Singapore Yacht Show 2018. Kick off, with sunshine.
by Guy Nowell, Sail-World Asia 14 Apr 2018 12:23 PDT
Singapore Yacht Show 2018 © Guy Nowell
Opening day at the 2018 Singapore Yacht Show, which very sensibly started at 4.00pm “to beat the heat.” It’s more than warm in Singapore in April, so a late start and an evening finish (9.00pm) is very much de rigeur. (NB: Fri-Sun show opens 3.00pm).
This is the 8th edition of the Singapore Yacht Show (SYS), and the show continues to be unrivalled in the region. There is nowhere else in Asia that can match ONE°15 Marina at Sentosa Cove as a venue, and the industry has once again put its seal of approval on the event by rolling out no fewer than 14 premières*. That’s a real compliment – SYS really is where Asia comes to see what’s new in the yachting world.
(*For the record: Princess 30m, Azimut 27 Metri, Ferretti 780, Sanlorenzo 78, Riva 76 Perseo, Absolute 58 Fly, Princess 55, Palm Beach 52, Maritimo 51, Beneteau 51.1, Beneteau Grand Tourismo 50, Lagoon 50, Fountain Pajot MY 44, Sunreef Open 40.)
Before the show even opened, SUTL Enterprises and Singapore’s no 1 tech and telecoms provider, StarHub, announced the launch of ONE°15 Life, a one-stop digital platform that provides – to begin with - services such as yacht chartering and private jet hire. “There are so many underutilised boats in Singapore’s marinas,” says Trevor Fong, General Manager of ONE°15 Marina Special Projects. “We aim to convert this excess capacity into something useful. Not everyone can afford to buy a 70’ motor yacht, but an afternoon on the same boat with your friends is probably within your reach.” It’s Airbnb gone afloat.
Andy Treadwell, CEO of show organisers Singapore Yacht Events, had a strong message regarding official support in his opening address to assembled VIPs. “Singapore is the geographical hub of an enormous region that is poised to become the “third destination” of the yachting and superyachting world – the first two being the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Asia is poised and just waiting to happen. The potential for a burgeoning yachting industry in a space stretching from Phuket to the Pacific is almost limitless. Asia has the cruising grounds and the scenery, and a whole rainbow of different cultures. All it takes to make it happen is some understanding and some support – both moral and financial - from the various regional goverments. The concept is simple, but the execution is more difficult.” In short, events such as SYS are the shop windows for the marine leisure industry, and could do with a little illumination.
Without even reaching the marina pontoons and the boats, a brisk stroll through the indoor pavilion gives a powerful impression of the strength in depth that this show commands. Here you find major yacht builders such as Lürssen (Germany), Heesen (Holland), and newcomers Hey Sea (China). Representatives of marinas (Ana Marina, Vietnam; Port Takola, Thailand) and marina builders (Marinetek, Sweden; Bellingham, Australia). There are industry organisations such as the Asia Pacific Superyacht Association, brokers (Burgess, Y.Co), and yacht support industries and manufacturers (International Paints, Boat Lift). The list is long.
In fact, you could probably find the full set of people in this hall required to launch a superyacht, starting with a bespoke design drawn on the spot by Ruud Bakker at the Feadship stand, and taking in interior fabrics (AA Pashmina) and exterior (Sunbrella), and crew uniforms along the way – and this is a potent expression of the breadth and depth of this show.
Look closely in the corner of the marina area, and you’ll find a Seabin. It was recently announced that the RSYC had installed a Seabin, “the first in Singapore,” so presumably this is the second – by about 24 hours. Seabin is a passive rubbish collecting system that has proved to be very effictine at collecting the oil, litter and any other small-scale floating debris that collects in the corners of marinas or passes by the choke-points between pontoons (for example). A submerged cylinder bobbing just at water level, with a net inside, has a pump at the bottom continuously drawing water (and the marine litter) in over the lip. Pete Ceglinski, Founder and CEO of the Seabin Project, is the first to admit that Seabin is not the answer to cleaning up the world’s oceans – “but it’s a start, and we have to start somewhere. The real answer is education. Every child who learns to dispose of trash properly can be one less “source” person littering and they have the potential to spread the word to friends and family virally amplifying the effect.” Stop by the Seabin stand at the Singapore Yacht Show, spin the wheel, and maybe walk away with an umbrella made from recycled plastic bottles – just like the ones that get caught in Seabins!
It’s a small world, the boating business, and the village meets at the boat shows to swap news. At a press conference called by Camper & Nicholsons Asia, it was announced that Bart Kimman (and his team), formerly the representatives of Northrop and Johnson in Asia, has swapped hats and joined C&N as Commercial Director. With a couple of decades in Asian boating, Kimman has a substantial corpus of ‘local knowledge’ behind him. Noting that the boating industry in Asia is entirely unregulated, Kimman said “I have always been a fighter to create standards in the market, and I’m looking forward to joining the Camper & Nicholsons family, to build this business and take it to the next level. Asia will only go one way, and that is up,” he added, “but we do have to navigate a few obstacles.” More power to your elbow, Bart.
The Singapore Yacht Show continues until Sunday 15 April.
www.singaporeyachtshow.com