Lake Macquarie jewel of Australian water ways
October 2nd 2006 04:37
Lake Macquarie is still one of the best cruising grounds around for all types of vessels.
The current work on dredging the entry channel from the sea and straightening the dog leg at Pelican
will again allow many more vessels to enter the system with depths said to be around 3.5 meters.
The channel will also be much wider but of course Swansea Bridge will still need to be opened for
larger vessels and the notorious “coal seam” at the channel mouth still creates a difficult bar in North Easterlies. A call to Swansea Coast Guard or Swansea Coastal Patrol will quickly give you local
or alternatively there is a map available from Waterways. There is no detailed admiralty chart available.
Being situated only one and a half hours drive north of Sydney, a lot of cruisers have already
opted to permanently leave their boats on the lake where pile berths and moorings are relatively cheaper.
It is a trailer boat Mecca with the huge ramp at Rathmines (it can take over twenty boats and trailers at
a time) being the best entry point and many smaller ramps, all free for launching and parking, dotted
around the lake. Sailing, fishing and run a bouts are all to be seen.
The closure of commercial trawl netting in the lake over one year ago has already started to
benefit the amateur angler with large flathead, bream and tailor now the norm rather than not. It is
expected that some well-organized club fishing events will now take place on the lake. A local chamber
up the abundant blue swimmers and the occasional “muddie”. Prawns can still be dab netted and are on
the increase.
Yachts are made welcome at the two major clubs, Lake Macquarie Yacht Club and the Royal
Motor Yacht Club. Both have casual pens for hire. There are many public wharves dotted around the
lake and some are okay for overnight stays. There are plenty of pump out facilities with most having a
depth of 2.1 meters. There are four or five chandleries in the area, either on the waterfront or very close
to it and about the same number of sail makers. Fuel is available from four sites around the lake.
Waterfront restaurants with access to yachts include RMYC Toronto, L.M.Y.C. Belmont, Wangi
Workers Club, Wangi RSL Club, Valentine Bowling Club, Pelican, and many more where a yacht may anchor and come in by dinghy if the wharves are too shallow.
As a cruising ground Lake Macquarie is large, (four times the size of Sydney Harbour) and has
an average depth of nine to ten meters. All shallows and most danger areas are well marked and
navigation beacons make for relatively easy night navigation. It is not a busy waterway. During the
week a cruiser would not encounter more than a dozen yachts during the weekday and on weekends the largest fleets to encounter would be the LMYC race fleet of about ninety yachts or the RMYC race fleet
of about forty five yachts. Add in another hundred pleasure yachts and you can see that in comparison to Sydney, where as many as six major yacht clubs and a dozen dinghy and skiff clubs have fleets in the hundreds out on Saturday and Sunday, the lake is relatively quiet. Winds can be very severe with quite a long fetch. This can also build up a very short sharp chop to a meter or so in height, but even in gale
force conditions there is a haven to find where you can be in peace. However, sailing conditions on most days are just superb with winds of around ten to fifteen knots. It is not uncommon to leave the northern
end of the lake and after sailing on one tack on a nor’easter for three or four hours for example, to pick
up an afternoon southerly change and sail all the way back again on one tack. Now that is good cruising.
There are several yacht charter companies operating on the Lake. They offer their boats at very competitive rates. Some are small trailer sailors and others are 36’ Benateaus. Houseboats are also very popular with many different sorts available from basic to luxurious. An alternative for some cruisers is to bring up their own trailer sailor and after launching it, anchor out the front of a B &B. There are many of these establishments right on the waterfront. Particularly popular with many yachties are the converted
boat sheds along Coal Point operating as B & Bs.
The boating community supports five yacht brokers and a major trailer sailor brokerage. There is
a sailing school to teach the novice through to the advanced sailor the finer points of sailing, coastal navigation and small boat safety. Three-day courses can be a great way to get to know the lake as wel
as increase your boating knowledge.
Lake Macquarie is a sleeping giant. It has been a popular tourist destination for many years but
since the main highway re routed around the lake it has been largely overlooked. It is still appreciated by enthusiasts and will eventually awaken to show it self off in all it’s grandeur. The fore shores are mainly wooded hills with communities of lakeside villages made up of holiday shacks, modest homes and grand mansions. Along with the return of the fish, large sea eagles, turtles and small penguins are now making themselves at home. This makes it all the more attractive to the cruiser who is looking to get away from
it all but still wants to be close to all the comforts and safety of a large community.
Text by
Tom Nelson
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