TO those raised on timber VJs and 6hp tinnies, the sight of a shiny yacht or cruiser standing tall at Sydney International Boat Show (SIBS) has never ceased to amaze. Year after year we march through the turnstiles, like kids in lolly shops. It’s an indelible fixture on many marine calendars, like the NRL grand final, Boxing Day Test or Bathurst 1000 of boating. With buoyant economies, the show has cast its footprint far and wide across Cockle Bay and fills every nook of the old Exhibition Centre. The peak arrived in 2004 with 93,500 visitors and will possibly be surpassed when the 50th anniversary show opens on Thursday. So, imagine if it had all suddenly stopped. Domenic Genua, the Boating Industry Association’s national manager of events and marketing, has revealed how close the shore-based component of SIBS came to sinking in 2014 when the state government demolished and redeveloped Darling Harbour’s display halls, splitting the show to two sites. “The NSW Government constructed an interim facility at Glebe Island after considerable lobbying,” Genua says. “We were in real danger of having no venue at all, and to go three years without a land-based show would have been devastating. “In 2014 we lost 17 per cent of our visitors compared to our last year at Darling Harbour. In 2016 it dropped to 45,000.” The BIA dipped into reserve funds while pegging the internal display space at 20,000 square metres. Returning to a newly built International Convention Centre for this year’s 50th show has provided another dilemma. With 36,000 square metres at his disposal, Genua had to decide on space requirements. “We took a punt and booked the lot, including 4000 square metres of external deck that will have pools for kayaks and paddleboards along with seating and boat displays,” he says. The first round of exhibitor applications outstripped availability and marina bookings stand at 208, 10 per cent above last year. Thus, all the signs point to 2017 being another watershed year, where the critical mass of boats and buyers will once again align. It will predominantly have an international flavour, as Australian icons such as Cresta, Fastlane, Northshore and Cavalier having succumbed during the SIBS era. Industry stalwarts like Stephen Milne, now entrenched at Riviera, still reminisce about the good old days: “I have a book called Luxury Boats of Australia, which is about 1-centimetre thick and devotes a spread to every boat built in Australia over 30 feet,” he says. “If you did that today it would be about 20 pages … the world has become a smaller place with all the major international brands.” Nevertheless, Sydney remains his favourite among the world’s top boat shows. “SIBS has a unique flavour because the city has all the ingredients. It looks sophisticated, with the office buildings looking down on the marina,” Milne says. SIBS runs August 3-7, with halls open from 10am to 8pm and the marina from 10am to 7pm. Tickets are available online or on site. See sydneyboatshow.com.au
