Yeah Russel..heaps of room…
Well hang on there Russell a bit to the left mate ….
Nah the other left you daft Kiwi……
Ouch……Akward….
Oops…..give us me Bow back Mate !
You can see the Video of it all at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxZ9P5FCGNI&feature=g-u-u
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0li5rH_2j0&feature=share&list=PL59BD5480A8795C5F
No sleep for the shore team !
Posted in News Events, Photographs, Uncategorized, Video | Tagged America Cup, Broken Boat, Coutts, Crash, Kiwi, Racing, Russell, Russell Coutts, Sailing, Smash | Leave a Comment »
GARTH CORBITT (CEO) – PRESS SPEECH THURSDAY 24TH MAY 2012
GOOD MORNING & WELCOME EVERYONE LET ME START BY SAYING THAT THE MARITIMO TEAM IS ‘REVVED UP” ABOUT THIS YEARS BOAT SHOW AND WE HAVE GOOD REASON TO BE. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME EXCITING AND SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE MARITIMO ORGANISATION OF WHICH I WILL ELABORATE ON SHORTLY. IT’S NO SECRET THAT MARITIMO ALREADY BOASTS AN ENVIABLE REPUTATION IN THE LUXURY BOAT MARKET, HOWEVER, FAR FROM BEING COMPLACENT, WE ARE DETERMINED TO BUILD UPON OUR SUCCESSFUL HERITAGE AND FIRMLY ENHANCE OUR POSITION AS THE PREMIER AUSTRALIAN BOAT BUILDER. AS A COMPANY, MARITIMO HAS EMBARKED ON A SIGNIFICANT JOURNEY OF REFLECTION AND RIGOROUS SELF-ASSESSMENT OVER THE PAST 9 MONTHS, HOWEVER, IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING, AS WE CONTINUE TO RE-ESTABLISH & REDFINE OUR ORGANISATIONAL GOALS AND “RAISE THE BAR” FOR OURSELVES TO MEET AND EXCEED OUR CUSTOMERS EXPECTATIONS. WHEN WE SET ABOUT DEVELOPING A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF MARITIMO, THE MORE WE THOUGHT ABOUT IT AND DISCUSSED IT; THE CLEARER THE ANSWER BECAME; IT WAS SIMPLE – GROWTH IS WHAT WE DESIRED FOR OUR BUSINESS MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. MORE SPECIFICALLY, TO INTITIATE AND FACILITIATE THIS GROWTH, WE NEEDED TO TAKE SOME ACTION: WE HAVE SET ABOUT INCREASING OUR INVESTMENT IN OUR PEOPLE, OUR SELLING EFFORTS, OUR BRAND DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING, OUR PRODUCTS, AFTER SALES SERVICE AND OF COURSE, MOST IMPORTANTLY, OUR CUSTOMERS. INVESTING IN PEOPLE – THROUGH CRITICAL AND FOCUSED TRAINING PROGRAMS, RECRUITMENT OF KEY PERSONNEL AND RESTRUCTURE OF THE SENIOR MANAGEMENT TEAM TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE BUSINESS. I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND ON THE STAFFING CHANGES WITHIN THE ORGANISATION: IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT I WELCOME GREG HAINES TO MARITIMO. GREG HAS ACCEPTED THE ROLE OF SENIOR MANAGER SALES AND MARKETING AND HAS “HIT THE GROUND RUNNING” AND SURPRISED US ALL WITH HIS AMAZING DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE MARITIMO PRODUCTS. GREG IS A GREAT ADVOCATE AND ADVERTISEMENT FOR MARITIMO AS HE OWNS AN M48. GREG PROVIDES AN INVALUABLE VIEW FROM BOTH A MANUFACTURER AND CUSTOMERS PERSPECTIVE. AS MOST WOULD ALREADY KNOW, GREG HAS A RICH HISTORY IN BOATING AND ONE WOULD SAY IT’S IN HIS DNA NOT UNLIKE OUR FOUNDER BILL BARRY-COTTER DUE TO HIS LIFELONG INVOLVEMENT WITH THE HAINES BOATING GROUP. I WOULD LIKE TO SAY A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO PETER JENKINS, FORMERLY SALES MANAGER FOR MARITIMO AND LONG TIME FRIEND AND SPARRING PARTNER OF BILL BARRY-COTTER’S. BILL AND PJ, AS HE WAS KNOWN AROUND THE TRAPS FORMED A FORMIDABLE COMBINATION IN THEIR YEARS TOGETHER AND AS BILL DISCOVERED YET ANOTHER PRODUCT NICHE SO PJ FOUND A WAY TO SELL INTO IT. SO THANKS AGAIN PJ FOR YOUR LOYALTY AND SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS. INVESTING IN OUR SELLING EFFORTS – WE WANT TO IMPROVE THE SELLING EXPERIENCE FOR OUR CUSTOMERS – HOW DO WE DO THAT? WE WILL INCREASE OUR TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR OUR SALES TEAMS; WE WILL ENGAGE OUR CUSTOMERS MORE OFTEN WITH MARITIMO MUSTERS, PROMOTIONAL PROGRAMS FOR NEW PRODUCTS AND INCLUDE OUR SUPPLIERS. INVESTING IN BRAND DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING – WE BELIEVE STRONGLY AND PASSIONATELY IN OUR BRAND & OUR TAG LINE “MARITIMO…. OCEANS APART”, SO WE HAVE MAINTAINED OUR COMMITMENT & BELIEF IN OUR BRAND AND REFRESHED OUR BRAND IMAGE BUT HAVE REMAINED LOYAL TO OUR MOTTO! A PROGRAM OF ADVERTISING IS PLANNED AND WILL COMMENCE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.
