Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2025 | Michael Spies Interview - Maritimo Katwinchar

The 1904 built Maritimo Katwinchar raced to Hobart for the first time in 1951 when a group of English friends sailed her to Sydney from the UK and were persuaded to join the race. Maritimo owner Bill Barry-Cotter was keen to find out what had happened to Katwinchar after his father owned her 1960s, so when the boat was found languishing in a backwater on the Central Coast – and for sale on Gumtree - Bill Barry-Cotter went about restoring her. Skipper Michael Spies who raced her to Hobart in the Double Handed division in 2024 says that Katwinchar has always been a very fast boat – and he’s looking to prove as much, racing her with a full crew in 2025. Amongst his team will be Scott Kaufman, famed yacht designer and sailor and Emma Rankin, a graduate of the 18 Footers academy and the first female skipper to win an 18 foot skiff NSW Championship race.