Bulwarks and Bulldust consists of three panel members, from the group below, tailored to each guest.
Wally Tench, Ben Kelly, Adrian Finglas, Tom Barry-Cotter, John Curnow.

Ben Kelly

An eight-year-old Ben began sailing Sabots at the Southport Yacht Club on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Over the next decade he accumulated strong results at both a State and National level in dinghies and skiffs, including 125s, 505s, and Cherubs, as well as participating in the prestigious JJ Giltinan Championships for the famous 18-foot skiffs.

Later on, Ben expanded into keelboats, beach cats, and large racing multihulls. Over the years he has contested numerous World Championships, completed three Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races, and was part of a WSSRC‑ratified world‑record run on the ORMA 60 trimaran, Team Australia.

Now recognised as a multihull specialist, Ben has accumulated an impressive 14 Australian Multihull Titles. His distinguished 30‑year career in sailmaking began as an apprentice under Colin Metcher at Horizon Sails. Today, Ben is the Global Head of the Multihull Segment for North Sails.

Adrian Finglas

Adrian Finglas is a high-performance sailing coach specialising in the development of elite junior and youth sailors transitioning into national and international competition.

With extensive experience coaching across Optimist, ILCA, Finn, and high-performance pathway classes, Adrian’s focus is on boat speed, technical precision, racecraft under pressure, and decision-making at the top end of the fleet. His coaching philosophy centres around establishing and understanding the correct rig and boat tune to match the conditions, repeatable skills and converting training speed into results on the scoreboard. Hours on the water are the key to the magic formula.

Adrian (best known as Aidz) has 40 years’ experience in the game across multiple disciplines from ocean racing (including the Sydney to Hobart), race and division wins, One Design racing and coaching, to Olympics and Paralympics, Adrian has all classes covered when it comes to coaching or racing himself.

Tom Barry-Cotter

Tom Barry-Cotter is a Queensland, Australia–based marine designer and powerboat racer. A lifelong competitor on the water, he’s won multiple Australian Offshore Superboat titles and UIM World Championships, and has designed, driven and consulted to powerboat teams around the globe.

Holding a Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design) from Queensland University of Technology, his career spans design, manufacturing, marketing and senior leadership at Maritimo, Elandra Yachts, and his own venture, FiveBlade Marine.

Tom has been the vision behind some of Australia’s most successful-selling boat designs. His mix of design craft, production know-how, and market insight sharpened by competition, give him a distinctive lens on how boats should perform and feel for builders and boat owners alike.

James Dumergue

James Dumergue is a true master of the sea. Qualified with these Captain’s Licences, an MCA Yacht Master Offshore Less Than 200 tonne, and also AMSA Master Class 5, James has skippered vessels across the Atlantic Ocean, and been their Master whilst exploring the Caribbean, USA, and Europe.

His seafaring journey began at just six years of age literally learning the ropes in a P Class dinghy, and today his love for ocean is embodied in his surfing pursuits. James’ experiences and skills abound, for apart from being a multimedia expert, he has also been a private chef and nutritionist in the Pacific Islands, a chef on superyachts, worked at a boutique hotel in Brazil, and managed a private island in the Bahamas.

Being atop the water is not enough for this qualified Divemaster, who also holds a Degree in Sports Science, to accompany his qualifications in the digital realm. Today, James is best known for his insightful and colourful work as a marine journalist, photographer and videographer.

John Curnow

John has literally been around boats all his life. Happy to be doing over 60 knots under power, and then also racing yachts, John has crossed oceans, as well as spending wonderful times tucked up in secluded bays. 

John also worked on superyachts in the Mediterranean and Caribbean. He has over 35 years of experience in marketing roles, and in agency life worked across brands in the IT, Financial Services, Automotive, Entertainment and Marine categories. Brands include Grand Banks/Palm Beach, NAB, Mercedes-Benz, HSV, Telstra and Palace Cinemas. 

John has a love for, and immense appreciation of technology, whether that is engines or the digital domain. As a result, he is an established industry expert, and continues to be published regularly. He is also sought after for radio and TV interviews.

Wally Tench

Wally has 35+ years in the creative, marketing and product launch space having run large agencies representing clients across a multitude of market sectors such as retail, hospitality, marine, manufacturing and new technologies. 

As the creative lead for national brands, he has worked with clients from small tech start-ups to established multi-million-dollar businesses.

Wally is experienced in the creation and coordination of integrated campaigns across traditional media, online, digital and live consumer and business events.

As the grand-son of a boat builder he’s always had a passion for boating which has led to many adventures including journeys across the Pacific, the Pacific North West of the USA and Australia’s eastern coastline.