Sailaway to new home

Marina boat shed

Paul Makin

Journalist

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Sailaway’s Steve and Katrina Edmondson have created a beautiful space at the Marina IMAGE Supplied.

Sailaway to the Great Barrier Reef has been a regular fixture of the Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina Port Douglas for yonks.

Their old offices were what you’d call cute and cosy and tucked away at the farthest end of the arcade.

But now they’ve moved to new premises on the boardwalk and while the two locations are just metres apart, they are worlds apart when it comes to visitor experience.

New offices and reception are right on the boardwalk IMAGE Paul Makin|FABFM

A tour for Newsport at the new office

Sailaway boss Steve greeted me at the front door for a tour of what he calls the Sailaway ‘boat shed’. He’s not wrong, it does have the feeling of one of those old-fashioned boat sheds we’ve all seen or been in.

A very upmarket boat shed I must add, as we sit down on some very expensive furniture.While Steve and wife Katrina have made this space comfortable, it oozes class. Class is what Sailaway is all about, not only in their new home, but the tourist experience overall. Whether it’s taking visitors out to the Great Barrier Reef, Low Isles, or their famous Sunset Cruise, it’s all done with style.

Eco warriors

Sailaway are also into ‘Ecotourism’ in a big way. You don’t win a National Sustainability Award for Best Practices by doing zip for the Planet. Their new digs are another example of the care factor.“It’s a relaxed ambience and you really do feel like you’re checking into a 5-star hotel and while some may think we serve wine and tapas here, we’re the ones to take you out on the reef and give you a great experience “.

Walk the plank

Steve points out a display of old wooden planks, ah but not just any old planks. These beauties were once part of the boardwalk, just outside the door, some 34 years ago.

How many feet have walked over this timber in that time is anyone’s guess? Nearby a table has a ships prop as a centre piece “we refurbished our engines on Sailaway 7 a while back and that’s one of the propellors we took off so now it becomes a feature” says Steve.

There’s ship rigging used as art pieces and technology available to see what the weathers doing. If you checked out everything in this beautiful brand-new airy space, you’d miss your boat for sure.

Inside and it’s a large airy environment for visitors to experience IMAGE Paul Makin|FABFM
Also accessible from the arcade IMAGE Paul Makin|FABFM
Steve Edmondson sitting on a 30-year-old piston from an 8000-horsepower engine he found in a shipyard in South Africa IMAGE Paul Makin|FABFM
Old planks from the Marina boardwalk IMAGE Paul Makin|FABFM
A boat prop becomes a centrepiece IMAGE Paul Makin|FABFM
Local wood used for the counters IMAGE Paul Makin|FABFM

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