Read original article from The Market Herald, Fancy Nautica, HERE.
Coral Sea Marina Lures Foreign Superyachts Back to the Whitsundays
Superyacht destinations don’t get any more perfect than the heavenly Whitsunday Islands. Queensland’s most famously beautiful travel destination is the perfect place for diving, snorkelling, jet skiing; basically anything related to utilising the crystal clear water surrounding the famous archipelago.
From The Deck’s Iolande Skinner sat down with the Marketing, Sales and Services Manager for Coral Sea Marina, Joscelyn O’Keefe, at the Sydney International Boat Show and discussed how to bring superyachts back to the Whitsundays. They also delved into the rise of sustainable yachting and the boating character of the great southern land.
One of the most highly-awarded marinas in the world, Coral Sea Marina was voted Australia’s Marina of the Year from 2017 to 2020 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021. It is Queensland’s first five Gold Anchor Platinum-accredited marina, setting the benchmark for other superyacht marinas in the country.
There was a huge decline in accessibility with people not physically being able to get into the country and visit our tourism hot spots during the pandemic.
O’Keefe sees the next two to five years as very possibly being a boom time for Australia’s tourism operators and particularly those based around or involved with the ocean and boating as visitors return to the UNESCO World Heritage-protected Great Barrier Reef.
Boating is life in Australia wherever you live along the coast of Australia. Whether it’s a tinnie or a superyacht or a stand-up paddleboard or a jet ski, everybody likes being on the water and all of us that work here in the marina industry in Australia are super passionate about boating and yachting. It’s a way of life here in Australia.
Joscelyn O’Keefe, Marketing, Sales & Services Manager, Coral Sea Marina
O’Keefe said that the marina is slowly receiving superyacht berthing enquiries from overseas and the future is looking promising for the industry. She notes that there is still very strong demand for more superyacht infrastructure, not only in Queensland but all along the coast of Australia.
In recent times, adventurous owners have been berthing their yachts not in Sydney but in the Whitsundays, leading to a lack of berthing for superyachts there while borders were closed.
Now that they are back open, O’Keefe said Coral Sea Marina will be working closely with the superyacht industry to allow overseas visitors to experience everything Australia has to offer in order to attract more foreign superyachts.
As a boating destination, she said that Australia has some huge demand for more marinas and wholeheartedly supports people buying yachts in Australia and berthing their vessels. The industry needs to get behind green initiatives and sustainability in order to grow and there is evidence of this already within the industry, such as the recent rise of electric marine propulsion.
That’s something we’re really passionate about at our marina as well; how can we encourage our marina guests to be more sustainable when they’re boating? Obviously not everybody wants to have a sailboat, not everybody wants to sail around. Some people are into power boating, so I think all of the products and the technology out there that we can use to make boating more green, I think that’s where you’re going to see the advances over the next five to 10 years.
Joscelyn O’Keefe, Marketing, Sales & Services Manager, Coral Sea Marina
The Coral Sea Marina is probably one of the best-equipped superyacht marinas in the country. It has sheltered berths for yachts up to 80 metres in length and plenty of berths for vessels between 40 and 50 metres.
The completely secure facility has everything you need after a long cruise including laundry facilities, storage, Wi-Fi, a helipad, parking, a day spa as well as two premium hospitality settings: the Ocean Club and Lookout Lounge.
If you are going to experience the Whitsundays, you might as well do it in style. From The Deck’s Iolande Skinner sat down for a cordial chat with Ferretti Group’s Allessandro Tirelli about beautiful, wooden handcrafted Italian boats and opportunities for big Italian boat brands in the Australian market.
