This year’s recreational boating season is kicking off with strong yacht sales as U.S. and Canadian visitors show up at Greater Victoria marinas.
A new luxury marina may finally get started in Victoria’s harbour and a marina owner in Sidney is planning a four-storey condominium development on the upland.
“Definitely, there’s been a rebound in the market over the last year,” said Greg Horne, co-owner of Custom Yacht Sales Ltd. in Sidney. “In particular, we are seeing U.S. clients returning.”
Americans like the price advantage in the value of our loonie against the U.S. dollar.
“We’ve exported a fair number of boats and I know a lot of the other brokerages have as well.”
There’s also been some pent-up demand in the local market, which represents more than 50 per cent of sales, Horne said. Alberta residents and other Canadians make up 25 to 35 per cent of the market and the balance are Americans.
All categories are seeing sales. “Everything from luxury yachts to sport fishermen to family cruisers are selling. Before it used to be the high end where we were getting activity.” He categorizes a luxury yacht at $500,000-plus.
Sales started to pick up in November when two 58-foot-long boats were sold into the U.S., he said. “Then the spring market, coinciding with the Victoria Boat Show in April, just spurred a whole bunch of activity.”
Recreational boating plays a major role in the capital region’s economy, where everything from rowboats to luxury yachts are built and repaired and supplies are sold. Vessels visiting local harbours bring tourism dollars to the region.
Fishing charters, whale- and wildlife-viewing trips, and paddling are all part of this world.
Canada’s recreational boating industry accounted for about $4.4 billion in annual direct revenues and employed 40,000, said a 2012 report titled the Economic Impact of Recreational Boating in Canada, released by the National Marine Manufacturers’ Association.
Canadians own more than 4.3 million boats, according to the report.
Parksville boat broker Guy Robertson handles the lower end of the boat-buying market. Many people are looking to convert cheap commercial fishboats or tugs into pleasure craft.
He recently sold a 75-foot steel tug boat, built in 1944, that had been derelict in Deep Bay.
“That boat will be turned into a half-million-dollar yacht in probably eight months time,” Robertson said. “Just to have a boat with an old diesel motor that burns $10 an hour to drive at eight knots cruising the coast is kind of a dream for a lot of people.”
Greater Victoria is a haven for boaters because of its proximity to scenic, sheltered waters, ferry terminals and Victoria International Airport.
“We’ve got probably the best cruising in North America,” said Mark Dickinson, president of Van Isle Marina in Sidney.
Dickson took over Van Isle from his father, Steve, who established the marina with 35 slips in 1955. Van Isle, which recently blasted out reefs to expand its area for moorage, now has 510 slips and room to store another 95 boats on dry land. Dickinson plans to turn the marina over to his daughter, Dana, and son, Greg, who are both involved in the business.
A “huge job generator” at Van Isle has been a haul-out site for vessels to be repaired or stored, he said.
Modern marinas have to cater with services boaters now expect, such as Wi-Fi, Dickinson said.
Modern cruisers have high-tech navigational aids and conveniences such as microwaves and dishwashers.
For Van Isle, 2013 delivered record boat sales and “so far this year, we are running parallel to last year, which is a good sign,” Dickinson said.
Although transient visitor numbers are not as strong as they were prior to the recession and fuel costs are higher here than in the U.S., Dickinson anticipates that visits by Americans will also match last year’s numbers.
Thora Brooks, spokeswoman for the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, is also bullish about this season. “We are off to a great start. The weather has been great and we have had lots of reservations so far. We are fully booked for Canada Day and B.C. Day long weekends already.”
The majority of visiting boaters are from Washington state, with others arriving from Vancouver, Alberta, Oregon and California, she said.
Port Sidney Marina owner Kim Pullen said summer visitor numbers look strong.
That’s made up of “Canadian boaters, who are weather-dependent, so we are looking for a good summer. And then you’ve got your American boaters, who are currency-dependent and that looks good.”
Pullen had offered the 320-slip marina for sale at $17.2 million but said this week that it is not on the market at this time.
Meanwhile, construction could start “within a few weeks” on the Victoria International Marina, said Larry Halgren, spokesman for the project.
This project was hotly contested in Victoria and was eventually rezoned to trim it from earlier larger plans.
It will take at least 18 months to complete the 29-slip marina and two commercial buildings in Victoria Harbour, Halgren said. Seabed samples are being analyzed to help determine how to dispose of dredged material in the least costly way, Halgren said.
The Lindholm family bought Marina Park Marina in Sidney last year and rebuilt it.
They recently received development permit approval to build a four-storey, 34-unit condominium project. Mark Lindholm expects the 18-month construction project to begin this time next year. No prices have been set yet.
