2019 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show kicks off in style

This year’s show has opened with more than 320 exhibitors, with about 200 boats on the waters around the Sanctuary Cove marina and another 500 on land.

While most of the attention was on the top end of town – Riviera unveiled its Platinum Edition line of sport yachts and an all-new 54 enclosed flybridge model, while Maritimo showed the X50 for the very first time and well as revealing updates to key models – the number of trailer boats on show took up at least an extra 20 per cent of the venue’s space this year.

One trailer boat on show was wearing a price tag nudging a jaw-dropping $450,000. We’ll tell you a bit more about that one soon.

The uptick in the number of boats, and the flood of new craft entering the Australian and global markets made Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show general manager Johan Hasser confident that the crowds, and sales, would follow.

“All the signs are showing that records will be broken again this year,” he said.

This year is expected to generate around $150 million in sales for exhibitors, with the likes of Maritimo revealing that it had already booked three orders for its X50 sports yacht in the lead-up to the event.

The biggest boat on show wears a Horizon badge. The custom motor yacht The Legion stretches 122 feet, comes with a $10-million-plus price tag, and scuttlebut around the marina hinted that the cost of its saloon’s grand circular chandelier, visible from the dockside, alone tipped into six figures.

Maritimo is also thinking big, revealing at the show that it was working on a new, larger model for its X Series.

“We’re always looking at opportunities, and we have many products that are being designed but not developed,” Maritimo operations manager Phil Candler said.

“Yes, we have designed a larger X Series, but that is only internal and not released yet.”

Riviera, which dropped the 54 Enclosed Flybridge as something of a surprise after revealing its Platinum Edition updates for the e4600, 5400 and 6000 Sports yacht models, hinted that it would have “special news” to share with everyone at August’s Sydney International Boat Show.

Other major reveals include the Fairlane 48 GT from Leigh-Smith Yachts, the Black Cove 37 Classic, the Hudson Bay 470 from Clipper Yachts, the Integrity Motor Yachts 380SX coupe, the Galeon 460 Fly and 510 Skydeck, the surprisingly spacious and avantgarde Horizon FD77, the sleek, long and low Plm Beach GT50, the Whitehaven 6100 Coupe, and the very US crossover-styled Jeanneau Cap Camarat 9.0 centre console.

The 2019 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show will run until May 26.