C-Class? Tornado? First A-Cat DS & Top Square main? Perfection Plywood Foiler? Daily routine for one of Catamaran Racing finest.
Some weeks ago a truly remarkable player in the Catamaran Racing arena left us. Barry Marmion passed away June 2023 after a a long illness with Parkinson disease.
We don’t have the pre 2000s direct data on the Cat scene, so we asked Ian Johnson to recall Barry’s great career.
Back in 2014 though, we published a super fine plywood ‘Stealth’ Foiler which was built by Barry and designed with his son Brad, he sent us pics and comments on the process that were published under the ‘Stealth Foiler‘ tag
Few weeks ago when Barry passed away Ian published a pic with a square top & decksweeper A-Cat sail circa 1987 with Barry showing off an incredible advanced design (which gave Barry an edge on the water winning the NSW Title in 1987). That sail was designed by Barry and could be re built today to perform to par to current designs.
That same sail (built by Rohan Coats of Performance Sails) was later fit on Barry’s Stealth Foiler. Robbie Lovig was the test rider and we got some words from him too.
Ian’s recollection of Barry’s feats are enough to dimension his legendary achievements on the C-Class, Tornado et all but for us just seeing Barry A-Cat DS perfection and his work on arguably the best custom Foiler ever built are enough proof of his greatness.
Barry left a strong palpable legacy and set a bar too high for the rest of us to try to follow.
Great job done Barry. Sail On.
Ian Johnson
Vale Barry Marmion 15 March 1946 – 23 June 2025
“Originally born in England he emigrated to Australia with parents and siblings as a young boy,
Barry began dancing as a 16 year old and met his future wife Doris during his early dancing days, They became a formidable couple and turned professional in 1974. After retiring from competition both taught ballroom dancing for 40 years until only a few years ago. Barry’s 2 passions of Dancing and Sailing were treated the same way. practice, practice, practice!
Barry was a master carpenter showing his skills as a house builder and also a boat builder of fine wooden boats. He built his first boat as a teenager under the tutoring of his father.
When sailing in the Tornado Worlds at Sorrento in 1984, Paul Elvstrom broke his boat very badly and thought his regatta was over. Barry took Paul and the boat home to his house and rebuilt it overnight allowing Paul to compete the next day. Barry also competed with very little sleep. This developed a lifetime friendship between Paul and Barry
He was also an innovator and liked to experiment with different designs and ideas. After sailing Quest B2s (winning numerous State and National Titles) and Tornadoes catamarans, Barry was involved with the Cunningham C class campaigns as builder, designer and relief helmsman.
His talents turned to the A class in the mid 1980s. In 1987 Barry designed a sail profile after studying the windsurfer rigs. He took the pin head sail on tapered mast and developed a flat top sail (similar in size to the modern foiling rig) on an untapered mast. The sail also ran as a deck sweeper akin to the C class rigs. The rig was an instant success (especially the cost factor of an untapered section) with Barry easily winning the 1987 NSW State titles.
By the next season’s Nationals nearly everyone at the top of the Australian fleet ran untapered masts with a flat top sail. Barry still had the best speed at the Nationals but suffered gear failure and the odd capsize. The decksweeper proved difficult to handle and lost favour until re-ignited with the foiling boats in 2015. Nearly every class of catamaran and monohull now run a flat top sail. What a legacy Barry has left the sailing community!
After retiring from competitive sailing, Barry still made boats and tinkered with ideas. He built a catamaran along the lines of an A class (16 foot initially then 17 foot) with an 8 foot beam for more stability. This he fitted with foils and was always trying to improve performance and speed. This was also during the early days of A class foiling.
Barry is survived by his wife Doris, sons Michael and Brad and daughter Verena. He is remembered as a devoted father and husband. His infectious smile and cheesy grin will be remembered by all who had the pleasure to know him.
Storm
Robbie Lovig :
“Barry could see things others couldn’t! The square head and deck sweeper is a a perfect example!
I was fortunate enough to be the primary load tester/destruction expert of the foiling stealth boats.
Each time I would break something, Barry would improve it and get us back on the water the next weekend.
By the end we had a very strong foiling platform which in its operating window was really quick and exciting.
The foiling Stealth, square head deck sweeper, innovative C class wings were just a little flare of the remarkable man!
He had a wonderfully positive attitude, with incredible resilience and resolve. I have learnt so much from Barry, (including my wedding dance)
I will forever be grateful to have shared the experience and friendship with this legend!
This was the most fun I’ve had sailing!
Barry really was a true gentleman and a legendary innovator of the sport!”
Robbie-
Links to other articles about Barry’s Stealth Foiler
https://www.catsailingnews.com/2014/12/building-stealth-plywodd-foiler-by.html
https://www.catsailingnews.com/2014/12/custom-stealth-foiler-from-australia.html
