If you’re planning on heading out to the Canberra Balloon Spectacular on 9-17 March this year, be sure to look at the waters as well as the skies as the beloved Canberra GoBoats are being wrapped to support ACT Down Syndrome Association (ACTDSA).

“Every morning at sunrise you have this fleet of a dozen GoBoats heading out onto the lake. Then you have 30 or 40 balloons up in the air and about 10,000 people out on the shores of the lake and then another few hundred people on the lake on kayaks and canoes,” says Nick Tyrrell, GoBoat Australia founder.

Knowing that the Canberra Balloon Spectacular is their most visible time of year, Mr Tyrrell wanted to use the opportunity to fundraise and raise awareness for the association.

“We’ve put the call out for local businesses who want to sponsor a boat, so they have their branding along with Down Syndrome Association along the side of the boat.”

Businesses have already signed up to support the initiative and with two boats left to go, GoBoat is close to their $30,000 goal.

“That kind of money would cover the rent on their facilities for more than three years. It takes the pressure off them just having to fund their day-to-day operation and gives them the flexibility to do more out in the community with those families that are sometimes struggling with how to raise kids with Down syndrome.”

The ACTDSA aims to build an inclusive community for people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities through lifelong engagement, programs and community initiatives.

GoBoat also donates the proceeds of their opening weekend to the association. For the past three years they have supported the association, Mr Tyrrell says every charity is worthwhile, but the ACTDSA was a perfect fit for them.

“The families who have a child with Down syndrome, massively disproportionate rates of family breakdown, massively disproportionate rates of poverty. Even where families stay together one or both of the parents usually has to quit work to care for them.”

It isn’t just money that they provide to ACTDSA, families with a member with Down syndrome can book a GoBoat and head out free of charge. Two of their employees are also young people with Down syndrome who are paid full wages without the incentive of government programs.

Along with supporting local families, the GoBoats are also kinder to the environment than other boats you might see out on the lake. Now manufactured in Australia, they use recycled material wherever possible in the construction process including fiberglass made from recycled plastics. 

“It is like taking something like 18,000 bottles out of landfill to do one of our boats with that recycled material.”

Not having to worry about fumes, yelling over noisy petrol engines or refuelling, Mr Tyrrell says the electric boat also provides the customer with a more relaxing experience.

“No one was really doing it in Australia with electric outboards and I saw it as an opportunity for us to lead. Canberrans care a lot about the environment and I think that’s important to reflect their values.”

Each table in the boat is also handmade with recycled material by a Canberra man who has since moved to the north coast explains Mr Tyrrell. He sources the timber from places like old buildings and farm fences to make unique pieces for the vessels.

Launching with just four boats in Canberra in 2017, GoBoat now operates 80 boats across Canberra, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.

Travelling to Stockholm in 2015, Mr Tyrrell spotted electric boats that you didn’t need a license to hire and operate.

“That experience, being able to take a couple of friends on that boat, pick up some ice creams and tootle around a city I had been to a bunch of times but never seen from the water was revelatory,” he says.

Noting how underutilised Lake Burley Griffin was, Mr Tyrrell thought that the service would offer locals and visitors a new and exciting way to experience our city.

Although some may have doubted his vision, the boats have been a huge success and were even awarded the inaugural Sustainability in Boating Industry Award 2023 by the Boating Industry Association. Always feeling like a bit of an outsider in the boating community running electric boats out of a place known for its waterways, the award was validating for the team.

“When we won that award it was like ‘Okay we’ve made it, we’re part of the boating community and we are taking a leadership role’.”

 To find out more about GoBoat visit; goboat.com.au

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