Legend returns
Renowned boatbuilder Bill Barry-Cotter enters his 54-foot yacht Maritimo in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
02 December 2020
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An expert in boatbuilding, design and offshore powerboat racing, Bill Barry-Cotter’s latest challenge has involved transforming the 54-foot Maritimo from his Gold Coast headquarters to be race ready for December.
“It’s very exciting to be the only entrant representing the Gold Coast in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race,” says Barry-Cotter.
“Over the last six months, our in-house team of experts has worked tirelessly to prepare the yacht to be race-ready.
“We’ve re-engineered much of the boat, including a new carbon-fibre mast and boom, new sails and rigging.”
Maritimo’s team of craftspeople are located between the Hope Island Boat Masters service centre and its manufacturing headquarters at the Gold Coast Marine Precinct in Coomera.
The Gold Coast has the largest concentration of marine trades in Australia.
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Spanning 250 hectares, the Gold Coast Marine Precinct is dedicated to the manufacture, service and re-fit of recreational boats.
The precinct houses over 80 on-site traders and employs over 700 marine-related contractors.
Over the last 20 years, the precinct has maintained, repaired and built in excess of 50,000 vessels.
“The Gold Coast Marine Precinct is one of the only places in the world that is a dedicated centre designed specifically for boat manufacture and repairs and maintenance,” says Barry-Cotter.
“It is the hub of a significant business sector that sees millions of dollars in export earnings flow back to Australia and supports thousands of employees.”
Maritimo departed the Gold Coast from Sanctuary Cove on Friday 27 November.
Maritimo will compete in qualifying series races for the Rolex Sydney Hobart, before setting sail with the Tattersall Cup firmly in its sights in the IRC division on 26 December 2020.
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