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Old 03-29-2018, 06:16 AM   #1
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For those on the Hawkesbury - where are you cruising?

If you are planning a few days cruising the Hawkesbury river this easter where would you go to avoid most of the rabbits.
Definitely NOT to Refuge or American bay as I have witnessed the hoonish behavior there.
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Old 04-05-2018, 01:25 AM   #2
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Sorry I missed your post, I suppose the best thing now is to ask where you went.
Some of my neighbours would rather stay on the marina than Refuge or Americas Bay when it is busy.
Too late, but I`d have suggested heading towards Bobbin Head (the old Halvorsen hire base), Waratah, Houseboat and Cotton Bays are nice and have anchoring space near the NPWS moorings, or towards "gaston territory" at Berowra Waters, where we secured a very nice spot over the Australia Day weekend.
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Old 04-05-2018, 06:00 AM   #3
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Hi BruceK,
It would have been grand to catchup with you on the water over Easter.
For us, we just more or less moved between Porto Bay - Dangar Island - The Tanks over Easter depending on the conditions. Went up into Porto Bay for the evenings as it is very protected from the wash of the big boats patrolling the river. Very few boaters venture into Porto.

I have not managed to catch Gaston yet - I missed him earlier when we spent 3 days around Berowra, however I did see his craft 'Barranjoey' .
The mobile just refused to work in those steep little bays so when I was there just impossible to contact anyone.

I am around Brooklyn ATM and going to send you a P.M. with my mobile number. I would like ask you to if crossing over Broken Bay to the north side is worthwhile for a look and about anchoring.
Also have you looked about Middle Harbour- upriver looks nice on google earth with the natural bush for cruising and anchoring.
regards Brett
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Old 04-05-2018, 06:11 AM   #4
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Hi Brett,

I'm no expert on the area but we went up to Hardy's Bay and all the way to Gosford when we took our boat from Sydney to Brisbane. Spent a very enjoyable week in there, Cheers Brett
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Old 04-05-2018, 04:22 PM   #5
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We moor at Pretty Beach, which is the first set of moorings after you go around Half Tide Rocks.
There are visitors' moorings in Hardy's Bay, some nice cafes etc.
You can keep going under Rip Bridge right up into Brisbane Water and Gosford.
Also, in Broken Bay, on the northern side is Maitland Bay which is a delightful day stop in the right conditions. ( NE winds, low sea). Watch the entrance reefs.
If you are entering Brisbane Water, do so on the top half of a rising tide. The channel is quite narrow at present but safe enough with care. Give the ferry room in the channel, especially near Lobster Beach. Watch leeway when rounding Half Tide Rocks.
We live at Pretty Beach, will be back there after the 15th.

Cheers,
Richard.
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Old 04-05-2018, 06:29 PM   #6
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Hi Brett.
We are currently on our boat on our mooring in Middle Harbour. Both Bantry and Sugarloaf have good moorings surrounded by national park. Depending on wind direction both offer shelter.
If you are trailering your boat down there is a ramp on the Roseville river or at Tunks Park in Cammeray both of which give you access to Middle harbour. you do need to be aware of opening times for the Spit Bridge to access the main harbour from here.
Would love to catch up if that would work for you.
Regard

John
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Old 04-05-2018, 06:53 PM   #7
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Brett,good information on the northern shores of Broken Bay and where it leads. Patonga is worth a visit,nice village, pub,fish and chips,etc,but exposed anchoring.
We once anchored in company at Lobster Beach,someone described it as like having coffee at an outdoor cafe on busy 4 lane traffic choked Parramatta Rd in western Sydney. Continue on, it should be worthwhile.
Middle Harbour,around Sugarloaf Bay,is beautiful and well worth exploring.Further up is Bantry Bay with old munitions storage and a number of of NPWS free moorings. Feels remote despite being so close to suburbia.
Mobile phones work very badly in the BB area,as you discovered.
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Old 04-12-2018, 05:53 AM   #8
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Hi Brett.
We are currently on our boat on our mooring in Middle Harbour. Both Bantry and Sugarloaf have good moorings surrounded by national park. Depending on wind direction both offer shelter.
If you are trailering your boat down there is a ramp on the Roseville river or at Tunks Park in Cammeray both of which give you access to Middle harbour. you do need to be aware of opening times for the Spit Bridge to access the main harbour from here.
Would love to catch up if that would work for you.
Regard

John
Hey John,
Awesome to get ur message and you are in Sydney too..........we are both a long way from were we met in Perth.
Early next week I am going to go over to the north side of Broken Bay for maybe a week for a look about.
Regarding middle harbor,I looked at the boat ramps situation.....Roseville is in in the Nat. Park so the fees rules that one out, however Tunks may be an option as some comments on google say it's free parking......will have to look more deeply into that. Also it would entail a very early morning drive to avoid this hideous traffic (just a country Perth boy's opinion).

