By Helen Hopcroft for Powerboat World

Greg Alward has what many people would consider to be the ideal job. The long time Hamilton Island resident is the Maritimo contact person for the island, responsible for ‘anything and everything to do with Maritimo.’ This year he led a convoy of Maritimos up the coast from Hope Harbour Marina, near the Gold Coast Broadwater, to Hamilton Island ‘stopping all stations.’ Dubbed the ‘Maritimo Muster’ it was the perfect opportunity for owners and their families to enjoy the fun and security of cruising in company.

The five boat convoy included a number of owners who had never ‘boated any further north than Mooloolaba’ so Alward selected a route with as little outside passage making as possible and stopped at many peaceful anchorages along the way. The conditions proved to be ideal for the trip.

‘We had the best weather you can ever imagine. I think the worst day we had was about ten knots of southeaster following us up the coast. It was tough…’ Alward said with a droll smile.

The Maritimo 550, a classic battlewagon designed specifically to claim top honours at Australia’s premiere game fishing tournaments, is the latest release from Bill Barry-Cotter’s award-winning Gold Coast yard. Every aspect of the vessel has been created to hunt the giant ‘granders’, black marlin tipping the scales in excess of 1000lbs, roaming the Coral Sea. It’s not only the overall design of the boat that leaves nothing to chance; campaigning the vessel will be none other than Captain Bill Bilson, widely acknowledged as one of the country’s top game boat skippers and a four-time winner of the prestigious Lizard Island Black Marlin Classic. Bilson played a major role in the design and set up of the Maritimo 550, a sleek 57-footer with a 17ft beam. Naturally, Bilson concentrated on the vessel’s cockpit and flying bridge, ensuring the Maritimo 550 proved a classic battlewagon in every respect. The first Maritimo 550 will be powered by dual 1000hp Caterpillar marine diesels giving it an astonishing 38-knots plus.

Welcome to the new Compass Point Yachts blog. We hope this will be a space for everyone to share their Maritimo and yachting stories and experiences. What was it like to buy your first vessel? What yachting adventures have you had? This is a place for you to ‘show and tell’ us all about it. This is also a place where we’ll tell our stories too, our experience in the industry, our clients, and the joy that is yachting!

Things are just getting under way here. If you have a story, an idea, something you’d like to see, drop us a line. Or just leave a comment. (See below)

Come back soon. Come back often. Enjoy!

Comments: Anyone can leave a comment about a published article by clicking on the “Comment” link at the end of each article. You will be taken to a page where you can leave your comment. Just fill out the form and click the “Submit Comment” button. That’s it! Comments can be read by everyone. If a comment is deemed inappropriate for our readers, the administrator reserves the right to edit, or delete the comment. Thanks.