Sydney International Boat Show - photo © AAP Medianet
Dear Recipient Name
It was a great mid-winter Sydney morning that set the scene for the first day of the 51st Sydney International Boat Show. The Darling Harbour complex provides the ideal venue for a wide cross-section of industry members to display their wares and sell some product.
General feelings from exhibitors are buoyant though the current political atmosphere is putting a damper on the future outlook, and the government needs to become a lot more assertive over a number of issues to restore confidence in consumer spending.
Two of Australia's most high-profile boat builders feature in this week's Marine Business World e-newsletter. It has been just six years since Rodney Longhurst bought Riviera, and empowered his team at their Coomera (Queensland) headquarters. Profitability has returned, and they have also re-opened hitherto closed sections of the factory to build more new boats. There are also technological advancements, like the robot that sprays the varnish onto the über-high gloss work of the new 68/72 Sport Motor Yacht sisters. And then there is the whole 18-model collection that they sell over 110 of a year.
On this first day of SIBS one of the most exciting advances in the international sport yacht sector is how Australia's Maritimo took a quantum leap forward with the first release of details of the new dynamic X50 sport yacht. The X50 and its internationally successful sibling the X60 have re-written the status quo for sport yachts internationally, with further breakthroughs in design innovation and technology.
On the product scene Lowrance has just announced a price drop across its Elite Ti range of multifunction displays. The new recommended retail prices incorporate savings of 20% off the previous RRPs, with dollar savings up to 700 AUD. With displays available in 5, 7, 9, and 12-inch screen sizes, the Elite Ti Series features clean yet rugged styling anglers have come to expect from Lowrance.
From Australian manufacturer GME comes the MT603 Series of water-activated GPS. GME are the most advanced MEOSAR-ready 406 MHz digital EPIRBs on the market today. Designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia, the MT603 Series of EPIRBs have obtained international Cospas-Sarsat approval.
Another Australian success story, manufacturer VEEM Ltd, has confirmed orders for its market-leading gyrostabilizers from some of the most prestigious superyacht builders in Europe: Dutch prestige superyacht builders Feadship Royal De Vries, Royal Huisman, Van Der Valk Shipyard and Talsma Shipyard, together with French superyacht builder Couach Shipyards.
Fresh from announcing its Australia and NZ operations returning to factory ownership, Horizon Yacht Australia has appointed a new National Sales Manager. Tony Jones will join Mark Western and Erica Rae, based at Sanctuary Cove on Queensland's Gold Coast, and will head up the regional sales team, devising strategy and liaising with Horizon HQ.
And the team at Australia's Sirocco Marine have scooped the BRIG International Dealer of the Year Award, recently conferred upon Neil Webster and his team at the BRIG headquarters and factory in the Ukraine. The award is Sirocco Marine's fifth, beating more than 60 dealerships around the world.
Overseas in the USA the 28th International Boatbuilders' Exhibition and Conference (IBEX), held October 2-4 at the Tampa Convention Centre, offers visitors an expanded education program to meet the interests and demands of professionals focused on every aspect of the boatbuilding industry.
A special session entitled Designing for Speed will explore the diversity of different notions of speed on the water and includes a panel of well-known boat designers responsible for creating everything from thrilling small sailing foilers and outboard skiffs to large offshore speed record holders in power and sail. In this special session, moderated by Professional Boatbuilder magazine, visitors are invited to ask top designers how they interpret and deliver on clients' needs for speed. The panel includes Nigel Irens, Pete Melvin, Michael Peters, Michael Reardon, and Donald Blount.
We will be attending the Sydney International Boat Show until the close next Monday and we will look for comments from the industry for thoughts on how the next twelve months will pan out. If you would like to offer your own opinions send me an email: peter.rendle@sail-world.com
Aveagooden,
Peter Rendle, Sail-World.com
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