Riviera sets sail for Florida with $20m luxury yacht fleet

Gold Coast luxury boat builder Riviera will be flying the Australian flag at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show next month with a $20m fleet of motor yachts.

CITY BEAT with Glen Norris

2 min read

September 17, 2024 - 12:00AM

The Australian Business Network

A Riviera 6800 being loaded onto the ship bound for Florida

Gold Coast luxury boat builder Riviera, will be flying the Australian flag at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show next month.

Riviera loaded seven new motor yachts onto the container ship Majestic at the Port of Brisbane last Thursday bound for Florida, including its latest creation, the 6800 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition. Riviera will altogether showcase a fleet of 11 motor yachts in the 39 (12m) to 78 foot range at the event, described as largest in-water boat show in the world.

The Fort Lauderdale shipment will take around 34 days and will travel more than 14,779kms. The fleet is valued at more than $20m, with Riviera last year welcoming more than 25 new owners at the show. The show is this year celebrating its 65th anniversary with more than 100,000 people expected to travel to Florida from across the US and internationally for the five-day expo.

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

Riviera owner Rodney Longhurst says the show is the pinnacle of the boating world. “Our motor yachts are respected around the world, and it brings a huge sense of pride for myself and our amazing team to be able to say that they’re all Queensland made,” he says. “Quite often, you’ll hear a broad American accent ask, ‘where is Riviera from?’ and our team will always reply with a big smile, ‘the Gold Coast, Australia!’. From a market perspective, Fort Lauderdale sets the tone for the coming 12 months in the Americas so it’s an important show for us and for our nationwide dealer network in that region.”

Sweet deal

Brisbane-based professional services consulting firm CAKE been named as a finalist in two categories in the upcoming Telstra business awards in Queensland.

CAKE aims to shatter the stereotypes about stay-at-home parents by connecting businesses with skilled stay-at-home parents, predominantly women, to deliver and coordinate project-based work flexibly and remotely. CAKE founder Kelly Prior says that by offering flexible work arrangements, the firm empowers women and primary caregivers to maintain their professional skills and contribute to the workforce while balancing family responsibilities. “I founded CAKE on a simple belief that better businesses and stronger communities start at home,” says Prior. “We are immensely proud of how we have created opportunities and pathways for parents across Australia to be able to have their CAKE and eat it too.” The winner of the Queensland awards will be announced on September 26.

Jugging work and family commitments can be a challenge.

On the farm

Queensland primary producers are reporting a more bullish outlook for the year ahead, with seasonal conditions and expectations of rising commodity prices the main drivers of optimism, the latest quarterly Rabobank rural confidence survey has found.

This follows a dip in producer sentiment seen in the state mid-way through the year, driven by concerns around high input costs and softer commodity pricing.

This recovery in the state’s rural sentiment is in line with overall national farmer confidence, which rose across the country this quarter.

The quarter three survey, completed last month, found Queensland rural confidence had increased to a net reading of -4 per cent, from -13 per cent in quarter two. Good seasonal conditions were nominated by 37 per cent of surveyed Queensland producers as a key reason for their optimistic view, while improving commodity prices were noted by 30 per cent.