Have finally jumped aboard and am currently in the process of purchasing my first yacht - Compass 28. At my age and four years into retirement, it will probably be my only boat.

In recent years, I've crewed on J24s in Pittwater and have had the last 5 winters as paid crew for 3 months at a time on various large cruising yachts in Greece/Turkey. I am fairly confident with sailing but can see myself jumping onto this forum for advice re the various systems on board that I will have to deal with.

The boat is currently on Lake Macquarie but the plan is to bring her down and moor on Sydney Harbour. I have downloaded the Maritime Mooring Map and checked out the waiting list and am considering lodging applications for Little Sirius Cove and/or P/R Hunters Hill.

Should say that as I live in the Blue Mts, no matter where I end up will involve a drive of at least an hour and a half.
Does anyone have an opinion on Hunters Hill as a suitable mooring area and is there dinghy storage available?
Thanks

Mark

Send me a message, I should be able to help bring it to Sydney.
My first boat was in Tambourine Bay, Lane Cove river next to Riverview College. A good spot but can be a haul to the main harbour.
Look at Pittwater, a bit further from home but you are very close to the best east coast cruising ground.

What about somewhere like Brooklyn on the hawesbury? Easy parking, great pub, can even get there by train if needed!

And then you have great sailing and cruising grounds with no ferries or commercial traffic.

Pinta bay, castle rock, Jerusalem bay, America bay, smiths creek, mullet creek, Brisbane water, pittwater, a couple of hours from Sydney/lake macquarie/ etc

If you are not racing, it may be an option with a shorter mooring waiting list

markje4 said..
Have finally jumped aboard and am currently in the process of purchasing my first yacht - Compass 28. At my age and four years into retirement, it will probably be my only boat.

In recent years, I've crewed on J24s in Pittwater and have had the last 5 winters as paid crew for 3 months at a time on various large cruising yachts in Greece/Turkey. I am fairly confident with sailing but can see myself jumping onto this forum for advice re the various systems on board that I will have to deal with.

The boat is currently on Lake Macquarie but the plan is to bring her down and moor on Sydney Harbour. I have downloaded the Maritime Mooring Map and checked out the waiting list and am considering lodging applications for Little Sirius Cove and/or P/R Hunters Hill.

Should say that as I live in the Blue Mts, no matter where I end up will involve a drive of at least an hour and a half.
Does anyone have an opinion on Hunters Hill as a suitable mooring area and is there dinghy storage available?
Thanks

Mark

Gidday Mark! Congrats. THats gonna be my next boat i reckon. I waited just 3 months for a mooring in lovely, sheltered woodford bay. Takes me 15 min motor to get to bridge from there. Its basically Hunters Hill. Before my mooring came up i rented a mooring off sailcorp in lavender bay. THeyre a bit pricey at 380per month or 30 per day, day to day, but they are super helpful and friendly and have tender service. Great location!

HG02 said..
Hi Mark again
Not sure if you have look or know but there is a really informative Compass web site with good information
http://compassyachts.info/web/ you probably already know but just in case

Thanks HG02
Have found Compass site and although i have registered and my username comes up on log-in, I keep getting an error message when I try to join the forum.

Supersonic27 said..
What about somewhere like Brooklyn on the hawesbury? Easy parking, great pub, can even get there by train if needed!

And then you have great sailing and cruising grounds with no ferries or commercial traffic.

Pinta bay, castle rock, Jerusalem bay, America bay, smiths creek, mullet creek, Brisbane water, pittwater, a couple of hours from Sydney/lake macquarie/ etc

If you are not racing, it may be an option with a shorter mooring waiting list

I'm definitely a cruiser - not a racer and certainly enjoy sailing Pittwater. My non-sailing family and friends, however, are expecting to be able to spend lazy summer days sailing on Sydney Harbour!

Try Five Dock Bay North I think it has a small waiting list only took three months for me. Has a good boat ramp and parking area for car with boat trailer only, good street parking for car. There is a council dingy area but not to sure how secure it is.

Gladesville marina is not bad as a temporary solution around $300 a month for swing mooring but that includes taxi service to and from your mooring.

Good points on the Pittwater. I bought my boat from Church Point and kept it moored there for 8 months. Sailing around there was really nice. lots of nice beaches to pull up to, hawkesbury, brooklyn etc. I live on the harbour and thought that moving the boat here would mean i sail more. I dont think i sail more - its just less driving.
I kinda enjoyed the drive down McCarrs Creek Rd on my motorcycle to go for a sail actually. The only down side was all the cyclists sometimes when i took the car. They kinda take over around there.

