Australia Tahiti Rendezvous returns with another successful year

The 9th annual Australia Tahiti Rendezvous sponsored by Benetti Yachts was held on July 8, 2022, at Marina Taina, Papeete, Tahiti. With 15 vessels in attendance, superyacht captains and crew were excited to attend to receive updates on the Australian superyacht industry and participate in the day’s festivities.

Judges – Corina Wilson, Superyachts 153 (Left), David Saul, Superyachts 153 (Middle) and Virginia Edwards, Superyacht Group Great Barrier Reef Group (Right), judging the BBQ Competition sponsored by Superyacht Group Great Barrier Reef.

Rivergate’s VIP Captains’ lunch sponsored by Rivergate Marina & Shipyard.

Mark Phelps, The Yard Brisbane operating the bar at the Networking party sponsored by The Yard Brisbane.

David Good, CEO of Superyachts Australia, said, “Tahiti is one of the jewels of the South Pacific and a large reason why yachts should venture to this beautiful part of the world. Our Australian event is designed for crew to have a great fun night in Tahiti and to provide information on the services, infrastructure and experiences available in Australia. Australia offers skilled trades and shipyards as capable as Europe and USA. This can be the difference to ensuring vessels stay in the region longer, knowing they don’t have to return to the Northern Hemisphere to receive quality maintenance and refit work,” said David Good, CEO of Superyachts Australia.

The day commenced with a Morning Tea Expo at L’Ínstand Présent followed by the Rivergate Marina & Shipyard’s VIP Captains’ Lunch. With 25 attendees, the lunch was an ideal opportunity to update captains on developments and why Australia is an ideal charter destination when cruising the South Pacific.

Steve Fisher, Director of International Business at Rivergate Marina & Shipyard, said, “The return of the Australia Tahiti Rendezvous was another terrific event with a high-quality line-up of boats attending. The VIP Captains’ Lunch held on the Marina Taina waterfront was sponsored by Rivergate and was a fantastic opportunity to showcase both the magnificent cruising grounds and the marine refit and maintenance facilities Australia offers”.

Fisher added ‘It’s great to be visiting our friends and colleagues and the vessels in Tahiti after such a long layoff due to the pandemic. To be back here connecting with international yachts again is a fantastic opportunity and Rivergate is extremely excited to see them visit Brisbane and the cruising grounds around Australia. The industry is undoubtedly bouncing back.

We look forward to looking after all of you in the natural deep water of the Brisbane River at Rivergate Marina & Shipyard. See you Downunder!”

Winners of the best-dressed competition – MY Babac. Supported by Quality Marine Clothing. Tony Liddy, Quality Marine Clothing (Left) Duncan Curnow, Quality Marine Clothing (Right)

Winners of the best-dressed competition – MY Babac. Supported by Quality Marine Clothing. Tony Liddy, Quality Marine Clothing (Left) Duncan Curnow, Quality Marine Clothing (Right)

Traditional Tahitian dance performance organised by Tahiti Tourism.

The Superyacht Group Great Barrier Reef’s (SYGGBR) BBQ cooking competition kicked the evening’s events off. Six crews participated in the highly competitive cooking competition with crew from the vessels – SY Guillemot, MY Babac, SY Aquarius, MY Sea Wings, SY Ghost and MY Free Spirit. Each team was given Australian ingredients conjuring up the best dish to impress the four judges – Virginia Edwards, SYGGBR Manager: Corina Wilson and David Saul from Superyachts 153 and Carrie Carter, Carter Marine Agencies. The placeholders were SY Aquarius in third place, MY Babac in second place, and SY Guillemot took the top spot with Chef James creating delicious tacos that won the judges over.

The Yard Brisbane hosted the evening Networking Party for the crew of all 15 vessels in port to mingle with local Tahitian and Australian industry representatives. The crew joined the festivities with a traditional Tahitian dance performance organised by Tahiti Tourism and a local band for the night’s festivities. Capping off the evening was a best-dressed competition with Quality Marine Clothing providing prizes for placegetters. The crew sported their best ‘Aussie outfits’, with the MY Babac crew winning with its unique expression of Australian culture.

Corina Wilson, Yacht Agent at Superyachts 153, said, “As first-time attendees to the Tahiti Rendezvous, we found the event of huge benefit as yacht agents. We were impressed with the attendance from the crews with plenty of enthusiasm for the activities and interest in Australia. The event structure provided opportunities and sufficient time to meet Captains and crew, allowing us to build relationships and reconnect with local agents and suppliers.”

Superyacht Australia thanks our sponsors, Benetti Yachts, Rivergate Marina & Shipyard, Superyacht Group Great Barrier Reef, and The Yard Brisbane. Superyacht Australia also thanks the attendees, Carter Marine Agency, Superyachts 153, Quality Marine Clothing and all the superyacht captains and crews.

Superyacht Australia acknowledges the local superyacht industry in Tahiti for its significant contribution to the overall success of the event, in particular, Tehani Fiedler-Valenta, owner of Tahiti Crew; Tahiti Ocean; Tahiti Yacht Support; Seal Superyachts Tahiti and Manoa Rey of Tahiti Tourism.