After 47 Sydney Hobarts, Michael “Spiesy” Spies knows the Tasman waters like few others. The man is inseparable from the race. So when he entered his new boat just days after entries opened for the 2026 edition, no one batted an eyelid. What caught people’s attention was the vessel itself: a J/160 called Maritimo 160, a 53-footer launched in 2000 that represents his first tilt at the Boxing Day classic as an owner rather than a guest crew member.
For the past two years, Spies has raced the Maritimo Katwinchar, a 33-foot timber cutter built in 1904 that belongs to Bill Barry-Cotter. The boat turns heads at every regatta. But age and proven pedigree aren’t everything. When Spies finally acquired his own vessel, he chose something larger, more capable, and thoroughly tested. “It’s perfect,” he said. “We just did a couple of subtle things to improve it here and there without losing its integrity.”
The journey south will be anything but direct. Spies is shipping Maritimo 160 to San Francisco, where he’ll compete in the Pacific Cup, a 2,100-nautical-mile race to Hawaii. That runs in late July. After crossing the Pacific, he’ll deliver the boat to Hamilton Island for Race Week in August, where he serves on the Race Management team. Only then does the final leg to Sydney begin, positioning the yacht for the 81st Sydney Hobart in December.
Spies won the race twice: on Line Honours in 1999 and IMS Overall in 2003. He’s not chasing another trophy. The crew of seven, drawn from several nationalities, will be competitive enough, he reckons. But at his stage in life, the appeal lies elsewhere. For decades, every regatta finish meant hopping on a plane to the next event. “It’d just be nice to actually slow down a bit and enjoy life,” Spies said. “It’s the sort of boat that you could comfortably live on.”
After Hobart, his plans are deliberately unrushed: cruising the Queensland coast, drifting around Asia, taking time to savour what the ocean offers beyond the next start line. Maritimo 160 won’t set any speed records. But that was never the point. She’s built for distance, for living aboard, for racing when the moment suits. After four and a half decades of chasing finishes, Spies has found his forever boat.
