boatica Cape Town 2022 is a wrap. The 20th edition of the event took place from the 28 October – 30 November 2022 at the V&A Waterfront and the show organisers, Messe Frankfurt South Africa, have hailed the event as a huge success.
“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.” 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, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth.
Five new vessels were launched at the show – these included the HopYacht30 Catamaran, SuperTech’s Leeuwin42 Sailing Catamaran, Maiden Voyage Industries’ Invicta 30, The Nutshell 26 Compact Catamaran and Natal Caravan’s Getaway 520. 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.
The Great Optimist Race was once again a show highlight and took place on Saturday 29 October and raised R130 000 for various charitable initiatives. Hamilton Slater, representing Ullman Sails, took line honours and ended Caleb Swanepoel’s two-year reign on the title. “The Great Optimist Race 2022 was an absolute blast. It was fast and it was furious, and the racing was hard, and 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.
The Ultimate Yacht Experience was a sellout event and guests who secured their tickets early were treated to a 2-hour boat cruise out to Camps Bay.
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 efoil demonstrations and training sessions which took place throughout the weekend and dragon boat racing and a remote-controlled yacht regatta kept visitors entertained.
“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.
See you on the water in 2023! #boaticacapetown2023
· High-res images from boatica Cape Town 2022 can be found here: https://bit.ly/boaticaCT2022images
· The complete media pack, including new vessel launch information, can be found here: https://bit.ly/boatica2022mediapack