Hi there LMY, this is a great resource, http://eastcoastcruising.com.au/ put together by a friend

You can get some provisions at Careel Bay, like ice, bait water and fuel, plush they make a good coffee. Church Point has a general store, and you can get some basics at some of the other marinas around Bayview. Woolworths Mona Vale is a 20 minute walk from Winneremery Bay, but you cant anchor in there. You can anchor near Bayview, or pick up a mooring and take a bus to Mona Vale.

If you go up into Brisbane Water, you can tie up at the Woy Woy wharf for a short while, where there is plenty of shopping etc.

Brooklyn is the same, although a bit of a walk to any shops.

Palm Beach has a jetty and a couple of food shops across the road. Just take aways etc, further down the road a bit there is a bottle shop and a few others that might be useful. You can anchor there, or pick up a mooring.

If you send me a PM I might be able to give you some dates where we could meet up and I could pick you up to get supplies.

Ok here the guts of it.
Church point is about the only place to anchor in about 7 meters, be careful with the holding. There is a beach next to car park for dingy and the bus stop on the road will take you to mona vale shops, eg. Woollies. There is a tap at the ferry wharf and small beach at half tide for dingy to take water and that's about it! No water at fuel dock last year I was there and they made fun of me using the purple hose!!! Rich people don't give water away:))).....
I enjoy catching the train from Brooklyn to Gosford to shop, be weary of thief's in Brooklyn!
Pittwater is nice to visit but nothing like the lake for everything being at hand, well no where is as good as the lake.

All,

Thanks for the tips. A night on a marina sounds like a good plan. The current plan is to travel around New Years. Depth in Swansea channel is a bit of a challenge for us so we need good high tides in the morning. The wife is a bit concerned about finding a mooring late in the day, I hope she is wrong!

LMY said..

All,

Thanks for the tips. A night on a marina sounds like a good plan. The current plan is to travel around New Years. Depth in Swansea channel is a bit of a challenge for us so we need good high tides in the morning. The wife is a bit concerned about finding a mooring late in the day, I hope she is wrong!

Just pick up any mooring you come across, but don't leave the boat unattended. If the owner comes along you'll have to move, but usually it's not a problem. The Basin is the closest inside Barrenjoey, or go down to Refuge Bay if you arrive early enough, it's almost opposite the entrance to the Hawkesbury.

Further down Pittwater itself, there are a couple of other nice bays with a few spare moorings.

The night before a public holiday you probably wont get a mooring at the Basin if arriving late, but you can easily anchor just outside the mooring area, it wont be good in a NE'r tho' anyway, the better option would be Refuge/America's Bay, I think America's is quieter, better protected, & you get to sleep in as the sun takes a bit longer to reach the boat from over the hill , there are hundreds of moorings there, so you should be ok.
I have found the southern end of Pittwater a real nuisance unless you have a mooring/berth, years ago I got away with anchoring in Winneremery Bay while provisioning in Mona Vale, but wouldn't attempt it nowadays. I reckon you'd be heaps better off stocking up before you left LM, & just pick up some fresh stuff from Cottage Pt or Akuna Bay as suggested above, by the time you factor in bus/taxis cost would be about the same....without the hassle. cheers