Bertram Gets Slammed During Port Stephens Shootout

A nineteen meter Bertram sportfish yacht titled m/y Game Changer with six persons onboard ended getting heavily slammed by four meter high breaking waves in a bar crossing at Port Stephens, to the South East of Australia, on the morning of fifteen February.  A video on social media hub Facebook showed Game Changer slamming hard up to six times.  The slamming to the Bertram sportfish also released its life raft from the fore deck, and also stuck her in the sand-bar for some seconds and turning its engines off.  Game Changer though managed to return power and then make it in limp mode to the harbour, even though some reports are saying it damaged its running gear. This accident happened during the opening day of the 2020 Port Stephens Billfish Shootout which featured 162 participant boats.

Game Changer is a 2006 Bertram 630 model designed by Zuccon.  Launched in 2004 the Bertram 630 offered a four double cabins layout, with an owner room to port side midships and was powered by twin Cat or MTU 1500 to 2000hp engines, for up to forty knots speeds.  A replacement to the Dave Napier designed 60 launched in 1990, Bertram build over thirty 630s from 2004 till 10 replacing it with the 64 in 2012.