Sanctuary Cove predicts bumper year

Phil Shaw, the events and operations manager for next year's 2011 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, is delighted by the initial response from exhibitors and predicts more than 400 exhibitors will make an apperance at the show in May next year.

Among the crowd-pleasing displays will be the 31.5 metre long-range super yacht being exhibited by New Zealand's Diverse Projects. Designed by Craig Loomes of LoMocean design, the vessel has been built to Germanischer Lloyd 100 A5 class survey and no expense has been spared.

Diverse Projects' Lars Bjorklund says the interior is being designed by Chris Connell of Melbourne and constructed by Specialist Marine Interior of Whangarei in the Shaky Isles. The vessel is expected to be completed early next year and will make her international debut at Sanctuary Cove.

Just a few weeks since bookings for the 2011 show opened, more than 130 exhibitors have signed up. A survey of exhibitors at the 2010 show revealed they saw buyers and visitors from more than 20 countries including the US, Korea, India, Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and France.