Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show
After making the last-minute decision to head down to Australia from Singapore for the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, here's how it all went down.
DAY 1 - 27 MAY 2017
I arrived in Queensland with a small backpack and big plans. The weather was stunning and, despite the tiredness after my red-eye flight, I had an injection of adrenaline and motivation flowing from home. I met my contact who guided me into the show and then set about finding some food and a shower. It turned into a bit of a drama finding the right people to help out, but was a good sneak peek into cruising life. Refreshed and ready to go I set about getting my bearings. The show was well set out, with the marina full of monohulls, catamarans, power boats, super yachts and fishing boats. Accompanying this was a large exhibition hall of local and international vendors giving insight into all the life and gear required for a comfortable and practical existence on the water.
I turned up to my first viewing; the Lagoon 42. After recording my thoughts and taking some pictures of the boat, I set about the tour. It's a beautiful boat which is good in size, very wide and comfortably set out. I had my eye on all the practicalities of the boat: like a self-tacking headsail (jib) and a few other positives to help it stand out from the crowd. On the surface, the Lagoon 42 seemed to be a good compromise between the slightly smaller FP Lucia 40 and the larger FP Helia 44. But I do have to say, the simple things (like a single sink, small refrigeration options and the mast through the middle of the salon) were a little frustrating.
After lunch, lots of walking around and lapping up the atmosphere, I saw two Sunsail cats and a Nautitech Open 40. They were great food for thought, though the former seemed more geared towards the charter market, and the latter more for the keen performance sailor... Both of which we are not!
In the afternoon of the first day I then had my chance to view the Fountaine Pajot Helia 44. I met my contact and we immediately got talking about our cruising needs, current plans and research completed so far. I took a thorough tour through the Helia 44 Maestro Version, with a 3 berth + 3 head configuration. I had already seen envious videos online of global cruisers using this boat, which seemed to have the perfect setup for world family cruising. More importantly, I could visualise our family on this boat (despite it being a stretch for the budget). The attention to detail and build quality by FP, along with their practical storage touches and suitability for everyday living, appeared to be a great match.
On top of this, my contact had a very humble and caring approach to our needs, and his comments and thoughts resonated well. I took a long hard look at the boat, took lots of photos and recorded my immediate thoughts for later. This session was a good two hours, including a full pricing exercise as we talked through the short and long term options.
I then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the remainder of the outside exhibitions before heading off to my very comfortable AirBnB and out for dinner. Being on my own, I had plenty of time to think through the opportunities presented to me, and I felt proud that I had had such an extremely productive first day.
DAY 2 - 28 MAY 2017
I woke up with a bounce. After a great sleep and some breakfast I felt a renewed sense of accomplishment heading back out to the show. My plan today was simple - talk to as many people as possible, absorb and lap up the advice I was given, and go for another visit to the Lagoon 42 and FP Helia 44. I wanted to come away with everything needed to go home and make an informed decision with my family about our next steps.
I spent the morning in the exhibition halls and roving the outside stands looking at tenders, outboards, kayaks, power options, heads (toilets), water makers, refrigeration, navigation, safety, books, etc. It was really awesome and truly comforting to continue to tell our story to total strangers, and to be given total respect and encouragement for what we are heading towards.
In the afternoon I went for another look around the Lagoon 42 and FP Helia 44. Again, I have to say that my contacts did an amazing job of making me feel at home; offering a wealth of information, imparting knowledge and reassurance, and sharing experience which is absolutely invaluable to us at this stage. The Helia kept shining and I spent another hour discussing the timing options along with the purchase and decision making process on new and secondhand yachts.
I came away feeling really positive about the weekend and thinking that I had done everything I could in terms of fact finding in order to carry on researching. I messaged home, turned off my phone and had a coffee to mull things over.
Then, something amazing happened (but quite frankly very typical of our past decision-making processes). I really felt in my gut that our contact in Australia and the Fountaine Pajot line was for us. The combination of the two felt like a family warmly welcoming us in to their safe and well-designed home. Throughout the past two days I had been in constant contact with my partner, relaying my thoughts and feelings. Yet, I hadn't passed on my latest thoughts about potentially committing to a Fountaine Pajot through this particular Australian broker. But, turning on my phone again I found a message from home sharing the exact same feelings! We had both independently come to the same conclusion and realised that there was no time like the present. And so, without expecting to, we were able to make a big decision about our future! In just over two years our new home would be aboard a Fountaine Pajot, and our Australian broker (and their staff) were the perfect combination for us.
Without long left of the show, and with huge momentum and impetus, I went back for a final discussion with my contact. We talked for a long time about the pros and cons of the options available to us, with complete transparency and a lack of pressure. It was time to do a deal which I had definitely not prepared myself for, especially not 1.5 hours before catching my shuttle back to the airport!
I'll skip the finer details but safe to say we came to a very fair agreement cemented on the back of a postcard. By the end of a long and unexpected weekend, we had committed to buying a boat. Wow! How on earth did that happen? With a beer in hand, we celebrated together to the sounds of the boat horns ending what was an incredible two days. I came away not quite believing what had just happened, but also very comfortable in our decision and pleased to know that we had secured a Fountaine Pajot (Lucia 40 or Helia 44) with a delivery date of July 2019... which has been our departure date all along. Perfect!
Now to work backwards from that date, lock things in and get our finances in good shape!
-Ben