For how long will you be in middle harbour? weeks ?
regards
Brett
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Old 04-12-2018, 06:12 AM   #9
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BruceK
Got back to Porto bay today after spending a few days in Mooney2 Creek. No mobile there, kinda nice.
We went back there just to listen to those gloriously crystal clear calls of the Bellbird. We anchored at the some what inappropriately named 'pig farm '. Regards brett
A lovely spot
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Old 04-12-2018, 11:37 AM   #10
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bogranjac1, i sent you a pm
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Old 04-12-2018, 06:12 PM   #11
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Hi Brett.
We are not tied to a time frame as I am refurbishing the shower and head in the aft cabin at the moment and there is still a bit of work to do on that. At the moment we are at anchor in Blackwattle Bay near the Fish Markets and will be going to the Wooden Boat Festival over the next couple of days. In terms of Tunks in Cammeray there is indeed free trailer and car parking. The weekends are very busy but weekdays there is generally a park somewhere even if you put the trailer in one bay and your vehicle in another. We often take our boat in to fill up with water but there are no other facilities there. The minimum depth is about 1.4m at dead low tide. My phone is 0402919294 if you want to give me a call and we can discuss the possibilities for you.

JJ
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Old 04-12-2018, 06:20 PM   #12
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Just rereading the posts and of course there is plenty of room under the Spit Bridge for you. Silly me!! You wont need to worry about opening times.

JJ
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Old 04-12-2018, 06:37 PM   #13
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If you come past Pretty Beach, you are welcome to give us a ring on 43602218. We live there so you can do your washing or whatever if you need.

Cheers,
Richard.
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Old 04-12-2018, 07:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bogranjac1 View Post
BruceK
Got back to Porto bay today after spending a few days in Mooney2 Creek. No mobile there, kinda nice.
We went back there just to listen to those gloriously crystal clear calls of the Bellbird. We anchored at the some what inappropriately named 'pig farm '. Regards brett
A lovely spot
Just sent you a SMS text suggesting lunch on our boat at Dolphin marina this Sunday, that avoids missed contacts.
Enjoy the stunning Autumn weather. Mooney and Mullet Creeks are gaston favourites.
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Old 04-13-2018, 03:58 AM   #15
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DD 44,
Richard thx for the offer. I do hope to be over your side of BB within a week or two. Really I suppose preference would be for a day with an east/northeast wind and slight swell. Have you ever been into Patonga creek? I wondered if I could get in there on a high tide as I draw 0.8 MTR. Draft. Regards till later Brett.
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Old 04-13-2018, 04:31 AM   #16
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I doubt if you could get into Patonga Creek in anything more than a tinnie if that.
In good weather you can anchor off the beach there and go ashore for fish and chips or a beer and meal at the pub.
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Old 04-22-2018, 06:39 PM   #17
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We had the pleasure of meeting up on the Hawkesbury with Brett(bogranjac1)and his Finn8 vessel, visiting from WA. One of the problems on the River is poor phone service due to waterways encased by steep sided hills, but we managed it.
The boat is well set up as a pocket cruiser for one or two people. Brett has fitted his own flopper stoppers, with remarkable affect on wake reaching the anchorage. Ample refrigeration and 300 watts of solar makes it a very independent comfortable boat for remote area exploration. Full displacement design means the boat cuts through the water with minimal horsepower and fuel required to reach hull speed.
We wish Brett more good cruising, before the weather cools as winter approaches. His next destination is Middle Harbour, accessed from Sydney Harbour, where he plans to meet up with TF member Rebel. Happy cruising, it was good to meet you.
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Old 04-28-2018, 02:00 AM   #18
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Brett/bogranjac1 called to say he enjoyed Sydney`s late summer but now autumn is arriving (almost 2 months late),he`s heading for warmer climes in northern Queensland.
That means he will miss catching up with some other Sydney TFers, but keep a lookout for the Finn8 exploring up north.
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Old 04-08-2019, 01:55 AM   #19
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A Houseboat Record?

Last weekend we saw 2 competently helmed houseboats, well maybe 1.5, one dragged anchor, but they were in 12 meters+, with massive windage, so let`s not be hard. They maneuvered into shallow water to save 3 obese men of their complement,no life jackets, rowing a dinghy so badly all 3 risked being flipped into the water.

We probably saw dozens, but these 2 stood out. Not approaching a mooring like a bull at a gate from upwind is a good start.
The other saw us on the foredeck preparing to drop our National Parks mooring. They sneaked in and sat nearby, nicely holding station. Making sure of their prize, a free NP 24hour mooring in Pinta, the best bay in the Hawkesbury system.
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Old 04-17-2019, 07:31 AM   #20
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Pinta, the best bay in the Hawkesbury system.


Bruce, I'll see your Pinta and raise you a Smith's Creek (far end on a Sunday night), or the top end of Yeoman's for an overnight stop & a quick outboard ride to Cottage Point Kiosk for coffee.

Also,D Duck 44 FWIW, you can get across the bar of Patonga Creek at high tide. It's navigable for about 800 meters (4-5 feet) then you run out of water. Actually it's surprising, there are some reasonably large craft moored on your starboard side about 150 meters inside the channel.

The Patonga pub has some nice (pricey) food & beverages, though the anchorage is very ordinary in a South Easter/Southerly, shallow & exposed.

The mighty Sarawana will be out & about over Easter & the not so mighty captain probably cooking up a storm on the BBQ, or doing the washing up!
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