A Sailor’s Life For Me

Gemma Mee, Finance Administrator

Picture it: plate glass water around mountainous islands, like impressionistic green dollops of paint on plates of golden sand, surrounded by blue swirls. When anyone ventures on the seas, the tranquillity of it calls imagination to stretch its legs, and no one knows that better than Gemma Mee.

Born in Brisbane and growing up in the Redlands, Gemma would soon fall in love with the sailing lifestyle after her family moved to the Whitsunday region in 1981. She had little choice: her family lived and worked in a yacht on the water, her first real job was with Yachting World – a bareboating company at Shute Harbour – and every few years she would sail south to Mooloolaba and work for Tourism Queensland at Alexandra Headland. Love for the ocean was the perfect response.

If any of Coral Sea Marina’s staff has an expertise in the ocean, it’s Gemma. From ’92 to ’96, she circumnavigated the globe on her family’s 35-foot yacht, and on her return, she found her appreciation for her “own back yard.”

“After all that - believe it or not - one of my passions now is sailing around the Whitsundays when we can,” Gemma said.

Working at Coral Sea Marina was a job brought to her on the tides; it was meant for her. So, when Coral Sea reached out 12 years ago, Gemma dived in, head first.

“What I love about it most is how busy and diverse every day is -- there are no ‘groundhog’ days at Coral Sea Marina,” Gemma said.

“I have experienced huge changes here over the past decade. I believe our most significant milestone at the Marina was when Paul purchased it in 2013. He had the vision and was prepared to finance the upgrading of the marina, and although it has been a busy time, it has also been very satisfying and rewarding to see the changes.”

Although her role as Finance Administrator doesn’t see her out on the water too much professionally, Gemma still heads for the seas with her husband on wooden vessels.

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