Bill Barry-Cotter, CEO of Australian boat builders Maritimo, has always rated safety in his boats as a major priority, with features such as watertight bulkheads, fire fighting systems, superior fuel tankage and high strength stringer systems built into every one of its offshore racing boats.
Following the tragic accident in Dubai in November in which the crew of ‘Victory 1', Mohammad Al Mehairi and Jean-Marc Sanchez lost their lives, Bill has now ordered every boat in his successful offshore race team to undergo stringent safety procedures.
The work involves comprehensive strengthening of the cockpit area, with unidirectional E-glass and bi-axial laminate used to build a framework over and around the crew seating.
Primary component will be directly above the cockpit roof and engineering estimates indicate the structure will be able to withstand stresses in the region of 10 tonnes!
Tom Barry-Cotter, the Maritimo Offshore Race Team's 1 driver, has played a major role in the design and development of the structure, his former training in naval architecture and present skills in graphic design proving valuable.
Tom also witnessed first hand the tragedy and was able to see for himself the actual damage caused to the Victory boat.
Bill Barry-Cotter has laid down the law- no Maritimo boat will contest an offshore race until these cockpit alterations have been carried out.
Although this work is destined solely for the race boats, Maritimo's skilled workforce relies heavily on learning when and where race boat technology can be adapted and employed to improve the luxury cruiser range.
The tragic accident has not gone unnoticed by organisers of the Offshore Superboat Championships, which recently laid down the edict that all boats powered by 300hp or above must be fitted with canopies.
Two Maritimo race boats, 11, driven by Tom Barry-Cotter, with a throttleman yet to be named, and 15, driven by Luke Durman and throttled by Ross Willaton, will be ready for the opening round of the 2010 Offshore Superboat Championships scheduled to begin in April.
Always willing to assist the sport, Bill Barry-Cotter has offered to assist competitors to make the vital cockpit safety enhancements prior to the season opener.
Vision from the Dubai Grand Prix accident in which driver Mohammad Al Mehairi, 34 from the UAE and throttleman Jean-Marc Sanchez, 48 of France were killed in the first race at the 2009 Dubai Grand Prix, the final round of the Class 1 World Powerboat Championship.
The two offshore powerboat racers were racing Victory I in the the early stages of the Class 1 Dubai Grand Prix first race at the Dubai International Marine Club, when their boat flipped and landed upside down.
They were subsequently airlifted to a local hospital, where all efforts to resuscitate them were in vain.
The race was red flagged (called off).
Al Mehairi was the European Class One champion in 2009, while Sanchez was throttleman aboard the 2007 World Class One champion team.
Part of the cockpit arch comprising unidirectional E-glass and high-tech laminates to provide crew protection in the event of a crash. - Bob Wonders Click Here to view large photo
Tom Barry-Cotter, Maritimo Offshore Race Team’s 1 driver, with the comprehensive plans for the cockpit safety enhancements. - Bob Wonders Click Here to view large photo
’Maritimo 11’, first boat of the Maritimo Offshore Race Team to undergo the safety upgrades. - Bob Wonders Click Here to view large photo
Diagram showing the cockpit safety upgrade scheduled for all Maritimo offshore race boats. The arch being installed, seen at the bottom of the diagram, can withstand stresses of 10-tonnes. - Bob Wonders Click Here to view large photo
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