Boatica Cape Town 2022 is a wrap! After a break of two years, the boating industry in South Africa came out in full force to face a busy stream of visitors, proving that the SA boating industry is robust, strong, and is fighting back.
The three-day event featured a display of some of South Africa’s finest boating and yachting brands, luxury yachts and catamarans as well as some pre-owned options. Test drive sessions were a show-first. Interactive displays included e-foil demonstrations, and sail training sessions, in association with SA Sailing, which took place throughout the weekend. Dragon boat racing and a remote-controlled yacht regatta kept visitors entertained too. The VVIP section was always full with guests enjoying the live music, good food and drinks on offer.
Boat shows will always be important, because they promote boating! Yes, you can view boats online and watch walk-through videos on Youtube, but nothing can beat that ‘touch and feel’ element while walking through a boat to gage the sense of space and the quality of the finishes.
Happy exhibitors
“We are over the moon with the success of this year’s show”, says Kathryn Frew, boatica Cape Town show director. “The 5 646 visitors to the show exceeded our expectations, and the feedback from our 86+ exhibitors has been overwhelmingly positive. To top it off, we could not have asked for better weather.”
Exhibitors were very satisfied with the number of feet through the doors as serious boaters and industry leaders flocked the docks.
Luxury power boats seemed to draw the lion’s share of visitors. Princess Yachts, represented by Abromowitz, Sharp and Assoc. and Azimut showcased by Boating World, were firm favourites. But luxury yachts and multihulls, like Leopard Catamarans still proved popular with hard-core sailors.
Cruising charter companies like The Moorings and Sunsail had the added benefit of being able to showcase holiday makers the exact catamarans they would be enjoying their cruising holiday on.
Erik Bjerring from Cape Town Yacht Services chatted to a few exhibitors and people who worked on the stands.
Pictures: Kirsten Veenstra and Carrie van Rensburg
On board with The City of Cape Town
The show was officially opened by Alderman James Vos (Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth), Thina Qutywa (Executive Manager at the South African Boat Builders Export Council) and Michael Dehn (Managing Director of Messe Frankfurt SA) during the media function on Friday 28 October.
“It was truly wonderful to welcome Africa’s biggest boat show back to Cape Town’s shores. This is an industry that has weathered many storms and continues to be a source of economic and job opportunities. Marine manufacturing is a pillar of economic activity and growth in Cape Town, with a coastline around the metro that contributes almost R40 billion, or 10%, to the city’s annual GDP. Through the innovation and expert craftsmanship of the local industry, South Africa has gained a global reputation for catamaran-building and is ranked second after France in terms of units produced. As such, boatbuilding, including commercial and ocean sports, has secured investments worth over R25 billion and created thousands of jobs since 2014. Through events such as Boatica, we were able to connect buyers from all over the world with our country’s top-class manufacturers. We were also able to give young people a peek into the variety of professions that the boat-building industry makes available, including architecture, engineering, ocean sports, with many more in associate trades,” said Alderman James Vos.
New launches fly the SA flag high
Four new boat building companies were featured at the show. That’s incredibly exciting for the industry, proving that the market can support both large and small boat-building businesses.
Five new vessels were launched at the show. The HopYacht30 Catamaran, designed by Anton du Toit, is a unique catamaran concept that responds to the growing demand for a yacht that is easy to sail, environmentally sensitive and has comfort as a top priority.
Very popular with visitors was the small Nutshell 26 Compact Catamaran. Designed for 2-people or a small family, it can be moored almost anywhere, towed behind a SUV, fits into a standard 40ft container, and can be launched with a custom trailer.
Other new launches included SuperTech’s Leeuwin42 Sailing Catamaran, an entry-level blue water cruiser for novice and seasoned sailors. She was imagined as a streamlined craft that is easy to sail and a pleasure to live on.
Also popular was Voyage Industries’ fishing cat, the Invicta 30, a custom-built 30ft power catamaran designed for sports fishing with a walk-around pilothouse featuring a flybridge and dual helm station. It’s been specifically designed to withstand the harsh sea conditions fishermen encounter in and around the “Cape of Storms”.
Natal Caravan’s Getaway 520 fishing boat also drew interest.
Several new marine products also launched new products over the weekend – some of which included Raymarine’s Yachtsense Ecosystem, Carbie Poles Carbon Fibre Shade Poles, EvadeX Marine Decking and Esthec Composite Decking.
Racing for good
The Great Optimist Race was once again a show highlight, raising R130 000 for various charitable initiatives. Hamilton Slater, representing Ullman Sails, took line honours and ended Caleb Swanepoel’s two-year reign. “The Great Optimist Race 2022 was an absolute blast. It was fast and it was furious, and the racing was hard. It was fun, and it was wet for some! We raised lots and lots of money for our different charities,” said Greg Bertish, founder of The Little Optimist Trust and brainchild of The Great Optimist Race.
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- Greg Bertish and winner, Hamilton Slater.
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- Pic credit: Robert Whitehead
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- Hamilton taking the lead.
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- Pic credit: Juliette Ball
Support safety at sea
The NSRI’s new offshore rescue craft was extremely popular with boatica visitors. Mile-long queues lined the docks with inquisitive people especially wanting to take a look at the massive engine room.
The organisation’s goal is to prevent drowning through rescue operations, education, and prevention initiatives like swimming programs, safety at sea devices, and the establishment of stations in new areas.
As boaters we rely on their support when things go wrong. Sail + Leisure supports their fund raising campaigns and we urge you to do the same by donating here.
Till 2023
“The event was a massive success and boatica Cape Town will only grow from here. We’ve got big plans for the show and can’t wait to be back in 2023 to show the rest of the world what Cape Town and the South African boating community has to offer,” concludes Frew.
A big thank you goes to boatica Cape Town 2022’s sponsors: The City of Cape Town, The South Africa Boat Builder’s Export Council, Sail+Leisure, Pam Golding, Tourism Cape Town and Tourism South Africa.
