I'm interesting in hearing from yachties who have crossed the River Murray bar, as in actually entered the River from the Southern Ocean - not merely passed the mouth on the Coorong side. According to the "Murray River Pilot" it was a common thing in olden days before the river boat trade died.

"From 1887 to 1891, on 970 days in that period the seas were light and the entrance navigable. On 260 days seas were heavy and on 170 days the seas were dangerous. Steamers passed through on voyages between the Murray and Darling River ports and Adelaide and Melbourne. Then the trade died and passages ceased."

In other words it was considered navigable 69% of the time back then, albeit before the River was tamed with barrages, locks and irrigation.

The River is flowing strongly again and the channel should be deep.

I'd love to take my cat into the Coorong one day...

My suggestion is get into a 4WD or even walk down from the car park and have a personal look see.
How big is your Catamaran, will it fit into the barrage to enter the lake system?

To answer gizmo, I can't pass through the Goolwa Barrage lock which is only 20' wide, as the beam of my cat is 21'8" (6.67m). That said, I'm more interested in exploring the Coorong than going up the River though.