The third day of this year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) saw a local Gold Coast couple rank among the buyers of a string of luxury yachts.
Aerial view of the SCIBS 2013
The first day of the weekend saw sunny skies and big crowd numbers descend on The Marine Village, with many exhibitors starting to see initial inspections leading to sales conversions.
Success stories have started to sail in from a range of boating and marine gadgetry products on display, with high end boats through to the little runabouts doing well.
Luxury catamaran distributor Multihull Solutions sold two of its Summerland 40ft editions as well as a Hélia 44 Fountaine Pajot.
One of its $690,000 Summerland 40 models was snapped up by a local Gold Coast couple, with the second going to a New Zealand couple visiting the Show. A Victorian couple is the proud new owner of a $735,000 Hélia 44.
Kim McKee, marketing manager of Multihull Solutions said the couple from Victoria was planning to pick up their new cruiser from the factory in France and spend some time cruising the Mediterranean before returning home to Australia.
Luxury yachts on display at SCIBS 2013
“They are going to take the opportunity to pick the boat up from the factory in La Rochelle and enjoy some time cruising overseas before sailing her home,” she said.
“We’ve had a great show so far, our target was to sell a boat a day and we’re on target.”
Seawind catamarans distributor Brent Vaughan of Multihull Central also sold a new Seawind 1160 to a Bundaberg couple who plan to sail around south east Queensland before relocating to Tasmania and setting up home on board.
“The couple who purchased said they spent some time on a friend’s Seawind 1000 so they wanted to look at purchasing one for themselves,” he said.
“They chose the 1160 for more accommodation and more features including a tri-folding door system which makes it ideal for colder climates like Tasmania.”
SCIBS 2013 by night
Environmentally friendly options are also proving popular at this year’s SCIBS. Dan Jones, sales manager of Sydney based E-Yachts said the Windcraft display had sold two of its Greenline 33 hybrids to Sydney based buyers who were visiting the Show.
He said they had also sold a Greenline 40 hybrid model to a Brisbane buyer, which is making its first appearance at a Queensland boat show.
“We’ve had a lot of interest in our hybrid models from the retirement demographic,” said Mr Jones.
“They like the fact that it is low cost and the fact it is hybrid. We’ve had strong interest from those who live on canals and like the idea of cruising in silent hybrid mode.”
The mid-ranged runabouts have also fared well on day three of the Show. JD’s Boatshed made two sales including one vessel, the Cobalt 24SD which sold for $115,990, and a smaller model Cobalt Glastron MX185 was sold for $33,500.
Mark Taylor, general manager for JD’s Boatshed in Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast said he was pleased with the day’s sales, both to local buyers.
“This is the first time release of the Cobalt 24SD in Australia, and there’s been a really positive response,” he said.
“People who were looking at our boats yesterday have been coming back, so we’re confident we can get some more sales.”
General manager of Gold Coast-based company Active Water Sports Ross Brain said the Show had so far produced strong results in sales of his Walker Bay dinghies and outboards, which averaged in price around $1800.
“We’ve had about 15 sales since Thursday, including the purchase of four vessels to one customer,” he said.
SCIBS, which is in its 25th year in 2013 runs from 9am to 5pm Thursday, May 23 to Sunday May 26.
Tomorrow’s Show highlights include:
• Meet and greet opportunity with Gold Coast Suns players
• Cooking with My Kitchen Rules QLD contestants and runners up Jake and Elle
• High tea on the High Seas – Women on Water cruise hosted by Channel 7 personality Liz Cantor
