CHASING BLACK MARLIN IN A NEW MARITIMO 550 IS A THRILL OF A LIFETIME

From Lizard Island south to Cairns and just a short distance offshore from where the Coral Sea throws itself relentlessly against Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, sea creatures of mythic proportions reside for a few months each year. Massive animals, graceful in form with incredible strength, that in turn entice a select group of fishermen from around the globe to converge here. In these fabled waters, home to the largest black marlin from late October through December, is a fairytale ecosystem most anglers will only dream  about, the largest coral reef in the world- 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching 1,600 miles, composed entirely of living organisms, inhabited by exotic fishes and colorful marine life.

Cairns, pronounced “cans” by locals, is the northernmost city in Queensland, the main access to the Reef and thus the epicenter of the big game fishing world in those months when gladiators in multimillion dollar sportfishing vessels take up residence with a common purpose: to do battle with a grander, or a marlin over 1,000 pounds.

The summer of 2009 started out with great promise for boaters in the Pacific Northwest, and I don’t think anyone was disappointed.

Our adventure started in beautiful Victoria; the capital of British Columbia, a charming Canadian city on Vancouver Island. As we enjoyed sunshine in the harbor while looking at the majestic parliament buildings that grace the waterfront, a local photographer putting together his portfolio visited us, and in no time we became his subject, or rather our Maritimo 52 Skylounge was the subject (see www.reubenkrabbe.com  and click on portfolio- people). Our photographer was prepared and had even brought his own model. I thought perhaps I might even have a chance so we took pictures too! Victoria was beautiful and we did so enjoy the beautiful city views.

NORTH TO ALASKA

After a maiden voyage from Newport Beach, California to Seattle, Washington, Ed and Patty Dunn set off in their newly acquired Maritimo 52 on the adventure of a lifetime-a 3000 nautical mile trip to the beautiful cruising grounds to Alaska.

Patty Dunn takes up the story…

The Sea of Cortez, or the Gulf of California as it is now called, is one of the best cruising and fishing destinations we have ever experienced. In April of 2009, during Spring break, the Verheyen family ventured down to bask in the sun and experience some of God’s most stunning creations.

The two-hour flight from Los Angeles to La Paz was almost too short to make the work to play transition. The word is almost! We hailed a taxi for the quick trip from the airport to the marina, with a short provisioning stop at the local super market. Our new boat (52-69), “Pura Vida” (translated; Pure Life) awaits us at the beautiful Costa Baja Marina, a sprawling development with a state-of-the-art marina. We quickly unpacked and joined some friends down at the beachside restaurant. After al fresco dinning at the Marina Azul, we walked back to the boat along the beach and called it a day.

Reproduced with permission from the January/February 2008 issue.

An American family takes a shakedown cruise along Australia’s east coast.

See more pictures of the Tango: Taking Factory Delivery

Author: Ken “Brownie” Brown
Reprinted with permission.

I have just returned from a 7 day marlin fishing trip to the Ribbon Reefs. We stayed aboard the mother Ship Bali-Hai 11 and fished with Corey Hard on Mauna Kea and Sharky Miles on your new Maritimo 550, with 2 teams of 2 anglers alternating boats every day.

There were obvious differences in the boats and moving from one to the other organising video coverage, gave me the chance to compare their qualities.

Mauna Kea is a 44ft Pleysier design hull Assegai. It’s a full blown fishing boat and although she’s got a few seasons under the belt is in excellent condition.

Since my last boat was a 40ft custom built Pleysier, she’s my kind of boat, fully functional and designed with one thing in mind, getting after big fish. So I jumped on her the first day.

Corey and the Hard Core team are just that. Young guns who really know their stuff and they fish the tackle, angler and boat on the limit, if the angler can keep up.

A Maritmo is not just for cruising. Chris Meekley, his son Joey and friends took their new Maritimo 52 out to do a little fishing. What they came back with was one heck of a fishing tale and quite a few salmon too.

The group left Vancouver August 11th on a journey to Bamfield, BC on the west coast of Van Island in Barkley Sound. They reached their destination in 7 hours cruising at 26 knots.

The stretch of water from Victoria BC to Balmfield can get very rough. This stretch is often called the graveyard of the Pacific But as you can see from the photos, they had nothing but calm seas.

Take factory delivery and see Australia!

When you take factory delivery of your new Maritimo in Australia, you not only get the boat of your dreams, you have an opportunity for the adventure of a lifetime!

Ask Compass Point Yachts about the details.

Here are photos of the Tango and its factory delivery: