KIP Marina is one of the jewels in Inverclyde’s crown, and it is justifiably back in the limelight this weekend.

Yet again it is bringing thousands of visitors to the area by hosting Scotland’s Boat Show, running on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

For most of us it will be a case of admiring the luxury boats on sale, rather than slapping down some cash to take one home.

I quite fancy a lottery win that would enable me to purchase a fancy vessel to berth somewhere warm and sunny like Barcelona or Malaga.

But, with my negligible nautical know-how, I would be lucky to get as far as Millport without running aground or crashing into a ferry.

Perhaps a safer option would be the £260,000 Rolls Royce Wraith on view during the show. For that money, you would expect the thing to practically drive itself.

Parking at a supermarket would be a problem because of its size, but, if you could afford a motor like that, you could probably hire someone to get in the messages.

Apart from this annual weekend in the spotlight, the marina contributes all-year round to Inverclyde’s economy through employment and the amount of money spent here by people on visiting vessels.

Kip caters admirably for the many sailors from around the world who love the waters of the Firth of Clyde and Scotland’s west coast.

Let’s hope the show encourages even more to sail into Inverclyde.