2023 marked a significant and sentimental milestone for Maritimo – the celebration of our twentieth year as a luxury long range motor yacht manufacturer, whose achievements are etched into the very fabric of Australian business success stories.

During 2023, via chapters chronicling the company’s journey, Maritimo has shared the rich and colourful journey from 2003 to the present. We chartered our voyage from the creation, growth and evolution of the range to the diverse stories of our devoted customers and dedicated staff who have helped build our brand.

This year was Maritimo’s most successful year in its 20-year history, with the largest year of production on record, built on the heels of consistent, conservative growth & strong sales, with order book reaching into 2026.

Complementing this achievement was the Global Launch of the two of the biggest yachts in the company’s history with the launch of the M75 Flybridge Motor Yacht and the S75 Sedan Motor Yacht.

2023 was a brilliant year for Maritimo at boat shows, starting with the Palm Beach International Boat Show in March showcasing the widely popular M55 & S55 motor yachts.

Our home port event, the 34th Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May was our biggest and most successful SCIBS in our 20-year history. We were exceptionally proud to host the Global Launch of the first of our two new flagship models, the S75 Sedan Motor Yacht.

Guests came from around Australia, New Zealand, the US, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan to witness the launch of the S75 – truly the showstopping vessel at SCIBS 2023. Over the four-day event, we showed thousands of people through the impressive line-up which comprised the M55, S55 motor yachts, M600 and S600 Offshore Series and M60, crowned by the magnificent S75.

The Maritimo S75 attracted extraordinary attention from boat show visitors and media eager to see the visionary flagship model – the opus of 20 years of Maritimo.

At its Global Debut, which was broadcast live to media, dealers and owners in international markets, Tom Barry-Cotter, Managing Director of Maritimo, described the S75 as “the culmination of over three years of development and many hundreds of thousands of hours in the planning and pre-production, collaborating with Maritimo owners intensively throughout the process.”

He continued, “When you consider the evolution of Maritimo over the past 20 years you understand that the foundations for the development of the S75 were laid from the start.

“When Bill Barry-Cotter founded Maritimo in 2003 he had the vision to see the scale of vessels that we would be producing today and he set about creating an environment where that would be possible.

“The global launch of the S75 heralds the start of Maritimo’s 20th Anniversary celebrations and what could be more fitting in our 20th year than releasing this grand vessel – the epitome of everything that is Maritimo.”

In the wake of an incredibly successful SCIBS – the best in 20 years of exhibiting – Maritimo ensured the Global Launch of the scintillating M75 Maritimo Flybridge Motor Yacht was equally impressive.

Held at the Sanctuary Cove Marina 14 & 15 July, the unveiling of the ultimate Australian designed and manufactured long-range luxury motor yacht was hosted to a rapturous reception, coinciding with the pinnacle of Maritimo’s 20th anniversary celebrations – the owner and VIP party on the marina with the two new flagship Maritimo M75 and Maritimo S75 as the centrepiece to this grand occasion.

The M75 is Maritimo’s largest motor yacht – the product of more than 120,000 hours of dedication to research, design and tooling, with another 35,000 hours devoted to each and every M75 build, involving 40 skilled craftspeople with an estimated 800+ years of experience among them.

Owners from the US, New Zealand and Asia Pacific were part of the consultation process in developing Maritimo’s flagship vessel.

“The M75 is the sum of 20 years of evolution and is Maritimo’s most magnificent model ever,” said Tom Barry-Cotter. “We have taken two decades of our customers’ experience and input into our design evolution and melded that into what is the most incredible flybridge motor yacht ever crafted in Australia.

“The M75 represents a quantum leap in long range cruising design when it comes to cruising range, offshore performance and on-board comfort.”

Coinciding with the Global Debut of the M75 was the Maritimo Boat Show and Careers Days – a showcase of the latest generation of models and a national recruitment drive to grow and develop skills in boat building to ensure the future of our vibrant industry.

At the event, Maritimo promoted its apprenticeship programs and hosted hundreds of young people keen to find out more about opportunities in the boat building industry.

Investment in staff has always been a focus at Maritimo, and this year we increased our emphasis on recruitment, training and development of tradespeople through the Maritimo Momentum Program, with special emphasis on building our apprentice numbers and attracting the next generation of aspiring craftspeople through attendance at Careers expos and close partnerships with schools and colleges in our region.

With a workforce of 360, Maritimo currently has 30 apprentices within its facility and intentions to add to this number in 2024.

Apprentices and employees benefit from the Maritimo Momentum Program, which comprises in-house training, leadership skills, support and well-being, and offers both a Certificate II, and a Certificate IV qualification. We are committed to providing a well-rounded and hands-on learning experience, complemented by mentoring and coaching, classroom training, and on-going skills development.

A crucial part of nurturing our unique culture is recognising achievement, participating in boat shows and social events, which this year included a private screening of the latest instalment of “Mission Impossible” as a thank you to all Maritimo staff for their efforts.

