With the 2009 London Boat Show taking place this month (9-18 January) at Excel in Docklands, there will be plenty of sailors out in force to look at the latest yachts and cruisers to come off the launch slipway.
Development of marinas - many including waterside apartments and townhouses - has also been a boom area in recent years in a number of popular markets. Developments meet the needs both of boat-owners looking for a home with a berth attached, and those who are simply drawn to living beside the water with boats all around. It's an attractive proposition to many governments because, to put it bluntly, marinas attract wealthy people as well as a smattering of the super-rich.
In Europe, Cyprus is one country with ambitious plans in this department. No less than four new marinas are in the pipeline, the largest of them at Limassol, where an artificial island will house 600 new berths plus residential property and other facilities. In all Limassol will have capacity for 1,000 berths including those on the shore-side, with work commencing early in 2009. Other marinas are planned for Larnaca - which is being extended to accommodate super-yachts - Paphos and Ayia Napa. Antonis Paschalides, the Cyprus Minister of Commerce says: "Our vision is for maritime tourism to become a predominant source of revenue and the backbone of the island's development effort."
One company that will be offering a choice of properties around the new marinas is Aristo Developers, whose UK sales director Martin Pearce says: "The feeling in Cyprus is that it will not only create more jobs in the areas mentioned but will also appeal to a different kind of visitor."
Further afield, one of the most exciting marina developments in recent years is to be found at Eden Island in the Seychelles, where Savills is marketing properties on a reclaimed 40-hectare island adjoining the country's main island, Mahe. Every property comes with its own mooring, plus an electrically powered vehicle to zip around the island; apartments are still available from €245,000. For those who sail, this is a fantastic base from which to explore the Seychelles' 116-odd islands in the Indian Ocean.
And in the Caribbean - which also has wonderful scope for exploring from island to island - there has been a lot of interest in new marinas. Those already developed include Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, and The Landings in St Lucia, both of which offer residential property options. Grenada has at least two significant projects that have been put temporarily on hold. The bigger of these is Port Louis on the edge of the capital St George, which is being developed by entrepreneur Peter De Savary.
With apartments, villas, hotel, spa and other luxury facilities alongside berths for super-yachts, he compares it to St Tropez or the Costa Smeralda in Sardinia and says: "I want it to be a real place, where you can stay in a five star hotel or a B&B. We already have a wonderful marina from Camper and Nicholson, where you can berth super-yachts up to 100ft, and I think many people will be attracted to the idea of a home by the water."
Alexander Garrett is a freelance property writer who contributes regularly to The Observer and British Airways' Business Life.