Michael "Spiesy" Spies has 47 Sydney Hobarts to his name. When entries opened for the 2026 edition, his name appearing on the list raised no eyebrows. What drew attention was the nature of his entry: for the first time across those many decades connected to the race, Spies signed up as an owner. His vessel is a J/160 named Maritimo 160, a 53-footer launched in 2000, and she marks his debut in the Boxing Day classic as the man with his name on the hull rather than a guest aboard someone else's boat.
For the two seasons prior, Spies had been racing Maritimo Katwinchar, a 33-foot timber cutter built in 1904 and owned by Bill Barry-Cotter. Few boats collect as many admiring glances at a regatta as that venerable vessel, and the attention is well earned. A boat of that age and character has obvious appeal, though heritage has its limits as a practical proposition. When Spies went looking for something to call his own, he moved in a markedly different direction. Maritimo 160 is substantially larger, far more capable, and thoroughly proven over distance. "It's perfect," he said. "We just did a couple of subtle things to improve it here and there without losing its integrity."
The road to the December start line is an ambitious one. Maritimo 160 will be shipped to San Francisco ahead of the Pacific Cup, a 2,100-nautical-mile race to Hawaii scheduled for late July. From Hawaii, the yacht travels westward by delivery to Hamilton Island in time for Race Week in August, where Spies holds a role on the Race Management team. The passage south to Sydney follows, leaving Maritimo 160 positioned and ready for the 81st Sydney Hobart in December.
Spies carries a serious record into this campaign. Line Honours in 1999 and IMS Overall in 2003 speak for themselves. His crew of seven, drawn from a range of nationalities, will give the programme genuine competitive intent. Outright victory is not the driving purpose behind this particular campaign, though. After decades in which crossing a finish line led almost immediately to the next departure lounge, he is deliberately choosing a different pace. "It'd just be nice to actually slow down a bit and enjoy life," he said. "It's the sort of boat that you could comfortably live on."
That outlook shapes what comes after Hobart. Rather than pushing straight into another racing programme, Spies plans to cruise the Queensland coast and spend time exploring Asian waters, treating the ocean as something more than a race track. Maritimo 160 was never conceived as an out-and-out racing machine, and outright honours were never the point. She is built to cover long passages in comfort and to race when the occasion suits. After four and a half decades of chasing finish lines, Spies has found his forever boat.
