SANCTUARY COVE BOAT SHOW: The best in 10 years

The pleasure-boat industry is buzzing after the 29th Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) boasted record sales and strong visitor feedback from what has been hailed the best show in 10 years.

Clear sunny skies across the four days from May 25-28 saw increased visitor numbers of 42,256, which is up around 5 per cent on the best post-GFC years where about 40,000 came to SCIBS.

Back on track, the SCIBS showcase attraced 300 exhibitors with new and brokerage boats and products worth more than $200 million. There were major global, Australian and Queensland debuts from some of the big names in the businesses.

Although there was a bigger mix of brokerage boats on the marina, the interest was substantial with new sales announced during the show and attributed directly to it.

The take-home message from Sanctuary Cove was the return of high-quality boats and buyers. Tyre kickers and the Sunday family pram pushers were replaced by educated boaters looking for high-end craft and the latest gear.

Unsurprisingly, the local Sanctuary Cove marine tenants stole the post-show press headlines...

LUXURY BOATS BACK
Maritimo, which had its biggest ever boat-show footprint thanks to its new Sanctuary Cove offices, exhibited seven new boats headed by the debut M59 and S59, plus three second-hand boats in a $25m showcase.

"It has been non-stop, unbelievable. The feedback from the new models, the M59 and S59 has been entirely positive and we are very happy with sales and leads," said Greg Haines from sales and marketing at Maritimo, adding that
this year’s Show had proven to be the best SCIBS since the GFC.

Although he was playing his cards close to his chest, Maritimo surprised itself with more than a half dozen luxury motor yachts sold directly from the show.

"The response to the two new models we revealed to the Australian market for the first time, the S59 and the M59 was tremendous," he said.

"Many of the comments related to the quality of these two vessels which is pleasing as the company has been strategically driving up its build quality and finish for several years now."

Haines said while Maritimo did not reveal actual sales numbers for reasons of commercial in-confidence the company 'was very , very pleased' with the sales result and the quality of leads generated.

"We have finished the show on an absolute high and I can say that our forward order book for the rest of 2017 and into 2018 looks significantly healthier than prior to the show," he said.

Horizon had seven boats on water and were busy across the four days, with a heap of inquiry on the E84 and the Aussie-spec E56XO Sport Yacht,

"It was an awesome Show — the quality of enquiry was incredible," said Erica Rae, marketing manager at Horizon Motor Yachts Australia.

"We are confident we will sell a couple of boats in the next few weeks. Things are really looking up."

During SCIBS, HMYA announces the sales of a Horizon RP115, a 122-foot one-of-a-kind motor yacht scheduled for delivery in early 2019.

Veteran SCIBS exhibitor Leigh Smith Yachts also had a bumper four days, with director Ryan Leigh Smith reporting strong interest on the launch of its new Fairline Targa.

"We had a strong Boat Show which has resulted in the sale of the 49 Squadron and it looks like at this stage the sale of a 53 GT as well," he said.

Queensland Marine Centre (QMC), which has the Boston Whaler and Sea Ray brands, reportedly sold a lot of boats under 30-foot and a few over 40-foot.

"We sold two Sea Rays and half a dozen Boston Whalers," QMC principal Andrew Bennett said.

"It was a fantastic Show and all the feedback indicates visitors had a top experience. We saw heaps of Kiwis, plenty from Melbourne and NSW and lots of locals.

"We should have a big week coming up with sea trials to seal away a few more deals, probably the same amount again – eight or so in the next few weeks."

Returning for the first time in about three years, Clipper Motor Yachts was reminded of the quality of the SCIBS showgoers and that the bigger boats held the most interest.

"Numbers were up, it was impressive, we sold boats and we’re pretty happy. It’s an educated crowd and we met a lot of people who were talking about our product that we hadn’t met before. The organisers were easy to work with and we’ll be back in a big way next year," Brett Thurley, principal of Clipper Motor Yachts, said.

With a substantial presence on water, Sanctuary Cove-based dealer, Integrity Motor Yachts was celebrating multiple sales and excellent leads for the coming weeks.

Brett Flanagan, owner and dealer principal said they had sold a new Integrity 53 Grand Sedan, a one-year old trade-in 490 Grand Sedan, and a new 440 Grand Sedan with the 2017 layout and they were expecting more to come.

MULTIHULLS
John Cowpe at The Multihull Group was extremely satisfied to report sales of a new Lagoon 40, Lagoon 50 and a Lagoon 42, adding that the Group were also likely to sell two of the brand new Lagoon 630 MY models.

"It has been thrilling!" he said. "We have loved SCIBS this year — great weather, great people, excellent organisation. It’s the premier boat show in Queensland with international appeal. People travel from around Australia and the region to see the latest on show at SCIBS," he said.

From Multihull Central, Brent Vaughan said the had a cracking show, with four boats sold including two Seawind 1160 Lites and an Aquila 44 Powercat, plus an Outremer 51. That’s a total of $4 million this Boat Show, which is a record for the business.

Mark Elkington from Multihull Solutions they sold total of $3.8 million in multihulls and that the market was going from strength to strength.

"At SCIBS this year, there were buyers from all around the region, NZ and Australia. We are progressing three sales, one from Singapore, another for a NSW client and the third for NZ."

TRAILERBOAT BOOM
Bill Hull, sales manager at Northside Marine said the Show netted six sales for the company across the four days, equating to more than $1 million.

"We’ve sold three Whittleys (26s and 28s), a sports boat and two fishing boats — this has definitely been a better year than last year," he said.

Jeff McNiven, owner of JSW Powersports said they had sold three Malibu wakeboats, which they were showing for the first time at SCIBS in 2017.

"We’ve had a lot of enthusiastic buyers. We’ve had a lot of good quality customers and we’ve got a stack of paperwork an inch high with leads, leads, leads, so we’re very happy," he said.

JSW Powersports also had a strong show with its Sea Fox centre console fishing and family boats and its Sea-Doo water craft, selling a couple of dozen water craft.

From RIB Force Inflatables, Mike Orsmond said Thursday, Friday and Sunday were bumper days, which resulted in exceptional leads and some sales.

"We’ve sold 10 to 12 open RIBS mainly as tenders, four centre consoles in the AB RIBS and one Aurora, and some larger models to commercial clients, as well as many leads we have to get through in the next couple of days," Mr Orsmond said.

A veteran of around 24 editions of SCIBS, Orsmond said SCIBS was returning to its former glory as one of the most significant shows on the boat show calendar.

Brig was another success story in the inflatable boat sector at SCIBS.

ACCESSORY MARKET
Over in the Pavilions, sales in the marine technology sector soared across the Show, with Damian Weaver, general manager of Raymarine saying the products had been extremely well received.

"There’s been a lot of interest in our new Axiom navigation product, which was released back in February, and this was one of the first public showings of it, so that’s gone really well," he said.

SCIBS general manager Johan Hasser said The Marine Village was abuzz on the last day of the Show, with tens of thousands of families enjoying the closing day.

"We owe this year’s success to a combination of great product offering, dedicated exhibitors, an exciting Show format and superb weather. We are really pleased with the result," Hasser said

More at Sanctuary Cove boat show.