The people behind the name.
Paddy Wester Pty Ltd is an Australian registered business founded by John and Jo McDonald on 26 September 2024. A memorable day in sailing history, as 41 years ago on this very day, Australia II won the America’s Cup, becoming the first country other than America to win the cup in 132 years. Serendipity or a sign of great things to come?
Paddy Wester Pty Ltd is privately owned with both of us as equal shareholders, there’s no hidden board or financial backers pulling the strings (unless you have a stack of cash and want in…) Based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, our focus is on the distribution of bespoke marine products and solutions across Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia.
We are both life long, passionate boaties and have raced yachts, inshore and offshore, of all shapes and sizes. We have cruised and delivered boats along the Australian east coast, competed overseas in international regattas, owned and run charter boats, as well as having raced dinghies, skiffs, performance multihulls and off-the-beach catamarans. At one stage we owned five boats, including a flybridge sports fishing boat, trailer boat, yacht, and small inflatable runabout. Too many to have at one time, but pared back now to a manageable two. Competitive fresh water and salt water fishing have also been a big part of our on water activities as well as surfing, windsurfing, and stand up paddle boarding.
Hell, we even met at a yacht regatta and got married on the world famous Sydney Harbour by a ship’s captain on a historic ferry…
John’s career in the marine industry spans over 25 years with solid experience in marine product, both wholesale and retail, and has ranged from selling boats through to representing some of the world’s premier products and brands as a sales rep, retail manager, branch manager and sales manager across Australasia. There has been a strong focus on marine electronics and navigation (both traditional and electronic) as well as a wide scope of marine products from general chandlery through to high end specialised equipment, this is coupled with many 1000’s of miles offshore racing and delivering yachts. John’s gig is to talk the boatie stuff to our resellers as well as dealing with our OEM partners to ensure their products get the best possible traction in our markets.
Jo’s working life has been in the graphics industry which has seen her work with many big name international clients, as well as prominent Australian companies, across the automotive, retail, property and commercial development sectors. Print, packaging, labelling, digital animation and online website management are all part of her forte and these skills are invaluable in driving Paddy Wester P/L and ensuring that the brands we represent are always immediately identifiable in the marketplace and never become lost in a sea of product. It also is a big plus that Jo’s knowledge and practical experience across a wide range of boating means that she’s across the products and their respective applications.
Outside of being boaties, we love travel, both Australian and overseas, and have spent time in Europe, UK, Scandinavia, America and the South Pacific. Many of our Australian outback trips have been to very remote locations, accessible by four wheel drive only, and require a full self-sufficient setup as there is no food, water, power or even mobile reception. We have been to every state in Australia and our most recent trip was an East to West crossing of Australia covering 20,000km over 5 months through the Red Centre, traversing thousands of kilometres of dirt roads and camping the entire way.
As very keen foodies we love shopping our local growers markets for fresh seasonal produce and introducing new recipes into our repertoire regularly. Money spent on a good meal out or premium ingredients is money well spent, and even more so with good friends. And to top that off we live in a spectacular regional beachside suburb on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, which we love and are very passionate about what our local area has to offer.
Then there’s a matter of our ever expanding gin collection, but that’s another story…