The Riviera team and the wider boating industry are mourning the passing of Barry Robert Thompson, one of our industry’s most respected journalists. Barry’s career spanned more than 50 years, testing and reviewing hundreds of boats in Australia and New Zealand. He was a familiar face at international marine industry events.
Barry Thompson – doing what he loved, testing boats and aboard the Riviera 585 SUV in late July on the Gold Coast.
The entire team at Riviera, our dealership network and the wider boating industry are mourning the sudden passing recently of Barry Robert Thompson, one of our industry’s best known and respected journalists.
Barry Thompson’s career spanned more than 50 years, testing and reviewing hundreds of boats in Australia and New Zealand. He was a familiar face at boat shows and international marine industry events.
In 2009 Barry was inducted into the New Zealand Boat Show Hall of Fame for services to the boating industry. The presentation described Barry as having “probably spent more time afloat, in boats of all sizes, than any other member of the industry”.
His articles appeared in publications as diverse as the New Zealand Herald newspaper and many international magazines including Sea Spray, IBI, Nautical News, Boating World, NZ Fisherman and Powerboat.
Yet, he was much more than a writer.
First and foremost, he was a devoted husband to Soraja and father to Carl, Mitchell and Travis.
Until last year he was co-owner, co-publisher and editor of Pacific Powerboat and Alloy Boat magazines. However, Barry had recently expressed a wish to enjoy a little more leisure time and to be freed up from the business after 50 years of writing and reviewing. So, in late 2022, long-time business partners Doug and Carla Dukeson agreed to purchase Barry’s half of the business.
For many years he was a passionate powerboat racer and did much to promote the sport in New Zealand. Along with Glen Urquhart, he won the UIM World Powerboat Championship in 1986. To date, they are the only New Zealanders to achieve this success. An offshore accident in that year drove him to help make offshore powerboat racing a safer sport.
This was the first video review that Barry undertook for BoatTest.com. Barry’s informed, but always relaxed and natural style was popular with viewers.
In recent years Barry continued to demonstrate his versatility by easily adapting to the spoken word and video. He produced regular segments and reviews for his Pacific Powerboat online newsletter. Just one month before he passed, he was commissioned by respected US-based website and newsletter BoatTest.com and was one of the first boat testers to step aboard the new Riviera 585 SUV to undertake a features inspection and performance review. As in everything he did, Barry was a consummate professional and worked tirelessly to create two special video presentations.
His passing leaves a void in boating industry history and informed commentary.
Our thoughts are with Barry’s wife Soraja and his family at this time of great loss.
Fair winds and following seas, Captain Barry.
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