The 2019 Adelaide Boat Show will not only showcase the latest boats, equipment and services, but provide a platform for learning and knowledge sharing. Here’s what’s on at this year’s show.

Stage Schedule:

Fishing Clinic

CASTING WITH COOKIE

Learn the pro tips and tricks from one the best anglers in the country. Always popular, the fishing clinics are a great place to acquire the methods that might otherwise take years to learn. Everything from hearing about hard and soft lures, line weights, landing the big ones, and telling a few tall stories can be expected. South Australia is fast becoming a first-choice destination for serious anglers, and these clinics will teach all you need to know about fishing across the state.

Australia’s largest glass-sided fishing demonstration tank will be on site at the Adelaide Boat Show this year. At 15 metres long, the glass tank holds 14,500 litres of water with live fish, presenting an educational and entertaining fishing experience throughout the show. Daily demonstrations indicate the effectiveness of various lures, where the audience actually witnesses how different skills and techniques effect the response of fish. It’s a revealing insight into what is often unseen below the surface of the water.

On stage: 11am, 3pm, 5pm* (*Friday & Saturday only)

FISHING MASTERCLASS

Given the popularity of fishing with boat owners in South Australia, fishing rods, tackle and plenty of accessories remain a major attraction at the show. Local fishing celebrity Greg James along with Mark O’Connell and Mick Wilson will be on-hand to share stories and tips on the best fishing locations in the state and along the coast, as well as the important considerations when buying a boat. There advice is not to be missed.

On stage: 11.30pm, 3.30pm

Floorplan

THE BOATING SAFETY POOL

Making its debut at the Adelaide Boat Show is the custom installed 35 metre boating safety pool which offers visitors the opportunity to ‘test-drive’ and experience kayaks, paddle boards and pedal boards on the water, whilst manoeuvring navigation buoys and a 7-metre-tall lighthouse (a speed limit of 4 knots applies, of course). This is a great way to see many products perform as they would on the water, highlighting the features important to you. Demonstrations as well will take place throughout every day of the show. Check signage at the pool for the next presentation.

KIDS BUMPER BOATS

As the Adelaide Boat Show is an experience for the whole family, enjoy the free bumper boat rides for kids at our new 35 metre boating safety pool. Between demonstrations, have the kids climb aboard their own watercraft as they pedal around the Boating Safety Pool and steer their own mini boat. Life jackets supplied.

BOATING SAFETY

Representatives from the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure will also be at the show with information and displays about newly legislated on-water speed limits, life jacket regulations, and to answer any questions about boating safety and registration. They are also conducting surveys with visitors about boating knowledge with a view to creating new and effective educational materials. It’s worth swinging-by their stand as participants in the surveys will be entered into the draw for special prizes. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the important aspects of operating vessels in and around the state’s coastal areas and waterways.

Primary Industries and Regions SA are onsite to offer information and bring you up to date on size, bag, and boat limits, closures and aquatic reserves, rock lobster pot registration, fishing gear, and protected species. You can also ask about their volunteer programs which raise awareness among the fishing communities about the need to protect and preserve resources for future generations. In this zone you will also find the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association and SA Sea Rescue, where you can learn about the great work they do keeping our waterways safe, and how you can help support their services.

On Stage: 2pm

TINNIES ON THE TORRENS

A unique feature of this year’s show is Tinnies on the Torrens, another great way to entertain the kids while also introducing them to the basics of responsible and safe boating. Extending the Boat Show outside and onto the river, Tinnies on the Torrens takes advantage of the show’s new location by featuring an actual on-water experience adjacent to the Convention Centre, free for those attending the show. Grab a wristband at the information desk at the entrance to the Show before you head out!

Riverside

MICHELLE LEE – SOLO OCEAN ROWER

Excitement and adventure can also be found at the Adelaide Boat Show, as ocean rower Michelle Lee with her boat Australian Maid makes a special visit this year. Michelle is the only Australian woman to row solo non-stop across any ocean, successfully crossing the Atlantic earlier this year, a distance of 5000 kilometres. Her story of tenacity, strength, survival and sheer determination is inspiring, along with the design and cost challenges of developing her own boat, and the will power required to make it to the start, let alone the finish line. Michelle will be at the show each day, giving talks and posing for selfies.

On stage: 1pm, 5.30pm

SA MARITIME MUSEUM

Alongside the best and brightest new boats at the show, the South Australian Maritime Museum presents some of the stars from their 140 years of collecting. On display at the show, Whiz Bang IV belongs to the last generation of timber powerboats. Built as a ski boat for Tom Angove, of the well-known wine-making family in South Australia’s Riverland, it illustrates the growing popularity of water skiing which continues today.  Also on display from the Maritime Museum is Nocroo, the cadet sailing dinghy constructed during the winter of 1947 by Sir James Hardy when he was just 14 years old. The dinghy went on to win three club and three state championships and in both 1951 and 1952 was runner up in the Stonehaven Cup for 12 foot cadet dinghies crewed by young sailors.