R Marine Perth’s Wright hand man at Rottnest Island

Perth, Australia:  Having grown up on Western Australia’s idyllic Rottnest Island, Tim Wright lives and breathes boating, which is why he loves his job as R Marine Perth’s Owner Care Manager.

Rottnest Island is located off the coast of Western Australia and with more than 63 secluded beaches, 20 bays and a sunny Mediterranean climate it is a favourite holiday destination for Western Australians and tourists alike.

As a volunteer for the Fremantle Volunteer Sea Rescue, Tim is dedicated to ensuring people enjoy a safe boating experience, and with 150 Rivieras at Rottnest Island during the Christmas/New Year period Tim makes it his job to be on call for all Riviera owners.

“I go across to Rottnest on Boxing Day and I am there for two weeks.  The first day is spent setting up the boat and getting settled and then on the 27th I visit every Riviera that is in the bay and explain the service we provide,” Tim said.

“The majority of calls I get are for water pump impellers on the generators, the water maker filters or blocked toilets.

“Every day I cruise around the bay in our seven metre centre console and have a chat to the Riviera owners on a social level.  Often they have questions about their boat which I am able to assist with.”

Tim recalls a time when a Riviera owner had an issue with his water pump.

“I needed parts so I couldn’t fix it on the day so I lent him a portable generator so that he could power all the vital things overnight, such as his hot water system, lights, fridges, and keep his batteries charged.  This happened on the first day of his two week holiday but the next day the parts arrived.

“Most of our owners are in high stressed jobs, they work extremely hard all year round for this two week period to have off with their family, so if something goes wrong it can ruin their entire holiday.  I am pleased I can be there to assist them.

“We try to get all our owners to carry a good range of spare parts because we can always get someone to the boat but we can’t always get parts over the Christmas break.”

Many Riviera owners have fixed problems themselves with Tim providing support over the telephone.

“One owner had a toilet issue so I talked him through the necessary fix.  With his telephone on hands free, the owner set about pulling the toilet vacuum pump in the engine room apart with my guidance.  There was a loud whoosh sound over the phone followed by a curse, silence, then, I’ve found the blockage!  Having done this many times in the past myself, I could just imagine the mess.  Maybe this particular owner will be more cautious as to what goes down the toilet next time,” he said.

Tim said he would normally spend his summer over at Rottnest so working for R Marine Perth’s support crew during the Christmas holidays is like a working holiday but it does have its downside.

For instance, Tim is on call from 9am to 5pm for all Riviera owners and then from 5pm until 9pm he is on call for the Fremantle Volunteer Sea Rescue and he is on call 24 hours a day for all Riviera owners who purchased their boats through R Marine Perth.  This means he is limited with what he can do in his spare time.

“I can’t go to the beach and swim and if it’s a 40 degree day I have to jump in the water to cool off and get out straight away in case the phone rings but I am always socialising with people either on the island, at the hotel having dinner or socialising on someone’s boat,” Tim said.

Tim’s dedication to his role as Owner Care Manager hasn’t gone unnoticed.  Last year he received an award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’ from the Boating Industry Association Western Australia (BIAWA) as well as Riviera’s award for ‘Service Excellence by an Individual’.

R Marine Perth Dealer Principal Brendon Grieve said this was a vital service and Tim deserved a pat on the back for his dedication to ensuring Riviera owners can enjoy hassle free boating.

“I believe R Marine Perth is the only marine business to offer this type of holiday service in Australia and we have saved dozens of boaties from having to cut short their well earned family holidays,” Brendon said.

“In lieu of charging for this service, we decided a couple of years ago to ask for a donation to children’s charity, Variety WA.”