People Appointments and Australian Show Debuts featured - MarineBusinessWorld Oceania newsletter
by Peter Rendle 5 May 2022 22:00 UTC
World Champions, Rosco Willaton and Tom Barry-Cotter in the capacious Main Saloon of the new Maritimo S55 © John Curnow
More news of appearance at Boat Shows continues to be received. Leading Australian luxury motor yacht manufacturer Maritimo, which has continued to build on the momentum of its new model development strategy from 2021, has big plans for this year's Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, May 19-21.
There will be no less than three global launches forming part of a six vessel showcase to highlight the diversity and world-leading model range proudly carrying the Maritimo brand. Maritimo's lead designer, Tom Barry-Cotter, said this would be one of the most exciting displays in recent memory for the Australian manufacturer.
"SCIBS 2022 will see show attendees from Europe, Asia and the Americas welcomed back for the first time since the 2019 global pandemic and travel restrictions," he said. "We are excited to potentially be welcoming both our overseas sales and service network as well as our owners from around the globe back to our home show and the home of Maritimo."
Performance Cruising Yachts is excited to present the Dufour 48 Catamaran for the first time to the Australian market. Since arriving late last year, the interest in the model has been overwhelming, with a large number of enquiries on the Dufour 48 and also the brand new Cervetti 44, which will be available in both sail and powered versions next year. The Dufour 48 Catamaran debuts at Sanctuary Cove.
Palm Beach Motor Yachts will also attend the show. The Australian-founded company will have three boats on display. Ocean racing champion, Mark Richards founded Palm Beach Motor Yachts in 1995. He saw an opportunity to build what he called a 'sailor's power boat' - an efficient, high-speed cruising motor yacht. Since then, Palm Beach Motor Yachts evolved to include nine models in its range. Of those models, the GT50, PB50, and PB65 will be on display at Sanctuary Cove.
Appointments this week include the Boating Industry Association Ltd (BIA) Board who voted unanimously in favour of Andrew Fielding to be Chair of the Board and President of the Association. President Fielding accepted and stepped into the role with immediate effect. Andrew was quick to pay tribute to the leadership of Darren Vaux who will continue on as a Board Director. He said Darren's contribution had been outstanding and left a legacy of key strategic decisions which had put BIA in a strong position for the years ahead.
Australian Sailing Immediate Past President, Matt Allen AM, has been elected as a Vice President of the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), winning election at their recent AGM. President of Australian Sailing from 2013 to 2019, Allen won the post alongside fellow incoming Vice President Evelyn Halls and new AOC President Ian Chesterman AM.
"Australian Sailing would like to congratulate Ian, Matt and Evelyn on their successful elections," said current Australian Sailing President Daniel Belcher. "Matt is the first sailor to hold the position of Australian Olympic Committee Vice President; we are sure he will continue his fine work in advancing sport through that role." Allen has been a member of the AOC Executive Board since 2017 and was a key player in leading Australian Sailing through its One Sailing governance reforms.
Continuing with sailing news, Julian Bethwaite and the International 49er Class Association welcome interested parties to become licensed 49er builders. They are seeking excellent boatbuilders to join their existing builders to help supply the best of top-flight Olympic sailors worldwide. Builders should review the application overview and formally apply by June 30 to ensure successful bidders can be ready to supply the fleet for the LA 2028 quadrennial.
A new product to be released this week is from Garmin. They announced the ECHOMAP™ UHD2 chartplotter series with 500W of vivid, high-contrast scanning sonar power, all-new hardware with a sunlight-readable display and more. Offered in a new 5-inch as well as the popular 7-inch display, the ECHOMAP UHD2 plotters offer physical buttons for easy control and operation of functions every angler wants for a successful outing, including marking key waypoints or quickly toggling between different chart views. Plus, built-in Wi-Fi enables seamless sharing of sonar and user data between two ECHOMAP UHD2 units onboard.
Dutch company VETUS has announced the launch of its new website, offering customers an enhanced user experience to coordinate with a unified branding refresh across the company's digital platforms. The new site is brimming with concise content and features a user-friendly redesign for simple and speedy navigation, browsing and searching. The visually-driven site showcases VETUS's capabilities and knowledge as a global innovator for complete marine product systems and incorporates a new web shop and Service Centre.
VETUS overhauled its website to provide fresh insight into the brand as part of updates to its entire online profile, responding to the continued growth in internet traffic accelerated by the pandemic and the reduction in boat show attendance. Visitors will enjoy crisp, clear imagery and graphics combined with an intuitive user interface. The site provides boaters and businesses with a valuable resource for easy product ordering, plus relevant and focused information in a less text-heavy format.
Finally, but not least, Eight Bells Kelvin (Ace) Mowtell. It is with sadness we announce the passing of marine personality and photographer Kelvin James Mowtell, known to all as 'Ace', who passed away in his beloved New Zealand; he was 86. A true character in our sport, Ace had been a director of the Australian 18 Footers League in Double Bay since 1993 and a member of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia from 1979. Living across the road from the CYCA, he was perfectly placed to spend time at both clubs. Ace was 'Ace Marine Photography'.
From the seventies on he took thousands of photos of yachting and 18ft skiff events on Sydney Harbour, including momentous photos of Sydney Hobarts, documented in the many sailing magazines, particularly during the seventies and eighties. I met Ace on numerous occasions, especially around the start of the Sydney-Hobarts.
His camera equipment was modest unlike many of the tabloid press with their assorted range of cameras and lenses. Ace was happy with a single camera and lens. He knew he had to get close to the action and was often seen taking close up pics while steering and controlling his runabout with consummate ease. Despite this 'inconvenience' he produced some brilliant prints. Always known for his sense of humour and positive outlook, he will be always be remembered by the yachting press. Our condolences go to his family and friends.
Keep safe,
Peter Rendle - peter.rendle@marinebusinessworld.com