Doors close on ‘best-in-decades’ Sanctuary Cove show

The official tally for the four-day event, which officially closed yesterday, tallied 51,832, up 10 percent from when the last show was held in 2019.

The show was not held last year as the COVID-19 pandemic swept Australia in the early part of 2020. Instead, show organisers held a one-off Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival in November that was a scaled-down version of the event.

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The show’s on-water display was bigger and better than previous years, however, the number of trailer boats was clearly down – a sign that dealers are facing stock shortages as buyers swoop on showrooms to buy whatever is available.

Sanctuary Cove show general manager Johan Hasser said the quality and stature of this year’s event was exceptional.

“Without a doubt, the 2021 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show is the best show we’ve ever had,” Hasser said.

“We’ve never seen anything like it in terms of commercial success for exhibitors, with more than $250 million in sales across four days.

“As the show where the marine business does business, it’s fantastic to see our exhibitors converting quality leads during what can only be described as a unique time for the industry.

“We increased the size of our marina displays this year, which enabled us to facilitate more premium recreational vessels and superyachts on water than in previous years,” he said.

“It is also expected that the economic impact of this year’s event will far exceed the $336 million that was injected into the local economy in 2019.”

Buyers were clearly out in force, with the Horizon RP100 superyacht on show sold within hours of the event opening its hates on Thursday.

Gold Coast-based luxury motor yacht maker Riviera said it welcomed 25 new owners into its family via the Sanctuary Cove show.

“We also announced the new-era design Riviera 78 MY for 2022 and educated over 600 owners at 40 boating workshops,” Riviera marketing and communications director Stephen Milne said.

Australia’s other luxury motor yacht marque, Maritimo, used the show for the global launches of the M55 flybridge and S55 sedan models.

“The M55 has been our most successful model on debut ever and the S55 is fast following its footsteps,” Maritimo design director Tom Barry-Cotter said.

“If the response to our new models and others in the range this weekend is any indication, we are going to have a very strong year and the future is looking extremely positive.”

Delivery times for some models are believed to have already pushed out to 2023.

Horizon’s sale of the $12.9 million Horizon RP100 was officially the first sale of the event, with Horizon Yachts Australia dealer principal Mark Western saying the Friday, in particular, was an “unbelievable” day.

“It’s been a really good show and there are lots of buyers around,” Western said.

“We anticipate that we’ll sell another three or four boats off the back of the show, including the FD87, which unfortunately didn’t make it in time for its global launch.”

Horizon Yachts Australia is believed to be working towards showing the Horizon FD87 to potential buyers early next month.

Princess Yachts had the Australian debut of the V55 sedan and F55 flybridge at the event.

Princess dealer principal Greg Haines said the show’s atmosphere, the number of leads generated and the new marina layout made the 2021 show the best he had ever attended.

Palm Beach Motor Yachts, meanwhile, hosted the debut of its flagship GT60.

Palm Beach chief executive Mark Richards said the event’s new expanded layout had given it a new lease on life.

The Multihull Group had a number of Australian debuts, including the Fountaine Pajot Elba 45 sailing catamaran, the Fountaine Pajot MY5 powered catamaran and ILIAD 50 powered catamaran

“The show has been incredibly successful,” The Multihull Group’s Rohan McMahon said.

“We’ve had customers placing orders and planning future cruising. It’s been great to see so many visitors travel from interstate to enjoy the fantastic lifestyle offerings that SCIBS has to offer.”

Queensland Marine Centre also hosed a number of Australian launches featuring Sundancer leisure boats, Boston Whaler saltwater fishers and Crest pontoon models.

“We’ve seen some great sales come through over the weekend and the mood of the show is very similar to those of the golden years [in the early 2000s],” QMC dealer principal Andrew Bennett said.

“It’s been one of the best events we’ve attended in the past several years.”

Northside Marine welcomed hundreds of visitors to its stand, showcasing the Jeanneau, Stabicraft and Surtees brands, and hosting the Australasian premiere of the new Jeanneau 10.5 WA s2.

“The weather has been perfect, the atmosphere has been great and the crowds have been huge. It’s definitely one of the best shows in recent times. We’ve been doing a lot of business with very strong sales across all three brands,” said Northside Marine’s Bill Hull.

The cheque books were also out for cars, with Bentley selling six of its models off the stand.

The show will return to Sanctuary Cove from May 19 to 22 next year.