THIS Island’s nautical heritage could scarcely be stronger.

Its seafarers once fished the Newfoundland banks for cod and terrorised the monarch’s enemies as privateers scouring the Channel for prize vessels. At home, merchants made fortunes from foreign trade and for many years the beaches at Gorey, Havre des Pas and along the sweep of St Aubin’s Bay were hives of activity as sturdy wooden ships were built.

Shipbuilding, privateering and the distant-water cod fishery might now be things of the past, but the sea, as a medium for commerce and leisure, remains a vital part of Island life.

This was emphasised over the holiday weekend, when St Helier Harbour was busier than ever as thousands of people turned up for this year’s Jersey Boat Show, an event which goes from strength to strength, attracting increasing numbers of exhibitors and visitors.

Vessels of all sorts and sizes, ranging from the fisheries protection vessel HMS Mersey to the smallest inflatable tenders, were the key attraction, but this year’s show had something for almost everyone. Even those with no real interest in going afloat could have turned up to enjoy the programme of music or the food stalls serving paella, moules and frites and scallops.

The Boat Show, sponsored this year by Barclays Wealth, was clearly a huge success from the point of view of those with products on show and also as far as its visitors were concerned. It was, moreover, a major feather in the cap of those at Jersey Harbours responsible for organising such an important and vibrant event.

Particularly impressive were the numbers of boats actually in the water in the marina. Many might have been no more than the stuff of dreams for the man in the street, but the selection of luxury cruisers and sleek yachts was without doubt superb.

It is no exaggeration to say that the atmosphere at the show was an excellent antidote to recessionary blues. In addition, the whole occasion was evidence that, in spite of recent hard times, there is still money in our economy.

As the organisers and traders who made either sales or promising contacts at the event will be fully aware, the show was a winner commercially. Its significance, however, goes further than this. Not only did it attract many exhibitors with links to the UK and the continent, it is also very much the kind of event which helps to put the Island on the map – or, in the case, of the boating fraternity, the chart.