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It’s time for the boat show!

Gates open at 8 a.m. Saturday for the biggest marine exhibition of the year
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The G.M. Penman is carried to the water after about a month of work in the yard last year. The vessel will be at this weekend’s Ocean Pacific Marine Show and open for tours. Photo by Mike Davies/Campbell River Mirror

The annual Ocean Pacific Marine Show is on again this weekend, featuring any and everything water-goers will need before head out on the high seas.

As always, various experts will be on hand to discuss fishing gear, boat cleaning supplies and use, boat repair, safety gear, electronics and stereo systems – and everything in between – as well as many booths of goods and services to peruse.

There’s also the Kids Corner, where Campbell River children’s entertainer Shoo Shoo the Clown and others will wow the young mariners, along with the annual Campbell River Hospice Silent Auction, raising money for programming at the Hospice House.

New this year, show-goers will be invited on-board the West Coast Marine Response Corp’s spill response boat, the GM Penman, which was refurbished last year at the Campbell River boatyard, as well as the Coast Guard’s Cape Palmerson.

The GM Penman is outfitted with the latest in spill response technology, including 1,500 feet of Kepner boom – a self-inflating boom specifically designed for oil spill containment – can hold up to 35 tons of spilled product and can get to a spill location in a hurry, as it has a “sustainable speed” of 23 knots.

The Cape Palmerson is a 14.6-metre Search and Rescue Lifeboat that responds to all kinds of emergencies along our coastline.

The event runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Ocean Pacific in the Discovery Harbour Marina and Shopping Centre (behind Superstore).