INVESTING IN OUR PRODUCTS – MOST EXCITING OF ALL IS OUR FANATICAL FOCUS TO THE DEVELOPMENT, DESIGN AND INNOVATION OF NEW PRODUCTS. ADD TO THAT OUR RACE-BRED TECHNOLOGY, BUILD QUALITY WITH INDEPENDENT MARINE SURVEYORS, THE ONLY ISO 9001 ACCREDITED BOAT BUILDER IN AUSTRALIA, UNPARRALLED ENGINEERING, “2ND TO NONE” FUEL EFFICIENCY, MOTOR YACHTS WITH FULL WIDTH WALK AROUND DECKS, OUR MARITIMO FLYBRIDGE BOATS WITH INTERNAL STAIRCASES & OF COURSE, I COULD GO ON. HOWEVER, WE ARE CONSTANTLY STRIVING TO IMPROVE, SO WE ENGAGED EXTENSIVE CUSTOMER SURVEYS TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT OUR BUYERS THOUGHT OF US AND OUR PRODUCTS. WE ALSO SECURED THE SERVICES OF AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER TO ASSIST WITH THE PRODUCT REDEVELOMENT PROCESS. WE INCREASED THE INPUT FROM OUR SALES TEAMS AND THE RESULT OF ALL THAT HARD WORK IS THE NEW PRODUCTS MARITIMO IS ROLLING OUT TODAY. THEREFORE, I’M PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE ARE LAUNCHING THE MARITIMO 58 AND MUSTANG 43 AT THIS BOAT SHOW AND HAVE A NUMBER OF NEW PRODUCTS ON THE DRAWING BOARD FOR LAUNCH AT THE SYDNEY BOAT SHOW AND SOON AFTER. I WILL LET BILL TALK TO YOU IN MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE NEW PRODUCTS. INVESTING IN OUR CUSTOMERS – CUSTOMERS ARE THE “LIFE BLOOD” OF ANY BUSINESS AND WE MAKE IT OUR BUSINESS TO KNOW WHAT THEY THINK OF US AND OUR PRODUCTS. AS I MENTIONED, MARITIMO CONDUCTED CUSTOMER SURVEYS AND GATHERED AN ABUNDANCE OF VALUABLE FEEDBACK ACROSS A BROAD RANGE OF TOPICS. THE RESULTS HAVE ENABLED US TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE NEED TO IMPROVE AND WE IMMEDIATELY SET ABOUT MAKING THE NECESSARY CHANGES AS EVIDENCED IN OUR NEW PRIODUCTS. INVESTING IN AFTER SALES AND SERVICE – WE HAVE ENHANCED OUR PHILOSOPHY ABOUT NEVER LOSING “YOUR CONNECTIVITY” WITH THE CUSTOMER. IT’S A FRESH CORE INTITIATIVE TO VIEW OUR AFTER SALES SERVICE AS AN EXTENSION OF THE CUSTOMERS PURCHASE OF A MARITIMO AND HENCE WE SEE IT AS CRITICAL TO THIS ALL ENCOMPASSING RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OF OUR CUSTOMERS. TO MORE EFFECTIVELY MEET THESE NEEDS WE HAVE APPOINTED A HIGHLY EXPERIENCED & “TERM OF LIFE” BOAT BUILDER, PLUS “ALL ROUND GOOD GUY” CRAIG JONES TO THE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT ROLE. CRIAG VACATES THE WARRANTY AND SERVICE MANAGER ROLE AND PETER MCGRATH; THE HEAD OF OUR RACING OPERATION WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR AN EXPANDED BRIEF AND HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO THE ROLE OF WARRANTY AND SERVICE MANAGER IN ADDITION TO THE RACING PORTFOLIO. WE NEVER FORGET THAT ABOVE ALL ELSE OUR BUSINESS IS UNDERPINNED BY BILL BARRY-COTTER HIMSELF, WHO’S UNWAVERING VISION, ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS, “2ND TO NONE” PRODUCT DESIGN AND INNOVATION AND HIS UNBRIDLED ENTHUSIASM FOR THE BRAND, THE PRODUCT, HIS CUSTOMERS AND STAFF MAKES IT AN EXCITING JOURNEY FOR US ALL. FINALLY, WE ARE PROUD TO BE AUSTRALIAN OWNED AND BUILT WE ARE EVEN PROUDER TO BE A PART OF THE MARITIMO FAMILY AND AS SUCH MARITIMO WILL CONTINUE TO STRIVE TO BE “OCEANS APART” FROM ITS’ COMPETITIORS IN EVERY WAY.
