Surgeon enjoys 'Ultimate Experience'

Maritimo boss Bill Barry-Cotter says that if he ever needs brain surgery, help is close at hand.

Leading neurosurgeon Doctor Charlie Teo says he will come to Bill’s aid in an instant if needed, after he, his family and a number of others, including chairman of Australia’s leading health brand Blackmore's Vitamins’, Marcus Blackmore, took part in Maritimo’s Ultimate Experience weekend on the Gold Coast recently.

The Ultimate Experience weekend packages are 'five star all the way' and include co-piloting Maritimo Offshore Racing’s World Championship winning race boat off the coast at Surfers Paradise. Bill Barry-Cotter and his wife Lesley put up the Ultimate Experience weekend packages as auction items at select charity events around the country as part of the company’s philanthropic endeavours.

Doctor Teo and his daughters Alex and Nikki bid for the once in a life time experience packages at the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation’s annual 'Mad Hatters Ball' fund raiser in Sydney in May.

"The funny thing was that the girls asked for permission to bid for the Ultimate Experience weekend package and somehow they ended up on different tables so they were actually bidding against each other," he said. "I was thinking 'who is this bidding against me, they really must want this' and it was actually one of my daughters," he said. "We ended up paying $15,000 each for two packages and all that money and other funds raised at the ball will go towards brain cancer research."

Not to be outdone by Charlie’s girls, Marcus Blackmore bid another $15,000 for a third package adding a total of $45,000 to the over a million dollars achieved on the night

The Ultimate Experience weekend saw guests fly in to the Gold Coast on Friday afternoon. They were then transported by limousine to Maritimo’s  manufacturing plant at Coomera for a guided tour by company founder Bill Barry-Cotter. From there it was on to the Intercontinental Hotel at Sanctuary Cove to check-in followed by a lavish dinner.

On Saturday morning, the party boarded two fully-catered luxury Maritimo motor yachts at Sanctuary Cove and made their way south to Wavebreak Island where another Maritimo team were waiting with the offshore raceboat.

Each of the successful bidding teams then got to have one of their number co-pilot the race boat while others in the group looked on. Maritimo's ‘super skipper’ Ross Willaton took each in turn for double lap runs from the Gold Coast Seaway to Broadbeach and return at speeds close to 200 kilometres per hour.

After the raceboat run, the group cruised north to the Ramada Couran Cove Island Resort for lunch overlooking the marina. Saturday night involved another lavish dinner and then Sunday a fully catered, relaxing day’s cruising before guests were transferred by limousine back to the airport for their return flights.

Doctor Teo said the raceboat run ‘was 100 times better’ than he had anticipated and rated it right up there with his life’s most memorable achievements including the first time he operated solo to remove a brain tumor, his wedding day and the birth of his children.

"It was an unbelievable experience and one the girls and I will never forget," he said.

"We cannot thank Bill and Lesley enough and as I said to him at lunch if he ever needs my services I am there in a heartbeat."

He was accompanied by his four daughters, Alex, Nikki, Katie and Sophie at the weekend.

Doctor Teo, who has a reputation internationally for successfully operating on patients who have been told they have inoperable tumours, said the funds raised through the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation were having a considerable impact.

"Before I set up the foundation there was a fragmented approach to trying to raise funds for research. Now we have the Brain Cancer Discovery Collaborative and I am pleased to say that we are making some inroads."

"We have raised close to $20 million so far. Brain cancer kills more kids than any other disease in developed countries; it is the number one killer of all men under 44 years old and all women under 39 years old."

“Brain cancer kills more people than breast cancer and up until we set up the foundation nothing much was being done to fund research into it.”
Doctor Teo said only five per cent of brain cancer sufferers would survive beyond five years and his mission was to increase the five year survival rate to 50 per cent.

Maritimo’s sales and marketing manager, Greg Haines, said the Ultimate Experience weekend packages have been provided at five charity events so far and more than $115,000.00 has been raised.

“This experience is something that money literally cannot buy so the opportunity to take part has immense appeal and subsequently the amount of money that we have been able to raise has been right up there.”

Bill Barry-Cotter said he sincerely hoped he would never have to take up "the generous offer made by Doctor Teo" and was pleased that Maritimo had been able to assist such a worthwhile cause.