There was a lot of Christmas cheer on board stunning Riviera yachts as hundreds of families across Australia came together to celebrate the festive season, rekindle old friendships and make new ones. From the Gold Coast and Brisbane to Perth, Sydney to South Australia; Riviera’s nationwide dealer network celebrated with the growing Riviera family.

A fleet of 15 Riviera yachts ventured into the Port River for the inaugural Riviera Owners Club Christmas Party

R Marine Queensland hosted a beach party at Jumpinpin just north of South Stradbroke Island for 126 Riviera owners.
Dealer principal Randall Jones said there was plenty of Christmas cheer at ‘Millionaires Row’. “The weather made for a perfect day to celebrate the start of the festive season,” he said. “It was quite a sight to see 36 Rivieras ranging from 33 to 61 feet all anchored together.

It was a perfect sunny day for 126 Riviera owners to celebrate Christmas at Jumpinpin

“The Riviera kids had a ball playing on inflatable toys, while the adults shared a drink and a few laughs while viewing the collage of photos on display as they recalled the great experiences shared this year on many of the R Marine Queensland owner events.”

Riviera Brisbane celebrated the festive season on the lawns of the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadran at Canaipa, Russell Island with 50 Riviera enthusiasts.

Morning mist over the water

Dealer principals Rod, Julie and Ben Crawley said everyone enjoyed a delicious spit roast and fresh prawns for lunch.
“It was a picturesque setting, with about 15 boats anchored in the bay,” Rod said. “We were all entertained by a live band, quickly nicknamed The Little Riviera Band, and even Santa popped in to hand out presents.  Peter Watkins won our lucky door prize which was a giant Teddy Bear in a Riviera hat.”

To Sydney and with the pop of a cork, the festivities began for 35 Riviera owners who joined R Marine Pittwater at Coasters Retreat otherwise known as The Basin for their annual Christmas Party which was held on December 2.

The R Marine Perth team gave it their best shot crossing the finish line at the tail end

R Marine Pittwater dealer principal Bruce Mitchell said it was great to see the Riviera family get together one last time before Christmas. “We held a party on the beach so our owners could start the weekend with like-minded people.  We thought The Basin was a good location because it is part of the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park and there were plenty of moorings available for the 15 Rivieras that attended the Christmas party,” Bruce said.

“The weather was good but cold so we had a fire raging to keep everyone warm and there were plenty of laughs and revelry as we sat around the camp fire reminiscing the year that was.”

R Marine Sydney hosted a spellbinding experience for 90 Riviera owners who enjoyed a magical day on the Hawkesbury River before enjoying a five-course lunch at exclusive waterfront restaurant Peats Bite.

The Riviera children had a blast plaing on the inflatable toys

R Marine Sydney dealer principal Michael Joyce said everyone relaxed over lunch and renewed old friendships.
“Conversation flowed easily as new acquaintances were made and shortly after lunch the fun factor increased as the crowd was introduced to professional hypnotist, ‘Stephen Spellmaster’,” Michael said.

Across to Western Australia where about 33 Riviera enthusiasts set sail for the Swan River to celebrate Christmas.

R Marine Perth dealer principal Brendon Grieve said this year the service team together with R Marine Perth staff and Riviera owners each hired a Foundation yacht for an afternoon of sailing. “A brief training session for the non sailors was followed by a race around Melville Waters and back through to the finish line in Matilda Bay,” Brendon said.
“The winners were Team RJ Vincent who took line honours, followed by The Boatmen and R Marine Perth at the tail end.”

Presentations took place at the Royal Perth Yacht Club overlooking the lights of beautiful Perth city. A barbecue dinner and drinks followed.

In Adelaide a fleet of 15 Rivieras with 65 on board braved the windy conditions as they entered the Port River for the inaugural R Marine South Australia Owners Club night.

Club secretary Glenn Spear said everyone had a great time on the Port River which has recently been named a Dolphin Sanctuary. “It was a fabulous first event, the self-catering system worked very well and thanks to the support of ‘Lexus of Adelaide’ who kindly donated the meat,” he said. “Judging by the quietness around the wharf the next morning, it seems everybody had a great time. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope to see more members of the Riviera family again at American River for our New Year’s Eve celebrations.”

Riviera’s dealer networks look forward to welcoming the New Year and have an exciting line up of owner events planned for 2012 across Australia and around the world.

Riviera offers 20 different models from 36 to 85 feet across four model series Flybridge, Sport Yacht, Offshore Express and Motor Yachts.