I sort of bought the boat down to the harbour for the the reasons that it would be easier for people to come on board. I pick people up from jettys in the harbour and Sometimes i pick the missus up from lavender bay jetty - where we live. Might consider going to back to Pittwater - i miss it. Its veryspecial to be out there during the week, about 3 boats out and the water sparkling with the hillls behind. For now we are here. This summer i might try cruising around Port Hacking instead. Some new ground.

Brisbane Water is the estuary on the North side of Broken Bay. Pittwater is the inlet on the South side.

You will want to be in the main harbour. I was originally in Five Dock Bay North. Lovey spot but a long haul to the harbour. Anywhere in the River can be fickle wind. Put in your application for Little Sirius Cove and join Sydney Amateur sailing Club which is just around the point in Mosman Bay. That's what I did and very happy. Little Sirius Cove is a gem and you can store your dinghy at the club. I just row around to my boat from there. You will have t and the club has two slipways for use and a lot of experienced clubmates for advice and assistance. The ferry stop is right next door to the club.

When we bought our boat, it was moored in Gladesville, under the bridge. The traffic and the river cat wash meant that it was impossible to do any work of any kind for fear of dropping tools or falling overboard. It was also hard to sleep over for the same reasons.

In the winter we would sail out as far as Shark Island, but mostly have to motor back or beat into the westerlies. Going to the fish markets was good, but there are very few quiet sandy beaches to pull up at. In the summer we would mostly motor out, the least to the bridge and sit in Mosman or if the wind was right maybe make it to Manly and sail back with the Nor Easter up put bum. Didn't take long to get tired of that routine. We're not racers, so day sailing and the occasional overnighter or long weekend is our thing. The traffic on a sunny summers afternoon going through the bridge and past Long Nose Point is worse than driving down George St on a Friday afternoon. syndicated power boats with intoxicated self entitled tossers at the helm nudging their way between you, a mirror dinghy in a race and the Birchgrove sea wall at full speed with a three foot wash was common place. No place for the faint hearted and it's just getting worse.

Within 6 months, we moved to Careel Bay in Pittwater. The drive for us is the same but there is so much more water in the Broken Bay system we never tire of it, and our guests enjoy it all the more. We're a half hour sail from the ocean and about two hours from Brooklyn Bridge or Refuge Cove. On a good day can get to the Harbour by mid arvo.

Much better mooring areas, and places for dinghys, but we keep ours at home and put it on the roof of the car.

Just another opinion for your due consideration

MichaelR said..
When we bought our boat, it was moored in Gladesville, under the bridge. The traffic and the river cat wash meant that it was impossible to do any work of any kind for fear of dropping tools or falling overboard. It was also hard to sleep over for the same reasons.

In the winter we would sail out as far as Shark Island, but mostly have to motor back or beat into the westerlies. Going to the fish markets was good, but there are very few quiet sandy beaches to pull up at. In the summer we would mostly motor out, the least to the bridge and sit in Mosman or if the wind was right maybe make it to Manly and sail back with the Nor Easter up put bum. Didn't take long to get tired of that routine. We're not racers, so day sailing and the occasional overnighter or long weekend is our thing. The traffic on a sunny summers afternoon going through the bridge and past Long Nose Point is worse than driving down George St on a Friday afternoon. syndicated power boats with intoxicated self entitled tossers at the helm nudging their way between you, a mirror dinghy in a race and the Birchgrove sea wall at full speed with a three foot wash was common place. No place for the faint hearted and it's just getting worse.

Within 6 months, we moved to Careel Bay in Pittwater. The drive for us is the same but there is so much more water in the Broken Bay system we never tire of it, and our guests enjoy it all the more. We're a half hour sail from the ocean and about two hours from Brooklyn Bridge or Refuge Cove. On a good day can get to the Harbour by mid arvo.

Much better mooring areas, and places for dinghys, but we keep ours at home and put it on the roof of the car.

Just another opinion for your due consideration

Very valid points. Bought our boat in pittwater , had her there for 8 months, but moved down to wood ford bay. The tosses in big speed boats coming up close to you is a pain for sure. No wind really til just after the east side of the HB too. In pittwater I'd cast off the mooring And take your pick for awesome beaches. Wanna venture further , go to central coast or up the hawkebury. Having the boat down here close to home means less driving, I'm going to move back up to the pittwater. Get on a list there, and take my new mooring with me. I'm already missing that area.

Thanks for al the feedback.
As someone new to boat ownership, I expect that there will be many more times when I will be seeking out help.
I think the plan at the moment is to bring the boat down to Pittwater and see if I can get into either Beashell's or Careel Bay while waiting for a mooring in Little Sirius Cove or Gore Creek.
Thanks again!