IT’S A DOG’S LIFE FOR PETE
The retired ex-Riviera and Maritimo boat manufacturing firm bigwig Peter Jenkins loves nothing more than a day on the Broadwater with his Party Cat and pooch Brilly
What’s in the harbour? I have my Party Cat. It’s a 7.5m day boat, I’ve had it for 10 years. I just use it for cruising around and mainly to give the dog a bath and let him have a swim. That’s Brilly, he’s a Shih tzu and King Charles cross and he just loves the water. The Party Cats are made in Caboolture. It can do 35 knots. It is not a pretty thing but it is very practical. If it rains it has the canopy, which also keeps you out of the sun. I just leave it parked outside the house at Paradise Waters. I take it out about once a week.
Anything else? Yeah, I have a Chris Craft 43 made in America. It has a pair of big diesels on the back. We take that to Hamilton Island, and also to go to Sydney. We are taking it to Sydney next weekend actually.
You enjoy the boating on the Gold Coast? This is the best place to live. I love it up here because it is such a beautiful place to go boating. Where else would you want to live other than on the Gold Coast if you had a boat?
How is the health of the boat manufacturing scene — you’ve worked for both the big local manufacturers Riviera and Maritimo? It is a great place to be a manufacturer but it’s not like it was seven or eight years ago in terms of the health of the industry. I don’t think it will ever get back to that.
Favourite boating trips? I love cruising up Clarence River, down to Yamba. Moreton Bay is nice. I take this to Bribie Island.
Dream boat? For the Broadwater, my Party Cat is the most perfect boat – and I have been playing with boats all my life. You have the flexibility to pull up at a beach, you have protection from the sun, it’s good in rough water.
What do you think about the sandbars in the Broadwater and lack of a dedicated sailing arena? I think it’s disgraceful. I flew over the area at low tide recently and there are more sandbars than there is water going from Wavebreak Island to the Sundale Bridge.
Do you love being on the water? Email ryan.keen@news.com.au to feature in this section