The industry looks forward to Festival of Boating - Australian MarineBusinessWorld.com newsletter
by Peter Rendle 10 Jun 15:00 PDT
The ICC is a world-class exhibition centre which sits amid numerous cafes, bars and restaurants that line both sides of Darling Harbour and now extend northwards on the city shoreline towards Barangaroo © Medianet
Following on from what was from all accounts a successful show in Queensland, Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, the Festival of Boating is taking shape at Darling Harbour, Sydney. The Festival of Boating will be four days of exhibitions, festivities and a celebration of the boating lifestyle from 29 July to 1 August.
Exhibition space inside the Halls of the International Convention Centre in Sydney sold out more than two weeks ago, with limited opportunity still available on the Event Deck. The first stage marina was oversubscribed and is being expanded, and the Festival Boulevard which runs between Cockle Bay and Tumbalong Park is filling up with displays.
BIA spokesperson Neil Patchett said the priority was to showcase the boating lifestyle at a time when interest in boating was booming. "Boating has proven itself as a standout choice in recreational activities for families across Australia over the past year," he said. "Flexible work practices, low interest rates and the ongoing staycation are some of the factors leading people to look at how to make the most of their leisure time and getting out on the water is a wonderful way to enjoy the outdoors. There is a boat or watercraft to suit most budgets, from paddle craft to motor cruisers, or you can hire or share ownership in one. The Festival presents a great opportunity to get set for the coming season."
More industry awards this month include AISMEX's apprentice of the year. The Australian Marine Industry Awards, a highlight of the ASMEX 2021 Conference at the InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort, included for the second year running the 'Apprentice of the Year' Award to recognise and develop youth working in the industry.
This award was presented to Robert Smith from Superior Jetties by TAFE Qld, the presenting partner for the 2021 Award. Robert joined Superior Jetties as a labourer after four years in the construction industry. Dedicated to learning and constantly applying himself, Robert fast-tracked his training and completed his IC3 Engineering - Fabrication Trade 3 Apprenticeship in June 2020.
Multihull Solutions announced that the Dragonfly 40 Trimaran was the winner of Multihull of the Year 2021 in the under 45ft category, an award voted for by the readers of Multihull World Magazine. This is the second award for the Dragonfly 40 this year, after also winning European Yacht of the Year 2021.
Accessory awards included BEP's innovative Smart Battery Hub, a world-first in intelligent battery management systems for vessels running two or more outboards, sterndrives, or inboard engines. This product, designed and manufactured in New Zealand, has picked up two leading industry awards shortly after being released early in 2021: the Boating Industry Top Product Award, and HutchWilco Boat Show Local Innovation Awards.
"BEP has been developing products for over 20 years in New Zealand that are widely used by boat builders around the world," said Geoff Morrish, Product Manager, ASG. We have a highly talented team of 25 engineers in Auckland and this award is testament to their dedication and hard work delivering this product."
As mentioned in last week's newsletter we are extending our coverage of MarineBusiness.World to include news from our neighbours in New Zealand and South East Asia. From Asia we learn of the announcement of Camper & Nicholson of the appointment of Gordon Yip Wang Hui, Owner of Victoria Marine Asia, as Senior Sales Broker in their Hong Kong office. Gordon joins Camper & Nicholsons from a well-known UK brand franchise where he was Chairman from 2003 to 2020.
After spending his early career in the property industry in the United Kingdom, Gordon, a lifelong yacht owner, established a yacht brand franchise and was responsible for the brand across India, the Maldives, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, including China. During his time with the yacht builder, over 235 yachts were sold across the entire region, 131 of these in Hong Kong, including 15 units over 100ft.
From New Zealand we received notification of a development involving Emirates Team New Zealand who have committed to drive hydrogen innovation in the marine industry by developing hydrogen-powered chase boats for the 37th America's Cup. They have been working on development and manufacture of composite cryostats for the cryogenic and superconducting industries. Currently the Emirates Team New Zealand designers are working on a prototype to be built at the team's North Shore build facility, capable of standing up to the demands of supporting an AC75 foiling yacht throughout all aspects of an America's Cup campaign.
And staying with sailing, Globalstar Europe Satellite Services Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Globalstar Inc), announces that TracTrac, specialist provider of hardware and software solutions for tracking of competitive sailing and adventure sports, is deploying SPOT Gen4 devices to support race events on land and sea. Established in 2005, TracTrac is a software and services company which has developed an innovative tracking platform specifically designed to provide capability for difficult-to-follow sports. These include race sailing and long-distance endurance sports as diverse as road cycling, open water swimming, trail running, orienteering, Nordic skiing as well as multi-discipline events such as triathlon and adventure races.
In competitive sailing, TracTrac has long supported many regattas internationally which predominately take place inshore, namely sailing races which hug the coastline and can typically be tracked using GSM-based systems. Chris Terkelsen, TracTrac Co-founder, explains however that TracTrac is seeing elevated demand for tracking capability to support races which take place further offshore.
Stay safe,
Peter Rendle - peter.rendle@marinebusinessworld.com