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Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show Triumphs - 2016 Dates launched - 19-22 May
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Blessed by classic Gold Coast autumn weather over the four days, the 2015 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show celebrated 27 years and ‘the best show in five years’ according to exhibitors, partners, sponsors and other stakeholders.
This year the Show saw 39,373 visitors attend from local, drive, interstate and international markets enjoying more than 269 registered exhibitors, hundreds of boats on display, thousands of innovative marine products, world-first launches and non-stop entertainment for families, foodies and boaties alike.
At the end of the four day marine extravaganza, exhibitors deemed the 2015 edition an overwhelming success with the majority expressing satisfaction with sales results and quality leads.
Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show general manager, Johan Hasser, said the boat show team were pleased it delivered a quality show with genuine buyers, high consumer confidence and an influx of new visitors from interstate, New Zealand and Asia.
“The first indicators and feedback from exhibitors are extremely positive with major sales happening across the Show. And as we know, most of the sales come in the days and weeks after SCIBS following sea trials and negotiations,” he said.
Among the satisfied exhibitors at SCIBS this year were Maritimo, Grand Banks, Palm Beach Motor Yachts, Stefan Boating World, Elandra Yachts, Leigh-Smith Yachts, Integrity Motor Yachts and Multihull Solutions – to name just a few.
Maritimo’s Greg Haines sold in excess of $10 million in boats and has obtained very healthy leads from the show. “We are more than happy with the sales to date and we anticipate more sales to occur post-show with the extensive list of quality leads we have received.”
Legendary Sydney Hobart skipper and CEO of Grand Banks and Palm Beach Motor Yachts, Mark Richards, reported that the Grand Banks on show, the new 54 Heritage EU sold for $2.25 million to a Sydney buyer.
Richards also reported two sales, the PB 55 and PB 65, as well as strong leads adding to the full order book.
“It’s been a great show all round, well above expectations and lots of new people which is always good. We have very strong leads on Palm Beach and Grand Banks. SCIBS is always a top show for us.”
Brett Flanigan from Integrity sold two new model 46 Raised Pilot House boats on the same day and is expecting “plenty more to come”.
“This year’s SCIBS was fantastic. One of our best. We have been exhibiting at SCIBS since launching in 2009 and have just sold our 54th boat. We have noticed very positive sentiment. We will sell five boats, maybe more. We have just signed a new boat for Dick and Jill Johnson, which is exciting.”
Jed Elderkin from EMarine had one Back Cove 37 on the water. “This is our ninth straight SCIBS and we wouldn’t miss it. There’s been a lot of interest this year and the mood is really positive. Boaties know our brand and we have spoken to a number of people, with some good leads. SCIBS is really a marketing exercise for us rather than straight sales.”
Rebecca Penny, marketing manager for AeromilPacific said the boat show is the ideal fit with aviation. “This is our first time at SCIBS and we are loving it. People are very responsive. It’s amazing the number of pilots that we have seen here. It’s great to put the seaplane in this context. There’s a good synergy.”
Stefan Boating World exhibited in the Marine Village and on water with the 32-ft Karnic 2965. “We have been inundated,” said Rose, one half of the dynamic duo. “It’s the ideal cruiser,” she continued “with all the features of a much larger motoryacht, for just $280,000. People were blown away and yes, we are confident of a few sales. We even have a very famous Queenslander lined up to buy one.”
Scott O’Hare, Australian distributor for Chaparral, said they have had “incredibly huge enquiry”, particularly for the 27 Cruiser. “We sold three boats during the show and have a huge number of leads. We are hanging out for the sea trials, when we will convert a bunch more. We are surprising ourselves with the Chaparral boats and have high hopes for Stefan and Rose now handling the brand with their charisma and enthusiasm.”
A veteran of seven SCIBS, Scott said “it feels like we’re close to better times. Queensland has been weak for a few years, but it’s coming back.”
Scott, who became a dealer for Elandra Yachts in 2014, was also representing the new marque at SCIBS with founder and director, Luke Durman.
“There were so many Victorians this year,” said Scott. “They view SCIBS as the premium boat show and come up here looking for some sunshine and to see what’s new. There has been a very good response to the Elandra 53 which sold at the show and lot of interest in the plans for the new 47. People really appreciate the thought-process that has gone into these boats.”
Luke Durman is thrilled with the Elandra’s SCIBS’ debut. “We had a great show. There are several people who have reserved production slots, which is a vote of confidence.
In the multihulls, Brent Vaughan from Multihull Central closed two deals during the show, with many more on the horizon. “We sold one of each – the Seawind 1250 and 1160, with lots of interest for the Aquila power cat, launching at SCIBS in 2016.”
The Corsair Pulse 600 was one of the stars of the show, making its global debut at SCIBS. “We sold 20 in the lead up to SCIBS and judging by the thousands of selfies people have been taking and sea trials we’ve booked, we will sell a lot more,” said Vaughan. “We have had phenomenal interest. I would be surprised if we didn’t sell three or four of the Pulse.
At Horizon Motor Yachts Australia, Erica Rae reported a contract on the PC52 and many exceptional leads on the E88 and E70, with sea trials booked. “The show was really good this year,” she said. “We’re noticing a comeback in clients from the mining sector, which is great for us!”
Dean Leigh-Smith said the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show was “exceptional” and they sold the stunning Alaska 47 with other sales expected across a number of their 12 boats on water in the coming days.
Wayne Thompson from Garmin says “numbers are up and so is interest. “Our Forward Facing Sonar and packages are proving popular.”
Kevin Barr, director at Barz Optics, which was awarded Most Innovative Export Product for its polarized-lenses and floating sunglasses were “blown away”. “We definitely had the best start to the boat show in four to five years,” says Kevin.
David Tanner from Stella Systems has been exhibiting at SCIBS for 26 years. “We’ve had the best show since 2008, it’s been incredible,” said Mr Tanner.
“The quality of customer is there, the numbers are strong, it feels like there are more people here. I don’t think we’ve had that feeling of confidence and positivity in such a long time.”
In the Pavilions, traffic was solid all day. Finscan said that “the B2B trading has never been better”. Carlo Camu said “there has been exceptional interest in the Nucleus launch, which we’re very excited about”.
MarineTech Industries David Goldsach, said that he has been coming to SCIBS since 1988 and even after a tough couple of years, he has noticed a massive increase in consumer confidence “and a mountain of quotes this year”.
Also stating a great show was third year major sponsor, EuroMarque Maserati Brisbane who sold three Maserati Ghiblis across the four days.
SCIBS General Manager Johan Hasser added that in 2015 the Gold Coast Marine Expo chose to run its event on the same four days as SCIBS.
“The impact of Expo’s date clash was voiced by many exhibitors and sponsors of SCIBS. This year proves there is certainly a place for two major boat shows annually on the Gold Coast, but at different times of the year,” he said.
“There is no way logistically possible to link the two Shows by way of transportation and we simply don’t have the population to sustain two major boating events on the same weekend. Overwhelming exhibitor feedback is they would like to see the Expo move their dates back to October providing a second marine event later in the year.”
Other sponsors of the Show included Hawker Pacific, Club Marine, Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts, Channel 7, Tradeaboat, Ocean & Sails Magazines, Boatpoint, Gold Coast Tourism, Movie World, Ticketmaster, Bimbadgen, Gold Coast City Council, Queensland Government, Marine Queensland, AIMEX and Superyacht Australia, Gold FM and Sea World.
Announced - Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show Dates:
19-22 May 2016
25-28 May 2017
24-27 May 2018
For more information visit www.sanctuarycoveboatshow.com.au.
Photo : SCIBS
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