
The first boating showcase slated for Victoria since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shifted its dates as the city hosting it grapples with yet another extended lockdown due to the coronavirus.
The Boating Industry Association of Victoria announced today the event would shift to November 6-7 – four weeks later than originally scheduled – to give Melbourne a chance to come out of its sixth lockdown related to the coronavirus.
“In the spirit of staying positive, the show must go on and at this stage, it certainly will – now with a revised date of the weekend of November 6-7,” the BIAV said.
“This is the weekend after [Melbourne] Cup Weekend, four weeks after the original dates, and potentially, post-lockdown.

“This date will bring warmer weather, longer days, more time to get stock, more time for preparation, and, the opportunity for a hugely successful event.”
The BAIV is keen to host the event as demand for boats and the boating lifestyle soars in Australia as interstate and international borders close and people look to “staycation”, or spend their holidays in the areas where they live.

The target audience for the event, to be held at the National Water Sports Centre at Bangholme in Melbourne’s east, are new and lapsed boaters. The new venue includes an on-water display that for the first time can allow test drives of boats on display.
As well as the on-water displays, organisers plan to have the Better Boating Victoria Welcome to Boating Hub, a boater's marketplace, safety education, entertainment, the GoJo Bar, picnic lawn, trailer clinic, food trucks, coffee carts, apprentice awards, and more.