Please select your home edition
Edition
Barton Marine Pipe Glands

A boatie's guide to the NSW Central Coast

by Mark Rothfield on 16 Jul 2011
Terrigal Haven offers easy access to offshore fishing grounds and a ship dive NSW Tourism
Situated halfway between big cousins Sydney and Newcastle, the region known as the NSW Central Coast could also be called boating central.

Its lesser-known waterways are perfect for powercruisers, offering a myriad of beaches and protected anchorages.

There’s Broken Bay and Brisbane Water for big cruisers while Tuggerah Lake and Munmorah Lake further north are shallow havens for trailable runabouts.

For boats looking for offshore fishing or a dive on the newly sunk HMAS Adelaide, there’s an idyllic ocean launching ramp at Terrigal Haven.

Broken Bay, at the mouth of the mighty Hawkesbury River, has a Jurassic Park feel, with eons-old trees and boulders spilling down to the shoreline.

At night an eerie quietness descends and the sky is ablaze with stars. Only the metropolis's glow and a procession of aircraft descending to Sydney's airport betray your close proximity to suburbia.

Some of the main anchorages get crowded during weekends and school holidays as Sydneysiders flee the 'burbs, though midweek you'll generally find only a scattering of craft.


Civilisation has its benefits. You can pick up superb fish and chips from Patonga then nip across to nearby Refuge or America Bays for the evening.

A shower under a natural waterfall in Refuge Bay is the perfect start to a new day, along with some crisp bacon on the boat barbie … but be warned, the cheeky kookaburras are known to swoop down and steal meat straight from the hot plate.

Cottage Point marina, on Cowan Creek, sells newspapers and supplies and just upstream there's a waterfront restaurant called Cottage Point Inn that does a roaring trade (seaplanes ferry in diners from Sydney Harbour).

There are ramps at Bobbin Head and Akuna Bay, but if you're travelling south you're better off launching at Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury, where there's a great launching facility.


Brisbane Water surrounds the city of Gosford, though early surveyors referred to it as ‘the north arm of the Hawkesbury’. The entrance is dicey because of shifting sands. You have to hug the Lobster Beach shoreline until reaching Little Box Head.

The channel winds 5.5 nautical miles to the main broadwater, branching off to Woy Woy and Empire Bay. It's not long before you find excellent marina facilities at Ettalong, Hardy's Bay and Booker Bay. Then you pass beneath the Rip Bridge, named because the tide flows through a narrow rock channel at up to six knots.

Brisbane Water is perfect for pleasure boating, as attested by the large number of moored craft. Gosford Boat Harbour has visitor berths, a public jetty and a ramp.


Tuggerah Lakes has copped bad press in recent years because the growth of housing is pressuring the delicate ecological balance. But a more picturesque place than The Entrance, home to a zillion pelicans, would be hard to find.

The waters are renowned for being benign. Indeed in the '80s a sailing catamaran syndicate set up camp on Tuggerah Lake to pursue the world speed sailing record, attracted by the promise of strong winds and flat water.

Tuggerah Lake joins Budgewoi Lake, then slightly further north is Munmorah Lake, a sand-lined waterway favoured by tinnie fishermen.

With such a range of waterways all so close together, it could take you a lifetime of weekends to do justice to the place.

Rooster 2025Doyle_SailWorld_728X90px_SY BOTTOMRS Sailing 2021 - FOOTER

Related Articles

Rolex Fastnet Race Start - David Maynard Galley
Here's his great collection from Cowes and further west as the fleet exited the Solent David Maynard has been out taking great photos at SailGP, the Admiral's Cup, and now the Rolex Fastnet Race start. Here's his great collection from Cowes and further west as the fleet exited the Solent.
Posted today at 5:36 am
Admirals Cup: Day 5 - Rolex Fastnet gets underway
The final triple scoring race in the 2025 Admirals' Cup got underway on time The final triple scoring race in the 2025 Admirals' Cup got underway on time starting in front of The Castle in Cowes. The 30 boat fleet representing 15 teams and 12 countries encountered conditions much as forecast - 12-15kt westerly and outgoing tide.
Posted on 26 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race gets underway with record fleet
Spectators in their thousands swarmed Cowes Green and the shores of the western Solent Spectators in their thousands swarmed Cowes Green and the shores of the western Solent to witness the starts of the 51st Rolex Fastnet Race from 1120 until 1320 BST today.
Posted on 26 Jul
2025 iQFOiL Youth & Junior Worlds, day 2
Strong performances, tight racing, and growing excitement The 2025 iQFOiL Youth & Junior World Championships finally got under way on the water today in Brest with an intense second day of racing for the 379 young windsurfers representing 38 nations.
Posted on 26 Jul
100th edition Rolex Fastnet Race begins
Ahead lie 696 nautical miles of technically challenging, resilience testing waters. The 100th anniversary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race underlined its position as the world's largest offshore race as 444 yachts set off from Cowes, England.
Posted on 26 Jul
Admiral's Cup: Explosive Rolex Fastnet Race start
The fleet launched into action with a full-on start right in front of the Royal Yacht Squadron line The Red Arrows heralded the return of the Admiral's Cup for the centenary edition of the Rolex Fastnet Race.
Posted on 26 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race Start - Tom Hicks Photo Gallery
Stuunning shots from as 444 yachts start the centenary edition of the race! Tom Hicks is out on the Solent for all the major events and has captured some stunning moments from today's start of the Centenary Rolex Fastnet Race. Take a look at the shots below and far more in the gallery above!
Posted on 26 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race Start - view from Hurst Castle
A video montage as the fleet went out of the Solent I went out to Hurst Castle with his camera and drone to capture the action as the boats, ranging from the mighty Ultim trimarans, through to the IMOCAs and grand prix yachts competing in the 2025 Admiral's Cup went through the narrrows out of the Solent.
Posted on 26 Jul
Snipe Women's World Championship day 3
A strong thermal build into the afternoon again at Enoshima, Japan Weatherwise, day three was pretty much a carbon copy of day two with a strong thermal that built into the afternoon. Racing got under way a half hour earlier, again to start before the breeze built over the regatta limit.
Posted on 26 Jul
Ugotta Regatta Day 1
The GL52 fleet sailed their first three races Nine boats strong, the GL52 fleet sailed their first three races of the 2025 Ugotta Regatta on Friday.
Posted on 26 Jul