Posted in News Events, Photographs, Updates | Tagged Barry-Cotter, Gold Coast, Maritimo, Maritimo 48, Riviera | Leave a Comment »
Watched from my balcony as an afternoon Thunder Storm developed and swept in across from the West. Was fortunate enough to capture the following photo of a spectacular Lightning strike. In fact all told there were three Lightning flashes quickly repeated to the same spot. The subsequent Thunderclap rolled on for more than twenty seconds.
To be sure the people in that area must have been fairly impressed by the Light & Sound show all around them.
The building in the centre is the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The place where Lady Gaga will strut her weird stuff in a week or two.
“Lightning Strike”. All rights reserved. © Property of Bill Petrie. 10 May 2012
Posted in Exterior, News Events, Photographs, Updates | Tagged Indoor Stadium, Kallang, Lightning, Lightning Photo, Lightning Strike, Photos, Singapore, Strike | Leave a Comment »
This post refers to the Argentinian Video of Fernando Zylberberg running in the Falklands capital Port Stanley. The Video punch line shown at the end is
“To compete on English soil we train on Argentine soil.”
The universal reaction to this has been……….What a load of Bollocks !!
Personally I prefer the Spoof done by the Islanders, which is linked to below. At least they can laugh about it.
At least this time the Argentinians only invaded with a Video Camera and a silly PR stunt rather than Guns and naked aggression.
This whole thing is obviously just a PR Stunt to whip up emotions and xenophobic sentiments in the face of a worsening economic situation for Argentina and slipping popularity for Kirchner and her Government.
The Falklands are a sure fire Hot Button issue for them to ‘play’ when there is international outrage at the appropriation of Repsol YPF, in a nationalisation reminiscent of a bygone Socialist/Communist era.
It is Argentina that has chosen to stoke the fire on this matter, and it appears to the world that it is an emotional move for popularist intentions.
The simple fact is that if Argentina felt they had a case to Legally claim the Falklands Islands then they would be on the plane to the Hague to file papers with the International Court of Justice to present their case to the panel of International Judges.
Countries all over the world have chosen to do this to seek a judgement and finality in the case of a dispute over territory. The verdict is always absolute, binding and final.
So rather than playing games with Videos and fanning the flames of Argentinians emotions, the steps open to the Argentinian Government are clear. Anyone can go to the ICJ web Site and you will see a long list of cases brought to the court, many from South American countries, with details of the judgements available for public download and inspection.
Why has Argentina not done this? The answer can only be that it does not have a strong case to present. Indeed there may never have been any formal claim made to the Falklands by Argentina, whereas the UK had claimed sovereignty, and administered governance of the Islands for centuries.
Rather it seems Argentina prefers to whip up emotion and try to raise ill feeling and disadvantage to both the UK, and the people of the Falklands Islands, than to sit down, research, evaluate and present their legal claim to the ICJ and live with the final outcome.
Many others that have come to the ICJ did not get what they hoped for, but they have to accept the decision and move on. Argentina needs to move on also.
Just let Kirchner remember what happened to the last President who whipped up emotion on the Falklands. He was at the end, tried and jailed by his own countrymen. He escaped a firing squad only on appeal.
It seems he also had pressing domestic issues that were ‘forgotten’ by pressing the Hot Button topic of the Falklands.
Move on Argentina, you’re doing yourself a disservice doing stupid stunts to whip up emotions, again !
Posted in News Events, Updates, Video | Tagged English Soil, Falklands, Fernando, Kirchner, Port Stanley, Zylberberg | Leave a Comment »
Following on from the recent post I made on the changes to the Maritimo Boat Line Up and their new Web Site, they have now come out with this news update.
