Show floats many boats
Roaring trade for marine exhibition
INDUSTRY veterans have branded 2019’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show the best in the event’s 31-yearhistory.
A total of 47,243 people flocked to The Marine Village precinct to view 182 boats on water and 423 on land throughout the area.
The crowd marks a three per cent increase on the previous year.
Garth Corbitt, chief executive of leading luxury cruise manufacturer Maritimo, said the total number of sales would not be known for several weeks, as deals were negotiated and finalised while buyers conducted sea trials.
“Needless to say, we are very happy with the response, with sales of both our flybridge motor yachts and the newly released X50 being strong,” he said.
“With many millions of dollars worth of deals finalised and more pending, our forward-order pipeline is extremely healthy.”
Mr Corbitt said the world premiere of the X50 on Friday had been a headline-grabber and it was set to be a very successful model for Maritimo.
The company was one of 334 exhibitors with displays during the weekend.
Garmin manager Gordon Triplett said he was pleased with the response from crowds throughout the event.
“Thursday and Friday were great, with all the big boys doing sales down on the marina, and it’s been really positive with all the mums and dads across the weekend,” he said. “One of our retailers who is here supporting us has done really, really well, including selling out of some products.”