The enclosed Australian estuary of Pittwater, some 25 miles north of the hustle and bustle of Sydney’s central business district, is in every sense a world apart. It was in these pristine waters, in the little town of Newport, New South Wales, that a boat-crazed kid named Mark Richards grew up.
Today, Richards is a household name in Oz, a nine-time line honors winner of the grueling Sydney Hobart Race; a two-time America’s Cup veteran; and the CEO of Grand Banks Yachts, which also builds the Palm Beach line of powerboats that he founded in 1995 in the little Pittwater town of the same name.
In January, following his latest Hobart campaign on his 100-foot Palm Beach XI—the former Wild Oats XI, which he skippered for many years before buying the boat and refitting it with new foils and other accoutrements—Richards eased his revamped 50-foot trawler, Grace, off his Newport dock. I felt quite honored to be asked along.
“I’ve just got a passion for old boats,” he said of his 70-year-old converted long-line fishing boat, which he’s lovingly turned into a comfy coastal cruiser. “It’s who I am.”
Our little cruise soon turned into a spin down Memory Lane. The shoreline around Pittwater is now dotted with multimillion dollar vacation properties, but it was a different, quiet place when Richards was growing up. “I was adopted by English migrants. We moved to Newport when I was 3,” he said. “We lived right down by the water. I loved sailing and building little powerboats. At 6, I was racing Manly Juniors, a proper sailboat for two kids. At 14, I bought an 18-foot, 50-year-old clinker that I fixed up. It had a big flywheel you had to crank up to get it going. I loved old boats. It’s why we’re sitting on one now.”
It’s fair to say Richards was a sailing prodigy. After serving a boatbuilding apprenticeship, he soon joined the ranks of elite Aussie professional sailors. He raced on some of the famous boats of the time, such as Madeline’s Daughter; was aboard the 12-Metre oneAustralia when it sank off San Diego in the 1995 America’s Cup; and for a decade sailed with Peter Gilmour in the international match-racing circuit.
By then, however, he had a family, and the itinerant life of a pro sailor couldn’t last forever. He went back to his roots and started Palm Beach Yachts, which he recalled as we passed by the little beach town. At first, his move was a hard slog. “I was scratching the ashtray of my car for every penny to pay the wages for the first 10 years,” he said.
But it all came together in a big way. Eventually, Grand Banks purchased Palm Beach Yachts, and Richards was installed as CEO. Today, both brands are built in Malaysia, with a workforce of more than 1,100 employees. “We’re building the most fuel-efficient powerboats in the world,” he said. “I love technology, performance and evolution, and we’re transferring everything we’ve learned in the race boats to the powerboats.”
Now, in addition to a full-service marina in Stuart, Florida, Grand Banks has purchased a waterfront facility in Newport, Rhode Island, that will be a showcase for the brand and its owners. “It’s going to be an amazing destination, nothing else like it in America,” he said. “It’s all about the customers, giving them a good time.”
Our tour completed, we dropped anchor in Towlers Bay, part of the national park that surrounds Pittwater. “It’s a magic little spot so close to the city,” he said. He was correct. It couldn’t have been more peaceful.
The next morning, before the incoming onslaught of phone calls from Malaysia, Richards hopped on his electric Fliteboard for a quick spin around the anchorage. He showed me the drawings for the new Iain Murray-designed one-design sailboat he’s planning to produce. It was all a bit head spinning.
Before he dropped me off, when I marveled at how much he had going on, he said, “There’s so much I want to do. I’ll probably run out of life first. But I’m definitely not going to die out of boredom.”
