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Visit tradeboats.com.au for the latest news updatesGold Coast-based
professional captain Russell
Fleming recently made a
momentous 50th Tasman
crossing in a new Maritimo
S70 sedan motor yacht,
saying the vessel performed
well above expectations.
“We had 25kts of wind on
the bow and three-and-a-
half metre seas for about
eight hours at one stage in
the trip and she handled it
beautifully,” said the veteran
skipper. “We then had big
following seas and she
revelled in those conditions.”
Captain Fleming, a New
Zealander, was delivering
the S70 to New Zealand for
its owners Brian and Cath
Carran who worked with
Maritimo for a period of
almost two years bringingthe boat into fruition.
Brian said they went with
Captain Fleming because
of his experience and his
dogged attention to detail in
preparing the boat for what
can be a dangerous exercise.
Captain Fleming said
his 50th trip was quite a
milestone in more ways
than one – it was his fastest-
ever crossing, taking just on100 hours.
He covered 1178nm and
burned 8500lt of diesel fuel.
Average speed was 12.4kts.
(The vessel is powered by
twin 900hp Scania D
engines.)
Maritimo’s Gold Coast
CEO, Garth Corbitt, said
the Carrans completed
a worldwide search for
their perfect retirement
boat before settling on the
Maritimo.
“They didn’t want a flybridge
vessel, but after sea trialling
our M70 off the Gold Coast
they were won over by its
performance and threw us
the challenge to build them
a single-level version,” he
said.
“Brian and Cath were very
hands-on in the design
process and they have
customised their vessel to
their own style and taste. We
knew it was a winner from
the initial design stages and
now that Russell has put her
to the test over 100 hours
and more than 1100nm
our beliefs have been
vindicated.”Master mariner’s
100-hour Tasman crossing
Merc Force has claimed
outright honours in the
Sydney Bridge to Bridge
Classic for the second
successive year.
Averaging more than 170kph,
the Merc Force team of Don
Gulley (driver), Kris Knights
and Jake Tegart (skiers), and
Kevin Boylan (observer)
needed just 37 minutes
and 34 seconds to cover the
112km course - breaking the
record by 26 seconds.
The ‘awesome foursome’
fi nished a comfortable 14
seconds ahead of the hard-
charging Superman.
But that was far from
Mercury’s only success over
the weekend, which saw
the famous marque claim
bragging rights across the
board.
In the Unlimited Inboard
category, TR had similar
success – retaining its title
and setting a new record.
Ian Tricker (driver), Ben
Clark and Reece Simmonds
(skiers), and Nathan Miller
(observer) dominated
the highly competitive
category, fi nishing in 40
minutes and 50 seconds,
more than a minute ahead
of the competition and two
minutes better than their
winning time last year.
In another major class win,FORCE FIELD!
WaterSports Marine clinched
victory in the Unlimited
Outboard competition. The
WaterSports Marine team of
Anthony McEnnally (driver),
Mitchell Horan and AshleyHerwin (skiers), and Stewart
Smith (observer) took the
chequered fl ag in 46 minutes
4 seconds, a full six minutes
clear of the chasing pack.