatbuilder we’ve known for many years and whose boats we’ve tested in the UK, Holland and Poland. One of our tests in the Baltic included a trip to Hel and back, but that’s another story…
To the Sailing Scenes blog
