My colleagues at Boatshed HQ (Click Here to checkout Boatshed.com – one of the largest international Yacht Brokerage groups in the world with 50+ branches worldwide) weren’t the least bit surprised when they saw the title of my latest Boatshed Blog – I had bored them all to death with the highlights of my Strictly Experience to the extent that on the first day of our HQ Strategy meeting Neil Chapman (Co Founder of Boatshed.com) had to draw a line when every one was arriving and said I had 15 mins after which the word Strictly would be banned as we had some serious stuff to get through!!

For those dedicated Strictly fans amongst us (and there must be loads amongst the 658,880 registered Boatshed Customers) – the realisation that after 12 fruitless years of applying for tickets, you have actually got somewhere, was just sheer elation. OMG my little brother said when I answered the phone – we have done it (I knew immediately what he meant and shouted it from the roof tops (as our Boatshed Brokers shout from the rooftops – No Sale, No fee if you list your boat with us – you have absolutely nothing to lose – click here to check out selling your boat with Boatshed).

The sting in the tail however was that, even though you have received an email with two pdf’s to print, each with a bar code & unique number, it doesn’t actually mean that ‘you are in’. You have to start queuing at some unearthly hour in the morning to be within the first 400 in the queue to get your tickets validated at 09:00 and then you are sure of securing a seat.

So, a frenzy of activity followed (much the same as on the web when there is a price reduction on a Boatshed Listing – see www.boatshed.com - and then scroll down to Recently Reduced Boats).

A Checklist was created (not quite as many items as on the Boatshed IPA (Independent Pre-sale Assessment – 56 point check list – set your boat head and shoulders above the rest in the Marketplace- Click Here)

Sparkly shoes: Check

Sparkly tie: Check

Sparkly Jewellery: Check

Dress Code: Glamorous (it actually states this on the ticket– just in case you are wondering!)

Preparation, of course is key (If you list your boat with us, your Boatshed Broker will prepare your boat by taking up 80 photos plus videos to market it in the best possible way – Click Here to check out Selling your boat with Boatshed)

Whoops – mustn’t forget the Boatshed Brolly (just in case).

We arrived at the hotel just opposite Elstree Studios the afternoon before in order to stake out the place and agree tactics for queuing the following morning. Went for a quick recce to the designated gate mentioned in our instructions and found a couple peering through the closed gate. Hi guys, bet you are here for Strictly? Same idea as us – they had just driven all the way from Scunthorpe and were checking everything out. Eric & Veronica joined us for a meal that evening and it turned out that Eric was a qualified RYA Dinghy Sailing Instructor with over 20 years experience – great, he loved being out on the water too – we can talk Beneteaus , Oysters, Sunseekers, Najads, Island Packets & Grand Banks - all night!! (check out the 2,000 + boats that Boatshed has for sale at any one time - Click Here.

So, tactics agreed for queuing the following morning – early to bed with an 06:40 departure - to cross the road! We really didn’t know what to expect – had we agreed to get there early enough to secure ourselves a seat or, just for the sake of half an hour, might we risk being turned away (as we heard some people were last year –some of whom had travelled down all the way from Scotland (Click Here to check out Boashed.com locations – worldwide)? Alarm piercing the morning air – we fall out of bed to beat the crowds and rush to see what we are up against but as we turn the corner – it doesn’t look too bad – hopefully we will be OK – everything crossed.

Quite nerve racking though (much the same as selling your boat but don’t worry, our Boatshed Brokers guide you through the process – every step of the way - Click Here to see how). It was OK for No 1 & 2 in the Strictly queue – they had been there since 0200 – unbelievable.

We queued for two hours but it simply rushed by. A-MAZ-ING atmosphere Darling! We met some lovely people in the queue – The Preston Sisters, Our couple from Scunthorpe, The Sussex Girls and the Southampton Girls – all of us on a dedicated mission to get our seats secured (ever thought of becoming a Boatshed Broker, doing something you love with like minded people – Click Here to check out our Boatshed Business website - buy a Franchise or explore other options to join us).

Tickets validated at 09:20 – we were then free for the rest of the day and were told to report back at 17:00 - to queue again!!!! Said goodbye to our newly made friends – all of us bleary eyed after falling out of bed at some unearthly hour pulling on whatever clothes were to hand and simply not looking our best - just to get our place in the queue!

16:00 – Get the party started – dress up, check out of hotel and join the queue - Again! All dressed up with SOMEWHERE to go.

17:30 – Into the Marquee which is the staging point with a double door in the far corner – that was what we had come all this way for and had waited so long for – The Strictly Studio. Appx 400 Strictly Fans crammed into this marquee all jostling for position to be closest to the studio doors but amazingly, our group of newly made friends in the morning seemed to gravitate to each other even though none of us recognised each other – we were now just soooooo Glam!!

19:00 - after what should have felt like another long wait but in fact flew by due to our constant excited chatter, our numbers were being called out – it was about to happen. We were guided through the doors, turned immediately right due to large wall dead ahead, across bare concrete floors littered with electric cables and guided round the back of a huge Gantry, along a really shabby corridor, up some steps and then it hit us - there it was – an amazing Strictly Studio with fantastic lighting, cameras, giant Glitter ball and a thousand twinkling lights - electrifying - it just took our breath away!! We took our seats and ‘3 – 2 – 1’ – we let the evening begin.

To say we had a FAB-U-LOUS Strictly experience doesn’t even come close - what experiences have you had with Boatshed? Just go to www.boatshed.com and click on the 'Give Feedback' Tab on the right hand side of the website – we would love to hear from you.