Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival: Grandfather’s $1.7m buy for family getaway among many purchases

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A MAJOR Gold Coast yacht builder has welcomed the weekend boat festival at Sanctuary Cove after sealing a $1.7 million deal.

Maritimo sold an M51 Flybridge Cruiser to Jim Nelson, 73, during the Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival at Marine Village, Hope Island.

The festival, organised in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May, attracted more than 20,000 between Friday and Sunday.

Jim Nelson and daughter Natasha at the Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival. The grandfather has purchased a M51 Maritimo Flybridge Cruiser.

Mr Nelson, a retiree, bought his first vessel in the early 1970s, a runabout boat.

That was followed by a Hammond in the late 70s, a Black Watch 34 in 1989 and a Riviera 51 Flybridge in 2003.

After selling the latter in 2008, the Mermaid Waters resident has spent the years since looking for his next purchase.

“I’ve looked at many boats over the years. Lots didn’t catch my eye, and some were too much to pay for,” he said.

“A second hand Maritimo came up but the seller withdrew so I was on the search once again.

“Then this one came up. I’ve been in contact for months and finally made the purchase and am expecting it April or May next year.”

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The grandfather of two is delighted with the safety the boat provides for his grandchildren Estella and Xavier and is looking forward to enjoying a trip with them, his daughter Natasha and her partner Steve.

“We had a plan to do a trip to Hamilton Island and some of the other Whitsunday Islands. We’ll hopefully be able to do that next year,” he said.

Maritimo director and lead designer Tom Barry-Cotter said they had a great show with multiple deals negotiated.

Jim Nelson and daughter Natasha at the Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival. The grandfather has purchased a M51 Maritimo Flybridge Cruiser.

“We were blown away by the level of interest.”

The festival was much more local with the pandemic preventing international and some interstate visitors, but the local flavour allowed more South East Queensland brands to showcase their products.

Gold Coast ‘can compete with anywhere in the world’

GOLD Coast boat builder Riviera Australia has manufactured more than 5600 vessels in its 40 years of operation and continues to hire and expand its footprint despite the coronavirus crisis.

It turns out boating is a pretty attractive proposition when social distancing becomes the norm and it has reflected in Riviera’s bottom line.

Owner Rodney Longhurst, who was building model boats in his backyard at age five, said Riviera would have built about 90 boats by year’s end, but had struggled to source some material.

“We have hundreds of different suppliers involved in bringing a boat together and they’re from around the world, not just Australia,” he said.

Riviera Australia chairman Rodney Longhurst at his Coomera facility. Picture: Tertius Pickard

“The impact from the coronavirus has been different depending on the virus’ impact on the countries.

“It’s created difficulties with timing — we need to get what we need on time — but it’s also created uncertainty about what will happen next week, next month. It’s been hard to plan.

“Generally, we’ve just had to make things work. Beg and keep begging basically when you needed something.

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“Thankfully though we have very long-term suppliers so we have strong relationships and they’ve worked well with us, even in very difficult circumstances.”

Mr Longhurst said Riviera had noticed a spike in interest around its vessels.

“With boating, you’re generally with people you know, you’re in small numbers on the boats we build, you’re out in fresh air so it’s very safe,” he said.

“From a distancing point of view and contact point of view it’s safe and when many people were asked to stay still or locked down, it was an amazing recreational experience.

“We’ve seen very strong interest.

“We’re hell bent on building world-class products, that’s what we do and we work hard to give our customers an outstanding experience.”

Building boats has been a lifelong ambition for Riviera’s Rodney Longhurst. Picture: Tertius Pickard

Mr Longhurst said the Coast’s relaxed lifestyle kept Riviera in the city and he expected many manufacturers felt the same.

“Why do I stay here? Because I like living here, my family is here, my children go to school here and I think the climate here is fantastic. I’ve lived here since 1974.

“I want to make sure where I’m working, where we’re working, is a wonderful place to live.

“There’s great education, it’s safe, there’s great entertainment – it’s a wonderful lifestyle here on the Gold Coast. It’s a great place to be and a great place to go boating.”

Mr Longhurst said “without a doubt” the lifestyle proposition was a strong selling point to draw new manufacturers to the city.

He suggested governments and Gold Coast City Council could bolster the sector by listening to individual businesses and increasing consultation.

“They need to listen to their individual stories, their challenges and work hard with them to assist them with the cost of business,” he said.

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“Some businesses are in much more challenging circumstances than others and you need the government to understand those challenges.”

Mr Longhurst spoke out against “more red tape, more conditions, more difficulties”, which he described as mostly “onerous and unnecessary”.

“It just makes people either go out of business or give up,” he said.

Riviera Australia employs a 600-strong team on the Gold Coast. Pictured is chairman Rodney Longhurst at Riviera’s Coomera facility. Picture: Tertius Pickard

“That’s the last thing you need. You need things to be encouraging, aspirational and inspirational to get in and have a go.

“We just need government to listen, understand the issues and assist.”

Mr Longhurst was confident the Coast would claw its way back to economic prosperity after the coronavirus tossed a spanner in the works this year. The question is when.

“It wasn’t that long ago we were celebrating last Christmas and there wasn’t even talk about a virus coming and causing havoc around the world.

“I think the Aussie spirit is to get stuck in and do your very best and make it work. Everyone has been doing their best, but if your customers aren’t there things get hard.

“I believe we’re good enough and we can compete with anywhere in the world.

“I would think (recovery) is a matter of how long the virus lasts for. Ultimately, or obviously, we’ll come out the other side, but none of us really know when.”

Riviera has a 600-strong team and works out of a state-of-the-art 14-hectare site at Coomera.

Originally published as Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival: Grandfather’s $1.7m buy for family getaway among many purchases