Brisbane receives confirmation of Olympic hosting - Oceania MarineBusinessWorld.com newsletter
by Peter Rendle 22 Jul 2021 15:00 PDT
IOC elects Brisbane 2032 as Olympic and Paralympic host © Brisbane City Council
While not totally unexpected, the announcement that Brisbane as will host of the 2032 Olympic Games was met with enthusiastic response from the media and the politicians involved in the bid. The secret ballot was held at the 138th Session in Tokyo, two days before the Opening Ceremony for the Olympic Games, under strict Covid restrictions.
The Session heard presentations by Brisbane 2032, including by video link-up from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, as well as a final report from Kristin Kloster, Chair of the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad - the IOC body responsible for monitoring and analysing interest in hosting the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games. Brisbane received 72 'yes' and 5 'no' votes from 77 valid votes. Before the vote, IOC Members were able to pose questions to Mrs Kloster about the election process, and to Brisbane 2032 about their proposal to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brisbane and South-East Queensland.
From an industry perspective Australian Sailing has welcomed the announcement. The Olympics will return to Australia for the first time since Sydney 2000, where tens of thousands of sailing fans lined the foreshore to celebrate two Australian sailing gold medals. Australian Sailing President Daniel Belcher shared the excitement of the sailing community at the announcement: "This is a landmark moment in Australian sporting history. We are incredibly thankful to the work done by the bid team at the Australian Olympic Committee, and the support shown for the bid by the State and Federal Governments. The kids on the beaches and boat ramps of sailing clubs all around Australia now have something truly special to aspire to - representing Australia at a home Olympic Games in eleven years' time."
Australia has a proud history of success in Olympic sailing, and south-east Queensland has provided its share of Olympic heroes in that time. 2012 Olympic Champion and 2016 silver medallist in the Men's 470 class, Mat Belcher, grew up there and still calls Palm Beach on the Gold Coast home.
No doubt the Games will attract an increase in superyacht visitors and expansions at the two biggest boat yards in the region will be a major asset.
The Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard (GCCM) have announced an exciting new advancement at the refit and repair facility, increasing their superyacht lifting capacity to 300-tonne and setting a new city record for the largest vessel ever to be raised on the Gold Coast. To meet the growing demand for larger vessels visiting the facility, GCCM's Italian-built ASCOM mobile boat hoist has been upgraded to accommodate vessels up to 300-tonnes. The straddle carrier is also the city of Gold Coast's widest boat lift giving more capacity for larger beam vessels and catamarans visiting the region. The enhanced lifting capacity compliments the current on-water service berths for vessels up to 75-metres which have recently attracted a slew of high-profile international yachts such as SuRi (63-metre Expedition Yacht), Dragonfly (73-metre Silver Yacht), Lady Christine (68-metre Feadship) and Playpen (43-metre Custom Motor Yacht) for major on-water refit and refinishing projects.
Overseas companies dominate the rest of our news this week. Simrad Yachting, the global marine electronics leader for powerboating and sportfishing, is recognizing its 75th Anniversary this summer with a slate of initiatives including the celebration of boating's ability to bring people together, detailing the history of notable Simrad® products and publishing its own list of Simrad® 75 Great Boating Destinations. "Our heritage in marine electronics goes back to 1946, when surplus radios from the war were converted for use on commercial vessels and Simrad's very name comes from the amalgam of Simonsen Radio," said Mike Fargo, Executive Vice President of Simrad® at Navico, its parent company. "Since then, Simrad's innovation and technology has been featured on hundreds of thousands of water craft over the decades from small RIBs and sportfishing vessels to luxury cruisers and superyachts. Our core focus has always been to enable boaters - whether that's for fun, relaxation, sport, adventure or work."
From the UK, Actisense, the specialist marine electronics brand from Active Research Ltd based in Poole, has launched a free-to-use platform to help boaters, service agents and fleet managers to analyse and troubleshoot NMEA data from their onboard electronics network, to make journeys safer and more efficient. ActisenseCloud harnesses the power of cloud computing and gives users the ability to upload EBL log files from any NMEA 2000 network and to easily view data from all available PGNs online. Users are also able download these in common formats such as Excel, as well as formats such as GPX and KML, which allows users to then plot their journeys over time on Google Maps and Google Earth.
Volvo Penta's award-winning DPI Aquamatic sterndrive is now on the market as a triple installation. This new setup will allow larger boats - in the marine commercial and leisure sectors - to benefit from its outstanding performance and reliability and increase the power offering for existing boats. Volvo Penta revolutionized the boating industry when it introduced the Aquamatic back in 1959. Since then, the Aquamatic has been continuously updated - with innovations like the Duoprop, electric steering, and joystick. In 2019, Volvo Penta released their latest generation of Aquamatic drives, the DPI, that features unmatched comfort and maneuverability as well as increased performance and reduced maintenance. Now the company is taking its award-winning DPI Aquamatic to an expanded range of boats with the introduction of the triple installation - making this a viable option for larger boats of up to 60 feet.
And from Holland, entries have now opened for the long-awaited 30th edition of the DAME (Design Award at METSTRADE) Awards. Participation is open to manufacturers and authorised suppliers who are registered as exhibitors or co-exhibitors at the in-person METSTRADE 2021 show in RAI Amsterdam. Entries close on 17 September 2021. This year the DAME aims to return to its usual format, with entries judged across seven categories before an eventual winner is chosen. It is assessed by a jury comprising leading boat, interior and industrial designers, as well as user experts. The assessment criteria are focused on equipment design in all aspects, from styling, functionality and innovation, through to integration, practicality of use, price to performance and presentation.
While we are still in lockdown in NSW and borders have now shut across the whole country, keep positive, and with the acceleration of the vaccination roll out it will soon allow the restrictions to be relaxed and we can get out on the water again. In the meantime, stay well and safe.
Peter Rendle - peter.rendle@marinebusinessworld.com