More positive news as a global report ticks the boxes - MarineBusinessWorld Oceania newsletter
by Peter Rendle 3 Nov 2022 16:00 PDT
World Sailing President hails resilience of World Sailing family at annual Council meeting © World Sailing / Tom Roberts
The World Sailing Council met to present a series of reports from each of the committees to update members on the current direction of the sport and future priorities. Opening the Council meeting, World Sailing President, Quanhai Li, praised the resilience of the sport and its members after bouncing back from a challenging two-year period.
He said, "I am delighted to find that the World Sailing family is responding to Covid with a positive attitude. Our sailors never give up on this great sport. We have seen all kinds of sailing events returning across the world, our sailors shine in world and regional competitions, with unbelievable performances."
President Li reiterated the Board's commitment to gender equality, strengthening relations between World Sailing and the International Olympic Committee in the build up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and with the International Paralympic Committee regarding the #BacktheBid campaign to see sailing reinstated as a Paralympic event for LA28. He also stressed that World Sailing is far more financially secure than this time last year.
In Australia the world speed land sailing record strives against adverse conditions. After an enforced break over the past week at Lake Gairdner the team are back on location making the most of every vital window that becomes available to get more speed runs in. It has not been an easy time watching a seemingly regular schedule of precipitation continue to maintain moisture on the lake surface.
Glenn Ashby explains that as frustrating as the unpredictability is with the conditions, they are extremely dynamic and can change in front of your eyes for the positive: "We have had about four days where we have had a little bit of rain which unfortunately puts more water back on the lake each time. Just as it appears to dry out, it seems to rain again which is a bit of bad luck."
Dealer expansions continue to occur, the latest from Quintrex. Quintrex is taking Sydney's Northern Beaches community by storm, with its latest dealership setting up shop in the heart of the bustling New South Wales hub. Beaches Quintrex now holds title as the newest addition to the brands line-up of top-level dealerships, bringing accessibility to the local Australian community to another level.
The dealership is said to have been cherry-picked simply for its outstanding business approach - showcasing impeccable business etiquette and instilling the same values as the Quintrex brand. "Beaches Quintrex is ultimately a testament to our brand, encompassing what we're all about in delivering exceptional customer service, bestowing industry expertise, promising ease of access for all local community members, plus showcasing a hunger for innovation and passion for all things boating," said Eric Steele, District Sales Manager.
Further North in Queensland, Sunreef Yachts has announced their newest partnership with luxury marine group Ray White Marine. The partnership was formed over the Monaco Yacht Show as Sunreef Yachts is looking to produce strong sales in the Asia-Pacific Region with many active leads in the pipeline for the brand down under. "Australia is an amazing market for our product and a perfect cruising arena for our catamarans. We are excited to begin our collaboration with Ray White Marine - a reliable and professional partner with unique expertise," says Francis Lapp CEO of Sunreef Yachts.
"We are very excited with the new partnership, we have watched the brand grow and evolve over the past few years and the product is proving to be very popular with innovative eco technology and stylish exterior lines," says Sales Director, Brock Rodwell.
Globally, AVIKUS, HD Hyundai's autonomous navigation in-house start-up, and global marine electronics leader Raymarine, announced today the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. The two organizations will cooperate on the integration of the world's first autonomous leisure boat solution, the Avikus NeuBoat, into Raymarine's world-leading navigational products.
In addition, the MoU includes a cooperation on exploring the future of autonomous leisure boating and joint development. Raymarine brings world-leading expertise in marine electronics and navigational equipment for leisure boats to the project, while Avikus is known for the most advanced autonomous leisure boat technology available - coupled with vast experience from the world's largest order book of autonomous commercial marine navigation systems.
And we are reminded that electronics plays an important part in our safety while we are at sea. Garmin® International supported the milestone of 10,000 SOS incidents with an inReach® device. As a global leader in two-way satellite communication, Garmin offers a wide variety of handheld devices with inReach technology allowing for two-way text messaging, location tracking, and critical SOS emergency response services, providing peace of mind to individuals around the world.
From family camping trips in California to mountain climbing in the European Alps, inReach users participate in a variety of adventures, and thanks to inReach, users have the security of knowing help can be a button press away.
New products this week includes Simrad. Simrad Yachting unveiled two of its new high-performance radar products this week with the Simrad® HALO® 2000 and HALO 3000 now available to customers around the world. The HALO 2000, starting at $6,399, and HALO 3000, starting at $8,499, both feature higher power pulse compression and improved detection ranges to offer the most powerful Simrad® HALO radars on the market. Other key integrations like Bird+ Mode, ZoneTrack™ and support for Dangerous Target Alerts provide users even more technical and safety benefits.
The new HALO radars are on display this week at the Navico Group exhibit during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. "We're proud to be the original inventor and innovator behind solid state recreational marine radar and we are excited to unveil our most powerful radar yet," said Kevin Steinbraker, VP and General Manager, Digital Systems at Navico Group.
"This next-generation open array radar delivers even more power and resolution than before, offering increased safety, more accuracy and better range. By coupling our advanced pulse scheme with our class-leading resolution, we are providing boaters of all types with the best radar on the market for target detection, resolution, system reliability and ease of use."
Looking toward the future, the next Boating Industry Academy Open Day will take place Wednesday 9 November at 4.30pm at Gold Coast City Marina in Coomera for students and parents to learn more about the unique and immersive industry education experience and talk to key boating and marine employers about the various career pathways available.
Stay safe,
Peter Rendle - peter.rendle@marinebusinessworld.com