Iconic Australian luxury cruiser manufacturer Maritimo has undertaken a complete review of its model range and will be reducing and refining its offering to the boat buying public.
After extensive customer research and a review of the popularity of the various models Maritimo will concentrate its R&D efforts to ‘core business’ being the flybridge motoryacht series and a new series of coupes that share a common hull to their flybridge sisterships.
New models set to be released at upcoming boat shows include the new M45 and the M58. In the Mustang stable the new Mustang 43 sports cruiser is also about to be released. It fits neatly between the ‘Baby Maritimo’ Mustang 32 Sports Cruiser and the Mustang 50.
Maritimo Marketing Director Luke Durman said the combination of the remodeled Flybridge Motoryacht range (5 models), the new Coupe series to be announced at Sanctuary Cove Boat Show (2 models), select 470 and 500 convertibles, along with the Mustang sports cruisers the company had a vessel to appeal to most buyers.
“Over the past six months we have gone back to basics, we have researched what our buyers think and importantly what they want and we have been able to narrow down the field so that we hit those targets. Its not just about the boats themselves, we researched the whole offering as a brand – pre, during and post sale, and the feedback was highly regarded in developing our forward strategy,” he said.
“It is all about increasing the quality, making slight changes to increase usability and concentrating our efforts in the areas which provide the greatest opportunity for returns.”
Mr Durman said the release of the M58 at the Sanctuary Cover International Boat Show followed by the M45 at the Sydney International Boat Show would be milestones for Maritimo this year.
The M73 Motoryacht will continue to be Australia’s largest production vessel.
.
That last sentance is just a “Mines bigger than yours” jibe regarding someone else’s 70 footer due to launch later this month.
More than that though you can draw your own conclusions when you read statements about getting back to “core business”.
Separately I believe they have made announcements about a New CEO, Mr Garth Corbitt, who was previously the CFO, or the “bean counter/numbers man”, and a new head of sales and marketing, Mr Greg Haines, the son of legendary Queensland boat builder, the late John Haines AM.
So what of Mr Maritimo himself, Mr Bill Barry-Cotter, and Mr Luke Durman, Managing Director?
In any event I wish them much success with the changes and refocus. They do make Great Boats !
Posted in News Events, Updates | Tagged Australia, Boats, Langkawi, long range, Long Range Cruiser, Marina at Keppel Bay, Maritimo, passage, passagemaking, Phi Phi, Phuket | Leave a Comment »
Felt more than a couple of tremors today originating from the Sumatra earthquakes of 8.6 and 8.2. Thankfully seems there has been been little damage and destruction in Indonesia this time, at least at the time of writing.
Read there was an 0.8m Tsunami wave somewhere around Simeulue Island off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Hopefully that is all there was and it dissapated quickly.
Here is a USGS plate of where those quakes ocurred.
Just for ‘refernce’ take a look at this YouTube Video which apparently records all the Earthquakes of 6.0 and above that took place in 2011.
Turn up the volume a bit and get ready for the explosion of quakes that occured around Japan in March 2011.
And remember, this year is 2012 !!
Posted in News Events, Updates, Video | Tagged Earthquakes Tsunami Sumatra Aceh tremors, Phuket | Leave a Comment »
Just dropped by the Maritimo Web Site and see it has had a major makeover.
On face value it seems they have cut down the model range and ‘dropped’ some styles. Either that or they are still working on the Web Site !
Previously under Cruising Models they had a 48, 53, 56, 60 and the 70. Now they show they have a 45, 48 and 58.
Under their Gamefishers, which they branded as Convertibles they had a 550 (Top Gun), 500 (Son of a Gun) and a 470, which now shows as reduced to the 470 and 500.
They have only a 60 listed under Cabriolet and only a 50 listed under Sport Cruisers.
No sign of their Agean Enclosed range at all. Maybe that’s not a bad thing.
We’ll see what else comes out in the next few weeks before the Boat Show season in Australia.
It could be they are re-vamping their whole product line. They really led the way down under for a few years, with good design and solid engineering, but now really need to update and improve their interior layouts, liveability, storage and ultimately the WOW factor !
Reportedly Bill Barry-Cotter recently just lost out to get control of Riviera, when they came out of Administration, so now he and his team need to concentrate on improving the Maritimo offerings.
Look forward to seeing what they come out with in the next year or so.
They do make quality boats !
Posted in News Events, Updates | Leave a Comment »
I recieved a call yesterday afternoon from Steven in Kuala Lumpur to break the news that Bruce Cramond had passed away. I have copied Steven’s follow up email below, which everyone agrees exactly captures the Bruce that we all knew and liked so much.
