4 | WATERLINE April 2026 "Marinas26 will be the biggest and best yet." CEO UPDATE April 2026 I have mixed feelings as I write this. I am saddened by the conflict that is impacting our friends in the Middle East and hope that by the time this is published that it has settled down and my feelings now redundant. I am sure I speak for all MIA members when I say that our thoughts and wishes are with all our members in the region, their friends, families and country men and women. We were hoping to catch up with many of them at Marinas26 and even if they are unable to make it over due to travel concerns, I hope we can still hear from them remotely, and that we have the opportunity to provide our support to you all. Marinas26 is shaping up to our biggest event yet. The exhibition is sold out and there is a diverse range of exhibitors coming along. We have made an effort to reach out to businesses to exhibit products and services that you may not have seen exhibiting at our events before. You can see a full list of the exhibitors on page 14. The conference line up is awesome and the full program along with featured speaker profiles are in the pages that follow, so I won’t repeat that now, but what I will say, is that the program is completely focussed on marina topics and issues. You will not hear this content at any other event, and we are proud to be able to bring you such focussed and valuable insights from professional, industry people. The networking program is comprehensive and will be a lot of fun. In addition to our regular extended breaks to meet with exhibitors, delegates will be welcomed on Sunday evening by Pelagic Risk Services at a Miami-Style Cocktail Party held poolside. Our very popular North Harbour Happy Hour will again return and we will incorporate our structured networking during that event to mix everyone up early on. If you’re up and about bright and early and wish to get some air in your lungs before we commence day 2, you can breathe and stretch at the Sanctuary Cove Yoga Class or join Lily and Chris on the Marina Training Institute guided Walk n Talk Club. You’ll have then earned the right (or not) to enjoy a Bacon & Egg Roll at the Waterline Breakfast with Exhibitors, before the program kicks off. The day will conclude with the Marine Structures Tropical Gala Dinner, and I believe the team have some fun activities to add to the event this year. If you are still going, the After Party will be on in the Red Dog Bar. Personally, I think that some of the best networking is done on the Study Tours where everyone is a little more relaxed and have time for a chat on the bus or a stroll through the marina sites. A shout out to our sponsors. The MIA now has 27 industry partners and sponsors who make further financial investments in the MIA to ensure we can continue to deliver the services to members that we do, without additional call on members. Please recognise their commitment to industry and consider them when you are making procurement decisions. Since the beginning of the year, we have welcomed three new sponsors. Pelagic Risk Services increased its commitment from Silver to Gold Sponsorship of the MIA. Pelagic is an insurance broker and risk specialist and have many new exclusive MIA member benefits on the way which they will launch at Marinas26. Harbour Assist, a marina management software company has re-joined the sponsorship ranks taking up Silver Sponsorship and Inspectahire, a visual inspection specialist is now a Bronze Sponsor. Marinas26 also has a further 18 Conference Sponsors, many of whom are also MIA sponsors. We have two Media Partners this year. Marine Business News is our local media partner and Marina World is our international media partner and both will be on hand to cover the event. Speaking of great media publications, I would like to comment on this being our biggest Waterline ever at 52 pages. Waterline has evolved in recent years to become a far more technical and informative publication. Our new office is decorated with nearly 100 framed copies of Waterline Magazine since it was first published back in 2006 - it is wonderful to be creating a history for our Association. You are welcome any time to pop in to our new office in Mona Vale, to say hello, get some work done between appointments, or see if you can spot your ‘younger self’ on any of the Waterline covers – some of you are definitely featured and you all look as good now as you did then . Looking forward to seeing you at Marinas26. Suzanne Constant and Automatic Line Adjustment with our Incredibly Strong Pile Rings www.marinaquip.com
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