Riviera’s unique Festival of Boating education program proved a hit with owners who attended the 2024 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show.
Riviera’s unique Festival of Boating education program provided owners the chance to learn new skills and refresh their knowledge.
The Festival of Boating was created to educate and empower our owners with knowledge and skills that will allow them to achieve their ultimate boating experience.
From safe anchoring and mooring to thermal imaging and power management, owners acquired a range of new skills at the three-day Festival of Boating. Held as part of the 2024 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, the program included introductory/refresher and advanced boating education and training workshops. Other topics covered included ladies’ skippers, essential weather, navigation, offshore seamanship, radar, preventative maintenance, and safety.
“There is something satisfying about learning how to solve a problem,’’ Eddie Mele, from Mandurah, said.
A keen fisherman, Eddie had been having an on-going anchoring issue that was taking some of the joy out of his regular fishing trips off the West Australian coast.
“I’d lost two anchors in high swells from my last boat,’’ he said. “So, I signed up for a safe anchoring and mooring course at the Riviera Festival of Boating at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show to see if I could improve my knowledge.
“I now know what I should be doing. I’ve learned quite a bit which should help me when I take delivery of my new Riviera 395 SUV in October.’’
Enjoy our highlights video of the Festival of Boating educational workshops and seminars from 2024.
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More than 30 individual boating education courses were held at the festival this year.
"We are confident on our yacht, but the courses did show us how much more there is for us both to learn."
RIVIERA OWNERS, DENYSE & JOHN
Eddie’s story was echoed by many of the owners who took part in more than 30 individual courses as part of the festival held within the Riviera display. These hands-on courses and seminars provide owners with the ability to learn by doing the work and making the mistakes and then being corrected by Riviera’s expert instructors.
Doing something, and importantly learning how to do something correctly, creates a feeling of joy and empowerment that builds confidence and independence allowing owners to do more and enjoy more of their time on the water.
Denyse and her husband John registered for eight courses. “We are confident on our yacht, but the courses did show us how much more there is for us both to learn,’’ Denyse, from Sydney, said.
“We are mindful that it is always worthwhile updating your skills to understand all safety aspects of boating. Riviera is always introducing new technologies and it is important that we keep up to date.
“I did the Ladies’ Skipper course which was fabulous. My husband is the cook in our family, and he attended the Sally Jenyns class. She is an amazing advocate for Riviera.’’
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John Robinson, who currently owns a 5400 Sport Yacht but is about to take delivery of a 585 SUV, registered for multiple classes.
“I did wall-to-wall education sessions on Friday and Saturday,’’ he said. “In fact, on Friday, I did not leave the Festival of Boating all day, as the sessions ran back-to-back. The standard of the presenters was high and hence the knowledge they were imparting was valuable. This opinion was supported by everyone staying beyond the allocated time slots to ensure that they extracted as much information as possible from the session.”
John, from Perth, said the Festival of Boating courses provided him with a great chance to refresh some of his skills.
“I’ve been boating for 30-odd years,’’ he said. “We go out weekend after weekend, but I haven’t done a man overboard course for 10 years. It has been great to be able to do the course and refresh those skills.’’
John, who was full of praise for the team at R Marine Perth, has been part of the Riviera family for 20 years starting off with a 30-foot motor yacht before graduating to a Riviera 52 Enclosed Flybridge.
“The support network in Perth is incredible. We had a belt tensioner let go on an engine between Christmas and New Year when we were down at Geographe Bay,’’ he said. “I rang the team at Riviera in Perth. They opened the warehouse, got the parts down to Geographe Bay in one day, and had me back on the water in 48 hours.’’
New to boating and currently in talks to buy his first Riviera, Mario from Perth, was grateful to learn from the festival’s expert presenters.
“I’m new to boating so the chance to get some hands-on experience and learn how to do things properly is huge. So important,’’ he said. “It was also great to see the range of Rivieras, and the different things they offer, all in one place at the same time.’’
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