Reprinted from March 2010 Sea Magazine

WE LEFT THE DOCK IN A 10- TO 15-KNOT side wind, but our captain, Chris Elliott of Compass Point Yachts, used the remote thruster control and the aft controls to move the boat effortlessly into the channel. Later, when I turned the boat stern-to at 8 knots into a choppy sea with a good groundswell (I noticed no chattering, shimmering or cavitation), we took on 6 inches of green water in the cockpit. I stopped the boat and the water was gone in about three seconds — I timed it. I wasn’t surprised by either of those events, however, because the Maritimo 550 Offshore Convertible has Bill Barry-Cotter’s 40 years of shipbuilding experience behind it.

Offshore powerboat racing is a sport with tremendous fan appeal in Australia. Enthusiasts cheer for the championship teams and driver with the same sort of fervor normally reserved for NASCAR in the United States. The accomplishments of Australian offshore racer Bill Barry-Cotter as commonly known and widely acclaimed “down under” as the names Richard Petty or the late and lamented Dale Earnhardt are instantly recognized in North America. An offshore racer trusts his or her life to the design and integrity of a hull designed to challenge the open sea at speeds in excess of 100-mph. Bill Barry-Cotter applied the knowledge gleaned through such experience to become a world-renowned designer and builder of tough but very classy, bluewater capable boats in Australia. Barry-Cotter was instrumental in the founding of Riviera Yachts, eventually departing that firm in 2001 for semi-retirement as a real estate developer.