Riviera makes waves

Riviera’s Festival of Boating offered owners a three-day program of educational seminars and training workshops. These included introductory/refresher workshops and advanced skills development courses.

Topics covered included ladies’ skippers, weather, navigation, offshore seamanship, radar, safe anchoring and mooring, preventative maintenance, safety, thermal imaging, and power management. The firm says many sessions proved so popular that many were booked out in advance.

Sydneysider John Robinson, who will soon take delivery of a Riviera 585 SUV, attended back-to-back education classes during the Festival of Boating. “I did wall-to-wall education sessions on Friday and Saturday,’’ he said. “The standard of presenters was high, and hence the knowledge they were imparting was valuable.’’

6800 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition world premiere

Riviera celebrated the launch of the 6800 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition on the eve of the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, aboard a fine dining, floating venue anchored on the Gold Coast’s Broadwater. It was the first opportunity for owners and their families who had purchased the company’s new flagship Sport Yacht to step aboard and inspect the new yacht.

“It’s a 10 out of 10, and I’m a tough marker,’’ Queensland owner Simon George said on the night. “Riviera has done a great job – you can appreciate the extra thought that’s gone into the design.’’

At the event, Longhurst said: “This new 6800 Sport Yacht is our ultimate Sport Yacht. With a choice of three or four staterooms and three bathrooms, a crew cabin or utility room, a full-height walk-through engine room, huge entertaining and living spaces, an all-weather aft deck, expansive sun-loving forward deck, and an impressive tender garage devoted to water sports, it is one magnificent motor yacht.”

The launch of Riviera’s 6000th motor yacht

Riviera hosted a series of exclusive owner dinners on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings during SCIBS to celebrate the launch of Riviera’s 6000th motor yacht, Pelara, an Iridium silver-hulled 5400 Sport Yacht Platinum Edition, which starred on the display.

Over the three nights, Riviera owners from Australia, New Zealand and America gathered to enjoy food and entertainment. “The dinners were a sign of the loyalty Riviera shows its owners,’’ said Denyse Coughlin, from Sydney, who has her third Riviera on order.

“The food was amazing. The entertainment was first-rate. We were seated with guests from around the world and it was fascinating to hear everyone’s Riviera story. Congratulations to Riviera’s owner Rodney Longhurst. He has built a lovely company culture that is so obvious to see at events like this.’’

Women of Riviera

Over 90 women enjoyed Gold Coast autumn weather and Italian cuisine at the exclusive Women of Riviera luncheon at Ioesco Café Cucina Bar in the Sanctuary Cove precinct.

“Everyone at the lunch had one thing in common,’’ Riviera owner Nicole Box, from Western Queensland, said. “We started with a love of boating, and from there, everything just grew.

“It was an eclectic crowd, from all walks of life, but no-one felt out of place. I formed some lovely new friendships, and I’ll be back next year.’’

“The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show has provided great cause for celebration for our family of yacht owners and our amazing 950-strong team,” said Longhurst.

“We’re grateful for the incredible support of our owners around the world, and we could not be more proud of our team who go above and beyond every day to create the finest motor yachts launched in our proud history.’’

rivieraaustralia.com