Education with class
The sixth annual Festival of Boating on Queensland’s Gold Coast combined on water education with opportunities to celebrate with the Australian boating community.
06 April 2017
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Riviera, Australia’s world-class luxury motor yacht builder, is celebrating the conclusion of its sixth annual Festival of Boating on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
The three-day festival brought together Australia’s most comprehensive motor yacht education program and a series of spectacular social events.
“We created the Festival six years ago for luxury motor yacht owners and people aspiring to this unique lifestyle to grow their boating confidence and knowledge,” says Stephen Milne, brand and communications director for Riviera.
Over the three days, the Festival offered more than 100 workshops, seminars and on-water tutorials covering 39 separate subjects from technical to safety and lifestyle, each delivered by experts. They included safe towing and rafting, advanced weather forecasting, the science of antifouling, preventive maintenance, offshore seamanship, radar, planning and provisioning a galley, emergency protocols, navigating at night and much more.
A fleet of seven Rivieras was dedicated to providing on-water tuition, demonstrating its significance to the festival. This segment included special programs for women skippers, classes on yacht handling and maneuvering, pod drive systems, and classes on handling tenders.
“Derek and I have been boating together for a long time but I am still not as confident on board as I would like,” said boat owner Lori Sexton. “Our tutor was unflappable and I believe I will be more confident on our motor yacht now.”
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At the heart of the festival was, of course, the social aspect and patrons were pampered with the Paspaley Pearls Masterclass, ladies luncheon at Palazzo Versace, and the festival’s main Saturday gala event. This year the theme was “Let’s Dance”, taking the 550 guests on a adventure of dance through the ages, from the sights and sounds of tribal, Asian, South American to modern dance and music, all in a swirl of light, colour and sound. After a three-course dinner and fine wines, guests took to the dance floor and danced the night away.
At the same time, the Festival marked a unique opportunity to research the range of motor yachts offered by Riviera. The new Riviera Sports Motor Yacht facility was also open to visitors and the full interior mock-up of the luxurious new 68 Sports Motor Yacht was a particular attraction.
“This year we displayed a total of 12 Rivieras at our undercover marina, which was the largest Riviera and Belize exhibit for us anywhere in the world.”
The next opportunity to see the Rivieras on display will be the Sydney International Boat Show, beginning Thursday 3 August 2017. The new 67 Sports Motor Yacht will debut at the event.
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