FINISHING LINE WITH PETER RENDLE
FINISHING LINE WITH PETER RENDLE
Show and Tell.
Another Sydney International Boatshow comes and goes and the level of professionalism has improved greatly.
The first Sydney boatshow I attended was at the showgrounds in Sydney?s Eastern suburbs. Due to the huge logistical problems of getting boats (yachts) to the show, the only yachts on display, from memory, were Beneteaus. From there the show moved to Pyrmont wharves for about four years, then the Sydney convention centre was built and the show has taken place there every year since. I forget how many I have attended but its more than 20.
Other boatshows around the country have been memorable for a variety of reasons. The Brisbane show was always interesting. Held in the agricultural show ground, the smell of chooks and sheep lingered and the incessant loudspeaker above the ?dagwood dog? stall was a constant reminder that boatshow food was rarely an affair of choice.
Other notable shows were the Southport Gold Coast event. Held in the Sundale shopping centre carpark and run by the local Apex club, the stands were carpark walls and anything else you could drag in to give the area a commercial look. The show survived a number of years before succumbing to the competition from the up market Sanctuary Cove location. If it rained at Sundale exhibitors could loose a great deal of stock, especially if you distributed magazines. Sanctuary Cove Boatshow is an interesting case. Set up initially to entice people to the area to see first-hand the plethora of real estate opportunities available. As media representatives, we had to sit through a seminar outlining the luxurious villas and units that were being built, before being released to look at the products on display. Sanctuary Cove was an instant hit with exhibitors as the doors closed at five o?clock and the bars and restaurants were within metres of exhibitors stands. Many a NSW exhibitor ended up late arriving for the next day?s trading.
Melbourne was the most daunting of all shows. Held in the middle of June, the Victorian weather was always much colder than Sydney and the old Exhibition Centre, with its high ceilings was not the place to be at 8pm when the temperature was nudging minus three. I have a number of clothing items bought at the Melbourne Show that I rarely wear in Sydney. A $300 Musto snug that I purchased from a very attractive female Musto employee ? yes, Trudy you know who you are - saved me from hypothermia. Back in Sydney I discovered it would have cost me $250 at the local chandlery. But then again I would have paid $500 for it on the day!
Apart from that I have attended shows in Perth, Cannes, Adelaide, Newcastle, Rosehill, Sandringham, Docklands, Newport, Coffs Harbour and many others whose names I am too old to recall. The latest Sanctuary Cove Show is the largest I have seen and the August Sydney Show was on the same scale. Now everyone involved is far more professional, the stands are first class and the products superbly presented. This bodes well for the whole industry. Let?s hope the stockmarket holds up and that the industry continues to flourish. I?ve got a least another ten years of boatshowing left!