Barry Thompson: Life-Long Boat Tester

Barry Thompson passed last Friday in his native Auckland, N.Z. as he was preparing to go fishing. His cause of death is thought to be a heart condition. During Thompson's 50-year career as a boating journalist, speedboat racer and boat owner he tested well over 1,500 boats, probably more than any man alive. Most recently he was BoatTEST’s captain covering Australasia and Oceania. 

All the staff of BoatTEST were saddened to learn last Friday of the passing of Barry Thompson, a contributing writer for BoatTEST for the last several years. After retiring from his position as editor of Pacific Powerboat, he became a test captain for BoatTEST, in addition to other boating journalistic endeavors. 

Over 50 years, the magazines he had worked on read like a history of marine publishing over many decades: Seaspray, Powerboat, Nautical News, Boating World, NZ Fisherman, Propeller and more recently, with his good mate Doug Dukeson, Alloy Boat and Pacific Powerboat — for the last 26 years.  

Pacific Powerboat

Pacific Powerboat, based in New Zealand, is a content partner of BoatTEST and is generally considered to be one of the finest publications extant for producing technical and highly informative articles and reports on boats, boating and marine equipment. 

Thompson was co-publisher and editor of Pacific Powerboat for 26 years and was a familiar sight at boat shows, factories and international marine industry events Down Under. He retired last year from the publication, but kept a large oar in writing for his former magazine and other marine publications around the world.

Powerboat Racer 

Thompson has also been a keen participant in and supporter of powerboat racing in New Zealand. It would probably be fair to say that no one has done more to promote the sport than Thompson.

Thompson and his good mate Glen Urquhart were the only Kiwis to have won a UIM World Powerboat Championship, achieving the title in Guernsey in 1986.

Thompson's early years saw him confront some significant challenges with an offshore accident in 1986, where he sustained serious injuries. The strength and fortitude of the man were evident when, within a month, he was back to writing, and within a year, he was back behind the wheel of another race boat.

Locally, he was revered for his promotion of New Zealand overseas, introduced engine shoot-outs, and was instrumental in making offshore powerboat racing a safer sport.

New Zealand Hall of Fame

In 2009, Thompson was inducted into the New Zealand Boat Show Hall of Fame by the Huchwilco Boat Show for his services to the industry, where he had been helping to promote the event and the marine industry for almost 40 years.

In receiving the award, it was said that “In that time, he has probably spent more time afloat, in boats of all sizes, than any other member of the industry.”

Widely Respected

His relaxed persona was a testament to his humble nature, even though many would say that his industry and product knowledge surpassed that of most others in the industry.

In late 2022, Thompson negotiated a semi-retirement package with 26-year business partner Doug Dukeson to enable him to kick back and enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle.

Thompson is a loss to our industry, to his readers and his absence will be deeply felt.

Rest in Peace, Barry.