With legitimate concerns surrounding the current state of the market, exhibitor fear was palpable before the 2011 Cape Town International Boat Show. However, once the mad dash of serious shoppers flooded into the CTICC over the weekend of the 23-25th of September 2011, all the uncertainties flew out the window, and exhibitors wowed the crowd with their exciting boat and leisure displays. Leisure Boating brings you a full report.
It’s not an unusual occurrence to hear a Capetonian being mocked by a Gautenger. Whether it’s for our laid-back surfer accents, snail-pace driving skills or “deep love for the sea and mountain, man,” our Highveld chums often have a thing or two to tease us about.
Okay, so we might not find it all that necessary to live our lives at the same hustling and bustling pace, however, as was recently brought to light, the Mother City (much like our Northern counterparts!) do know how to host one heck of a boat show.
After the thrills, spills and ultimate triumph of the 2011 National Boat Show, organisers Dana Whiting and Johnny Malherbe certainly had their work cut out. Who would’ve thought we’d ever see the day when the success of the Cape Town event would match that of the Dome show? Recession? What recession?
That said, the show is still not without its teething problems, but as was evident from the National Boat Show,
it’ll take more than a few lost tempers or expensive meal and refreshment prices to stand in the way of success. And anyway, where would the fun be without at least a little spice, trickery and intrigue?
Yet again, each and every exhibitor outdid themselves. Although many of the stands were a small-scale replica of their Dome Show equivalents, not one missed a beat in terms of quality and calibre. Usual suspects included big players like Waterworld with their trademark range of local and imported craft such as the Regal, Sea Ray and Supra wakeboard boats.
A quick, post-show catch up with Waterworld manager Stefan Jacobs confirmed that the show, although hefty on the budget, was an outright success. “I was very impressed with this year’s event. The show has gotten smaller, or more concentrated I should say! But the quality of visitor was fantastic and visitors were really clued up on all boating matters, which made my job easier,” said Stefan.
Boating World did a roaring trade with their luxurious Riviera and Fairline range of imported boats, all looking magnificent at the boat show’s on-water display at the V&A Waterfront.
“We found the show to be a great success,” announced Suzanne Glock of Boating World. “The quality of the stands, as well as the visitor, was fantastic. Well done to the organisers and exhibitors!
Getting the customers to the water stands seemed to have worked much better this year,” added Suzanne. This was largely thanks to the several water taxis and shuttle buses transporting visitors from the CTICC to the on-water stand near the V&A Waterfront.
Honda Motor Southern Africa was again present in full force, with some attractive displays (that’s including their lovely promotion ladies!). With their BF250 beast-like outboard on show, along with some quality locally-built craft like the Kestrel 505 and Benguela 530 on offer, the Honda Motor Southern Africa stand was the centre point of attraction, and experienced another fantastic show.
If you’ve been reading Leisure Boating of late, you might’ve come across our extensive features on the Riva range of boats. Well, these legendary boats were also present at the show, along with a big stand that simply oozed class and sophistication. Icons of luxury, the Riva boats might be out of the average boater’s price bracket, but definitely sought after by royalty and Hollywood celebs.
