MarineBusinessWorld.com Newsletter: Nearly 60,000 attend Sydney International Boat Show
by Peter Rendle, Sail-World.com 9 Aug 2018 15:00 PDT
Sydney International Boat Show © David Clare - firstlightphotography.com.au
Superb weather conditions graced the 51st Sydney International Boat Show, held at Sydney's Cockle Bay and the new Darling Harbour Convention Centre. While the attendance was slightly down on last year, nearly 60,000 paying visitors attended. At the same time the Boating Industry Association published some interesting facts regarding the industry. According to the Association the marine industry in Australia had a turnover of $8.47bn during 2017/18 and directly employed 27,685 people.
Apparently, there are 900,000 registered boats in the country with 14,500 new registrations each year. Domenic Genua, Event Manager for the Boating Industry Association (BIA) Ltd who organise the event said "This year's show hosted 59,753 visitors over the 5 days. Whilst this is 5% (or 3,292) less visitors from the 63,045-last year, it is also above expectation. Both history and research showed that an element of last year's visitors were those inquisitive about the new facility. This bodes well for the show and is a testament to the importance of the event with the rebound from our days at Glebe Island continuing."
Multihull Solutions has celebrated its tenth anniversary by achieving record sales at the 2018 Sydney International Boat Show. Multihull Solutions sold 18 brand new power and sail catamarans at the event, more than doubling its previous boat show sales record. The sales included ten of the new Fountaine Pajot Astréa 42 sailing catamarans, which had its exclusive Southern Hemisphere launch at the Sydney Boat Show. The team also sold five Fountaine Pajot Helia 44 Evolutions and a Fountaine Pajot Lucia 40 sailing catamaran plus two of the new MY 40 power cats by Fountaine Pajot Motor Yachts.
Mercury Marine, introduced a new line of 3.0-liter diesel engines for sterndrive, inboard and water-jet applications, available in 150hp, 230hp and 270hp at the Sydney Show. Engineered, developed and tested over the past three years, these new engines will lead their class in several key attributes: acceleration; reliability; ease of installation and maintenance; and mitigation of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).
Riviera took the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of its R Marine Dealer network at an awards ceremony during the Sydney International Boat Show. Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst announced that for 2017-18, Riviera's Dealership of the Year was awarded to R Marine South Australia, Service Excellence was awarded to R Marine Jacksons, Sales Excellence to R Marine Flagship and the Outstanding Individual award presented to Ben Croft.
Electronic technology advances include a marine electronics industry first. Raymarine Axiom users can now take to the skies with the latest LightHouse 3.6 OS update. The new Axiom UAV app brings together the power and simplicity of Raymarine navigation with advanced unmanned aerial imaging.
At the same time Lowrance®, owned by Navico, announced the release of a new software update for HDS Carbon™, HDS Gen3 and Elite-Ti displays. Offering a powerful new feature set, the latest Lowrance software update includes real-time chart creation, expanded engine integration and mobile phone connectivity.
And for anyone lucky enough to be sailing at Hamilton Island Race Week this year, you will be pleased to know that there is still some accommodation available – but be quick. Whitsunday Holiday still have some vacancies and have reduced the rate for a last-minute booking!
For example - Shorelines 13 - luxury 2-bedroom double storey apartments located nice and close to the marina village. Boasting spectacular ocean views, modern furnishings plus large balconies - perfect to entertain! Includes a 4-seater buggy.
Aveagooden
Peter Rendle, Sail-World.com