This year, Maritimo owners on two continents enjoyed much-anticipated Maritimo Migrations and other VIP Events. In May owners and VIP guests descended on Florida’s southernmost city, Key West, for a fun-filled Maritimo weekend and Australian owners headed north to the Whitsundays, 2 to 16 October.

In perfect conditions, heading north to the tropical cruising grounds of the Whitsundays, the fleet of Maritimos set off from the Gold Coast. Stops along the way included Double Island, Fraser Island (K’gari), Lady Musgrave, followed by Yeppoon. From there, enjoying the camaraderie and magic scenery, the fleet headed to Great Keppel and then the Percy Isles-Scawfell Island, Shaw Island and Whitehaven Beach, arriving at Hamilton Island for the start of on-shore celebrations.

More than 120 guests joined the throng, from Queensland, NSW, Western Australia and Victoria.

Highlights of the week on ‘Hamo’ included sunset picnics at picturesque One Tree Hill, an incredible dinner by candlelight with live entertainment, art lessons, educational sessions with partners, an exhilarating sailing experience aboard the Maritimo yacht, and a magnificent long lunch on the sublime silica sand of Whitehaven Beach.

From the feedback, it’s clear the Maritimo Migration is one of the most popular events on the calendar, and one that’s embraced with gusto by owners who look forward to meeting other Maritimo owners and sharing stories about their long-range cruising adventures. Next year’s Maritimo Migration will take place in Sydney and already interest is at record levels.

In August, a new festival graced the skies of Surfers Paradise in the inaugural Pacific Airshow Gold Coast and a fleet of Maritimos celebrated the occasion with a raft up just offshore of this spectacular strip of coastline. With the impressive backdrop of the Surfers’ skyline and in glorious spring sunshine, owners enjoyed the thrilling feats of aviation overhead, and the camaraderie of socialising as part of the Maritimo family.

The next Maritimo showcase was the 2023 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, 25 to 29 October – the world’s largest in-water boat show with more than 1,000 brands, 1,300 boats and attracting 100,000+ visitors.

Maritimo Americas hosted the North American Launch of the all-new Maritimo M60 Flybridge Motor Yacht, the advanced evolution of Maritimo’s 20 years of expertise in designing superlative long-range cruising motor yachts.

Also revealed were the details of Maritimo’s new flagship models, the M75 and S75, which attracted plenty of interest and resulted in multiple orders to see the new flagship vessels bound for the waters of the United States.

At FLIBS 2023, Maritimo Americas heralded the next era, with the announcement of Dave Northrop’s retirement after 20 years and the appointment of Keith Teynor as Managing Partner for Maritimo Americas. Keith will oversee sales, logistics, marketing and service for the company within the United States, Canada, and South America. Adding to the management talent pool, Josh Northrop, Dave’s son, is now Factory Sales Specialist at Maritimo Americas, focusing on growing their sales and service throughout the Americas.

Tom Barry-Cotter hailed FLIBS 2023 as “Another fantastic Show for Maritimo where we welcomed both first-time Maritimo owners as well as long-time Maritimo owners into the Maritimo family with orders across the range.

As part of our strategic push into Asia, in we appointed The Yacht Sales Co. the exclusive Maritimo dealer for South-East Asia.

“With multiple locations across South East Asia, and specifically in the boating hubs of Sentosa, Singapore and the island of Phuket in Thailand, they are best positioned to support clients anywhere in the region to the degree they expect and deserve, and to the level that is Maritimo,” said Derrick Nowak, Maritimo’s Business Development Manager – Global.

The next challenge for Maritimo Racing is the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, one of the world’s most prestigious blue water sailing events. The 113-strong fleet in the 78th RSHYR will set off through The Heads on Boxing Day, 26 December. The 628 nautical mile race attracts sailors from around the world.

Maritimo is the only team with two entries in the event – Maritimo 52 and Maritimo 54. Maritimo 52 is a meticulously refurbished, Reichel Pugh-designed TP52 that will compete in the 52-foot grand prix racing yachts class, against 12 other contenders, including two champion internationals.

Michael Spies, veteran of 44 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race is at the helm of Maritimo 52 and Bill Barry-Cotter’s brother, Kendal, is at the helm of Maritimo 54.

“We are extremely proud to be a Gold Coast manufacturer of motor yachts that are prized around the world,” stated Tom Barry-Cotter. “A testament to the skills and craftsmanship of our tradespeople, our two Maritimo sailing yachts will be flying the flag for the Gold Coast in the 2023 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.”

The Race start at 1pm (AEST) Boxing Day, 26 December. You can track the progress of Maritimo 52 and Maritimo 54 on the official race tracker.

Now, with the end of the year just around the corner, Maritimo is looking ahead to 2024 with expectations of further innovation, new models and inroads into new markets. We are planning an expanded presence at the 2024 Palm Beach International Boat Show in Florida in March, followed by a stellar line-up at the 2024 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May where we will reveal some exciting advancements within the Maritimo range.

To all our owners, suppliers, colleagues and contacts around the world, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and all the very best for the start of 2024.