We shall miss him.
It is with great sadness to have to tell you that our friend and colleague Bruce Cramond has passed away on Friday 23 March 2012 at 08:20 AM at University of Malaya Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. He was to be 62 years old next month.
After his initial operation and successful removal of his melanoma from his sinus three years ago and subsequent numerous operations to his palate, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor three weeks ago.
Bruce being Bruce did not want to “bother others with it” and kept it private. He was operated on recently in an attempt to remove it, and, until a few days ago, there was some hope to cure it, however complications arose last Wednesday whereby he was urgently admitted to the hospital. He then went unconscious and never recovered.
Friends shall remember Bruce from his stories; his Antarctica days with the Royal Navy, his Greenpeace days in Amsterdam, his Oceonics days in the late eighties, his startup days of TLGH in the nineties, his life and stories in Jakarta, his endless stories of New Zealand rugby games, from the “Chiefs” to the “All Blacks”, wild pub crawls in the most exotic places around Asia, his endless tennis games, miles of jogging and fitness training, the beauty of his home town “in the middle of nowhere” in NZ and the bars of Taman Desa, where he was immensely popular.
Colleagues shall remember Bruce for his commitment, honesty, morals, ethics and dedication to his work, his long working hours and “let’s get it done” approach, I like “lifting boxes” he would say and let’s not forget his gift of writing reports, knowledge of survey work and interest in the well-being of fellow colleagues.
Bruce being Bruce would have said: “I’m sorry to leave this way”.
May he rest in peace, we shall miss him.
Steven Kusters
.
I can only add that I knew and worked with Bruce over much of the last twenty years. I owe Bruce a great debt of gratitude for all that he did during that time.
May he rest in peace, we shall all miss him greatly.
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
The Boat is sold and delivered. That’s all good and all part of the plan, but a few irks !
After I bought the boat (ordered 2006, delivered 2007) I bought an apartment (2007) next to the Marina I kept the boat at. I always dreamed of living there and being able to look out the window to see how the boat was doing. Well I had to wait five years for the builder to complete all 1,100 apartments of the development, and in any case I’d decided to rent out the place, and well now the boat is Sold.
However now I see the new owner keeps her in the same Marina, in a berth just right in front of my apartment balcony !
Anyway no hard feelings, she is a great boat and she served me well for more than five years.
Why sell her then ? Well boating ideas change, and as boats get older they need more maintenance, and breakdowns will become more of a nuisance.
There is a phrase you often see on Yachtworld or anywhere with Used Boat ads, “Better than New”, that always means that the owner has “broken her in” and well ….fixed everything that crapped out for whatever reason after the boat was delivered.
I guess in the US or Australia, you just call the dealer and set a date for them to drop by to take a look. But when you buy direct from the Manufacturer, and they don’t have any servicing agent where you are based, well you deal with it yourself, and frankly that is the way I prefer it.
To their credit whenever I had a failure of an item under warranty (and even outside warranty), if they could, then Maritimo Australia would just send me a replacement by courier; No Questions.
But obviously there are times with things that you just have to deal with it yourself. I’ve done that for five years, and in the process always fixed or repaired/replaced anything that was broken or just wasn’t quite right. That might mean I fixed it or I got the guys whose work I trust to get onboard and work on it. (Well actually more of the latter)
I’ve always also determined that the boat should be kept clean and the Hull well polished. Gel coat is meant to shine so you can see your reflection ! That’s a lot of work, and mostly all done by hired help, but I think it’s worth it. Also she has been lifted out every year and antifouled regardless. Engines serviced with Lubes & all Filters changed annually regardless of the hours, and done by the Caterpillar agent.
Again that is a lot of work and expense, but when you go out in your boat, you want to be confident and relaxed that everything is in the best shape.
Is it all worth it ?
Obviously the guy who bought her thinks so, given he came up with a winning offer.
Good luck to him and I hope he has an enjoyable ownership of her. I believe she will be used by his family mostly for fishing around the region. He’s keeping the name AVA LON, which I like as there a strong reason behind the name, and that way I will always have a connection with her.
To the new owners, Fair Winds & Tight Lines !
Posted in Exterior, News Events, Photographs, Updates | Tagged 30knots, AoPo, costa concordia, Giglio, Grey Pearl, long range, Marina at Keppel Bay, Pangkor Marina, passage, passagemaking, Phi Phi, Reflections, Reflections at Keppel Bay | 2 Comments »
Posted in Exterior, News Events, Photographs, Updates | Leave a Comment »
Maritimo 48 