Boating in Brisbane and Moreton Bay: where to go and what to carry
Moreton Bay looks like protected water on a chart and behaves like open water on the wrong day. It is roughly 100 kilometres top to bottom, much of it shallow, and with a long enough fetch that a fresh south-easter builds a short, steep chop that will rattle the fillings out of a small boat. Brisbane boat owners who enjoy the Bay are the ones who read the forecast properly and carry the right gear.
What makes Moreton Bay different
Three things. It is shallow, which means the sea state builds fast and stays unpleasant. It is tidal, with banks that dry across large areas and channels that matter. And the islands that protect it (Moreton, North Stradbroke and Bribie) leave gaps that let swell and wind in from the north and east.
The practical consequence is that Bay conditions are driven by wind more than swell. A 15-knot south-easter over the top of a run-out tide in the Rous Channel is genuinely uncomfortable, and it is the same wind that makes the western side near Manly and Wynnum pleasant. Where you go should follow the wind direction, not the other way around.
The anchorages people use
Peel Island is the Bay's default weekend stop and deservedly so. Horseshoe Bay on the northern side gives good holding in sand and shelter from the south and west, and it is close enough to Manly and Raby Bay to be a comfortable day trip. It fills up on a fine weekend.
Tangalooma on the western side of Moreton Island is the other classic. The wrecks give shelter and snorkelling in one stop, and the beach is a genuine destination rather than just somewhere to sit out a blow. The run across from the Brisbane River mouth is exposed in anything fresh from the north-east, so pick the day.
Further north, Bribie Island and the Pumicestone Passage are quieter and shallower, and the passage itself rewards local knowledge. South of Peel, Canaipa and the Broadwater run down to the Gold Coast, which makes a Brisbane-to-Gold-Coast passage inside the islands a pleasant day's run in settled weather.
Wherever you stop, holding is mostly sand, which suits a plough or a fluke anchor. Allow for the tide range and carry enough chain to keep the pull horizontal. Our anchoring and mooring range covers anchors, chain, warps and the snubbers worth having if you plan to sleep aboard.
What to carry
The Bay's size is what drives the safety kit. A breakdown near Peel is an inconvenience; the same breakdown halfway to Moreton in a building south-easter is a different afternoon. Carriage requirements vary by vessel type and by whether you are in smooth, partially smooth or open waters. Maritime Safety Queensland publishes the current rules, and they are worth checking against your own boat rather than assuming.
Beyond the legal minimum, the things we see people wish they had are a second means of communication, a lifejacket per person that actually fits, and enough water aboard for a longer day than planned. Our lifejackets and PFDs cover adult, junior and offshore specifications, and general safety covers flares, first aid and the rest.
For anyone sailing the Bay rather than motoring it, safety harnesses and tethers are the item that separates a bad moment from a rescue. Clip on before you need it.
Gear that earns its place on a Bay boat
A reliable bilge pump with an automatic switch, because a boat on a swing mooring collects rain and you will not be there to notice. Our bilge pumps range covers 12V and 24V units and the float switches that go with them.
A deck wash, if you fish. Rinsing the deck before the drive home is the difference between a boat that smells fine next weekend and one that does not. We stock deck washdown pumps and hoses as complete kits.
Shade, without exception. A Bay summer day at anchor without a bimini is punishing, and the sun does the same thing to your upholstery that it does to you. Boat covers and biminis are made for Queensland sun rather than adapted to it.
And decent ground tackle. Most of the trouble people have in the Bay is at anchor, not under way: dragging onto a bank on a change of tide, or a rode chafing through overnight on an unprotected fairlead.
Getting gear from the Gold Coast to Brisbane
We are on the marina at Southport Yacht Club, about an hour from most of Brisbane, and we ship Australia-wide. Plenty of our customers are Brisbane and Redlands boat owners who order online and collect when they are down this way. If you are matching a part to an existing system and are not certain what you have, send us a photo of the plate or the fitting and we will work it out with you rather than guessing.
