Dee Pollett’s Sailing Adventures
Wellness takes many forms and it’s different for all of us. The concept of wellbeing is influenced by your own priorities and what makes you feel whole, or balanced, or fulfilled. This can include activities that you enjoy and that centre you, or giving your time to others and sharing experiences that bring you together.
Looking at wellness from this individual perspective, we bring you our own NSW Senior Account Manager, Dee Pollett’s story of keeping her wellbeing on an even keel with sailing.
Dee was introduced to the water by her parents, who were both avid sailors. Her journey began by sailing “oppies” in Singapore at Changi Yacht Club at 3 years old. For those (me) who are not in the sailing know, oppies are a small, single-handed sailing dinghy designed for small people, up to the age of about 15.
Dee leaned right in to her love for sailing and during her late teens and through her 20s, competed in national and international sailing events.
Competitive spirit aside, what Dee loves most about her ability to sail, is that it gave her the opportunity to be a sailing instructor at the early age of 16 years. Dee was able to set off on adventures, travelling the world, while working and doing what she loved.
She landed her first teaching job during summer holidays while she was still at school, at Port Edgar Marina, 15 kms from Edinburgh. During her university holidays, Dee worked in South of France for two summers, at Valras Plage, Mimosa, teaching sailing and windsurfing. And during the summer holidays of her final year at university, Dee worked for Sunsail in Turkey, based on a resort, again teaching sailing and windsurfing.
Since arriving in Australia, 12 years ago, Dee has continued to embark on a mix of racing and cruising, in her own words, “on one of the best harbours in the world!” And Dee would know, she’s sailed many of them.
Currently Dee volunteers at Sailability a charity that takes out disabled adults on the water. Skippering a boat called a Salvo, Dee will spend one day each fortnight in the company of 3 clients, each with their own carer, plus assistance from one handy crew member.
Volunteering with Sailability, Dee is able to combine her love of sailing and the water with giving back to the community and giving her sailing companions an opportunity to share in what gives her much joy.
There is so much to love about Dee’s sailing journey; having a pastime that combines skill, discipline, open seas, fresh air, adventures, volunteering, inclusion and unironically using phrases like, “All hands on deck,” “Batten down the hatches,” and “Three sheets to the wind.”
If you’d like to learn more about Sailability you can follow their journey and their Facebook page.
