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World tour

Riviera begins the world premiere tour of their new 64 Sports Motor Yacht, providing owners with a first glimpse.

18 June 2020

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Riviera will start their world premiere tour of the 64 Sports Motor Yacht this week, inviting owners to step aboard the motor yacht for the first time.

Riviera is now commencing the manufacture of seven 64 SMYs, and most of the new owners are yet to see the new addition to Riviera’s flagship Sports Motor Yacht collection due to ongoing travel restrictions.

Among the new owners are Bruce and Sue Eddington of Melbourne, Victoria. This will be their third Riviera after Bruce changed tack more than a decade ago when he swapped sailing for the relaxed pleasures of owning a Riviera motor yacht.

That was when the veteran of six Sydney-to-Hobart campaigns and his wife Sue wanted to enjoy cruising the waters of Tasmania together in utter comfort and luxury.

“There’s certainly a lot of expectation for the 64 SMY from our end as we are building our new boat by remote control,” said Mr Eddington. “Normally we’d have been on the Gold Coast three times by now, spending time at the factory being part of her build process, but the travel restrictions have precluded us from doing this.

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“We’re pleased to have been kept up to date with photos and videos of her progress, and we have great trust in Riviera to build a boat that we’re happy with. Riviera really do care about their owners.”

The Eddingtons’ journey to the 64 SMY has been two years in the making. After discovering the pleasures of owning a Riviera 51 Open Flybridge and later a 50 Enclosed Flybridge, they were among a group of Riviera owners who were asked to provide input into the early design concept of the 64 SMY when an interior mock-up was created for owners to tour and critique.

Mr Eddington noted, “It’s been an evolution that we’re very appreciative to be a part of and we’ve been trusting of the entire process.”

“We saw the mock-up three or four times and it was informative and impressive. Even seeing it in the hull in the factory, she was always a very pretty boat.”

“Sue was really big on the interiors and the Riviera designers were accepting of her input. Some of the changes we suggested have been adopted in the final design. The 64 is incredibly stylish.”

The Eddingtons will get their first chance to step aboard the Riviera 64 SMY in Sydney next month on the fourth leg of the world premiere tour that will take her south from the Gold Coast down the eastern seaboard of Australia, followed by a New Zealand premiere and then to the United States of America for an east coast tour later this year.

The Eddingtons are equally impressed with the maneuverability and ease of handling a much larger Riviera motor yacht. With both their previous Rivieras moored at the Motor Yacht Club of Tasmania in the Hobart suburb of Lindisfarne, the Eddingtons have spent many years venturing along the pristine and rugged Tasmanian coast either together or with friends.

“Ten years ago, people our age wouldn’t have been able to do what we’ve done with a 50-footer, simply because the systems and the technology that Riviera employs today did not exist; it now makes boating in large vessels easier,” said Mr Eddington.

“When we made our commitment to Rivera in August 2018, we were relying on the fact that this boat will be as easy to handle as the 50. From what we’ve seen of the 68 and 72 SMYs when we had a run on one of those, it will be easy and pleasurable.”

He continues, “The propulsion system is so user-friendly. If we didn’t have a propulsion system with the joystick and the thrusters that Twin Disc provide, we wouldn’t have a boat the size of a 64.

“We liked the fact that the 64 was bigger. We liked the full-beam master, the three cabins and the utility room. They will give us extra space, and it’s also more opulent.

“The utility room is one the of the smartest inclusions Riviera offers with its bigger boats. Having the extra length to take a washing machine and dryer, toolbox, workbench and a place to store your fishing rods and equipment is great. Having the laundry set up and not tucked away in a cupboard is so much better.

“The full-beam master stateroom is tremendous. The flybridge is beautifully appointed, and the instrumentation and functionality at the helm’s dash just gets better by the year. We’re really happy with it.”

Once the Eddingtons take delivery of their 64 SMY in August, they are planning to take their time to cruise her home to Hobart.

“We’ll initially spend a bit of time around the Gold Coast and then we’d like to get up to Mooloolaba, the inside of Fraser Island and Bundaberg to cruise the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef out to Lady Musgrave Island. Then it’s off to Sydney for Christmas, where we’ll stay for two or three months before wandering down to Hobart in late March.”

That will be one Sydney-to-Hobart cruise that Mr Eddington concedes will be a lot more comfortable and luxurious than he has experienced in the past.

 


Preview dates for the Riviera 64 SMY

    • Gold Coast, Queensland: 19–21 June
    • Port Stephens, NSW: 27–28 June
    • Newcastle, NSW: 1 July
    • Sydney, NSW: 3–5 July and 9–12 July
    • Auckland, New Zealand: 7–9 August

American preview dates will be announced shortly.

 

United States boat show premieres

    • United States Power Boat Show: 1–4 October
    • Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show: 29 October–1 November

 

rivieraaustralia.com

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