Gold Coast superyachts: Gold Coast marinas battle for supremacy in lucrative market

The city’s two big rival marina bosses are trading verbal torpedoes as they compete for the highly lucrative superyacht market.

THE city’s two big rival marina bosses are trading verbal torpedoes as they compete for superyacht traffic — but agree on one thing: the economy will benefit from their war.

Coomera’s The Boat Works have just one-upped nearby long-established Gold Coast City Marina by installing a $2 million lift capable of carrying 330-tonne vessels.

City Marina’s biggest lift capacity is for 250 tonne boats.

City Marina CEO Trenton Gay said yesterday his rival Boat Works owner Tony Longhurst’s new installation — dubbed “Rhino” — would “take some boats from us”.

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The Boat Works shipyard and marina on the Gold Coast's new 300 tonne lift dubbed 'Rhino'.

“But we will keep going,” he said. “There will be a bit of pain. If he wasn’t there it would be better but he is there.”

Asked if he would one-up Boat Works with a City Marina lift boost, Mr Gay said he had long-term plans for an 1100-tonne lift capable of lifting 100-metre plus floating palaces not just existing 50m superyachts.

“I don’t have to one-up them. It’s competition. It makes us work hard and work better but at the end of the day it’s only a little bigger. They can get a couple of boats we can’t.

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The lift is capable of lifting 300 tonne vessels.

“But our team has the experience and runs on the board. We have clients coming to us because they want to deal with people who have the experience.

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“It’s not just a new yard that gets their attention. We have spent 20 years building up the superyacht industry.

“But what it means for southeast Queensland is we have the facilities, we have the people and we can attract more boats to the region because they have choice.”

The pair have been feuding since October last year when both revealed respective $100 million transformations of their shipyards on the same day.

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Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard chief executive officer Trenton Gay.

At the time, Mr Longhurst unveiled plans to almost double the size of Boat Works from 23 to 43 hectares, adding superyacht berths, accommodation and a vision for another Marina Mirage.

Mr Gay simultaneously said he would develop a further 20ha taking City Marina’s footprint to 37ha.

Yesterday, Mr Longhurst said his $100 million expansion was well progressed and on track to launch new superyacht berths by the end of the year coinciding with use of the new lift.

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Tony Longhurst. Picture: Adam Head

The former Supercars star and Bathurst winner added: “I’ve competed all my life racing cars. I’ve had hundreds of competitors and so one competitor down the road makes no difference to me.

“They hijacked our opening and said they were going to build a facility with a 1000-tonne machine — and I can’t wait to see them do it,” Mr Longhurst said.

“The more they market the better it is for us. We will be marketing internationally and the whole marina precinct will benefit enormously from what we are doing and southeast Queensland will benefit.”

Both marinas, via on-site and visiting contractors, employ about 1000 staff each.

Mr Longhurst said he estimated his new lift would create 1000 new jobs.