This summer, MDL Marinas ran its first customer photo competition which invited berth holders and visitors to capture the best of their boating experiences at MDL’s 19 UK marinas and within the local cruising grounds. Customers competed for the chance to win a top prize and have their photo featured on MDL’s all-new stand at this year’s PSP Southampton Boat Show. Jon Eads, Managing Director of MDL’s Marina Division and well-known marine photographer Mike Jones LBIPP presented the overall winner, Mr Peter Hayton from Dorset, with a new waterproof camera, accessories and bottle of bubbly.

“We invited our berth holders and visitors to take photos of our sites so that we could see our marinas through the eyes of our customers. We received some fantastic photos, which were given to Mike Jones to cast his professional eyes over. Peter Hayton’s winning photo of ‘Queen Anne’s Battery at Night’ was truly stunning,” commented Jon Eads.

Mike Jones added: “I was looking for photos that showed the technical ability as well as the creativity of the photographer. I think the winner demonstrated that very well and there was certainly a very good level of technical ability displayed.”

Photos entered into the competition included sunset images, tranquil riverside shots, aerial, panoramic and atmospheric landscapes taken at dawn and dusk, as well as stunning views across the marinas. In addition to the overall winner, which was selected by Mike Jones, each marina also awarded a winner for the photo that they felt best represented their site. These individual marina category winners were given tickets to the Show and will receive a subscription to ‘Outdoor Photography’ magazine.

Peter Hayton, the overall winner and a long-term berth holder from Cobb’s Quay Marina, took full advantage of his visitor berthing benefit and entered a selection of photos he had taken of several other MDL marinas. On top of being announced overall winner, he was also the winner of several individual marina categories; Hythe Marina Village, Ocean Village Marina and Torquay Marina. Peter said: “I was gobsmacked when I got a phone call to say I had won. I’d like to say what a brilliant idea it is to get berth holders involved. MDL try very hard to make it a wonderful experience and this is another example of how they work with customers.”