Brisbane Water & Patonga
Brisbane Water is the big shallow inlet behind Ettalong and Woy Woy on the north side of Broken Bay. It's lovely once you're in, but the way in is over a listed coastal bar of shifting sandbanks, and in a southerly it breaks. Patonga, just west on the Broken Bay shore, is an easier stop with a ramp and a ferry wharf.
- 1Patonga Ferry Wharf · OSM.
- 2Patonga Boat Ramp · OSM.
- 3Ettalong Beach Dinghy Launch · OSM.
- 4Wagstaffe Public Wharf · OSM.
At a glance
| What it is | Shallow inlet off the north side of Broken Bay, with a bar at the entrance |
| Bar | Listed NSW coastal bar off Umina and Ettalong; lifejackets must be worn |
| Depth | NGA says sometimes less than 1.2 m over the bar |
| Patonga | Boat ramp and ferry wharf on Broken Bay (OSM) |
| Maps | TfNSW map 8B and coastal map 9 |
Crossing the bar
- Log on/off on VHF 16, by phone on (02) 9471 8300, or with the Marine Rescue NSW app
- Emergency: VHF 16 or Triple Zero (000)
Where it is. TfNSW lists the Brisbane Water bar near Umina, where Brisbane Water meets Broken Bay, west of the port-hand lateral marks. Map 8B says the bar warning applies to all water west of the marked navigation channel.
The channel. Map 8B says the entrance is encumbered by sandbanks that break heavily in southerly winds. From Little Box Head to Ettalong the shoals keep changing, and the port and starboard buoys get moved to show the best channel. Boats coming in from seaward should keep to the eastern shore from Little Box Head to Wagstaffe Point.
Depth. NGA says small craft can get into Brisbane Water but there's sometimes less than 1.2 m over the bar. Treat it as a tide-and-weather crossing for shoal-draft boats.
Lifejackets. As a listed coastal bar, everyone on board must wear a lifejacket crossing, Level 100 or above on boats over 4.8 m. TfNSW's advice is to cross on the flood, avoid the ebb, and keep going once you've started.
Anchoring and stopping
- Broken Bay side. NGA gives sheltered anchorage in Flint and Steel Bay and Refuge Bay across the water, both covered on the Cowan Creek and Hawkesbury pages.
- Patonga. OpenStreetMap shows the Patonga boat ramp beside the ferry wharf.
- Jetties. Map 8B says public jetties throughout Brisbane Water are for loading and unloading goods and passengers only. Casual berths are available at Gosford Public Wharf.
Rules in brief
- Paddlecraft only. Ettalong Beach is a TfNSW paddlecraft-only area, so no powered boats, including PWCs.
- Speed. Map 8B shows 4-knot and 20-knot zones in Brisbane Water; check the sheet for where.
- Lion Island. No landing without a permit (map 8B).
- HMAS Adelaide. The wreck off Avoca is a protected dive site.
Ashore
What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. Listings as fetched from OpenStreetMap on 27 October 2026; check opening hours before you walk.
From Ettalong Beach Dinghy Launch (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| Ettalong Diggers | Pub | 440 m | – |
| The Ettalong | Pub | 570 m | 384 Ocean View Road, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257 |
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| The BOX on the Water | Restaurant | 190 m | The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257 |
| The BOX on the Water Kiosk | Cafe | 220 m | The Esplanade, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257 |
| Sit By The Corner Cafe | Cafe | 430 m | – |
| Hatters Tea House | Cafe | 470 m | – |
| Seaside Emporium | Cafe | 490 m | – |
| Mediterranean Seafood & Chicken | Takeaway | 550 m | – |
| Pizza Peddlers Cafe & Bar | Takeaway | 560 m | – |
| Palačinki Cafe | Restaurant | 890 m | 35-36/189 Ocean View Road, Ettalong Beach NSW 2257 |
| plus 3 more within the walk | |||
| Entertainment | |||
| Ettalong Markets | Market | 890 m | – |
| Cinema Paradiso | Cinema | 950 m | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| BWS | Bottle shop | 530 m | – |
| Ettalong Beach IGA | Supermarket | 540 m | – |
From Patonga Ferry Wharf / Patonga Boat Ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| The Boathouse | Restaurant | 140 m | – |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Wagstaffe Public Wharf.
No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk.
Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 27 October 2026.
About this page
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current Transport for NSW marine notices, Port Authority notices, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.
Official links
Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.
- Transport for NSW: list of NSW coastal bars
- Transport for NSW: exclusion and restriction zones
- Transport for NSW boating maps (index)
- Transport for NSW marine notices (current)
- Transport for NSW: crossing coastal bars
- Marine Rescue NSW: log on and plan your trip
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Bureau of Meteorology: NSW coastal waters forecasts
- Bureau of Meteorology: NSW warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
Sources & credits
Written in our own words from Transport for NSW boating map 8B (Brisbane Water and Broken Bay, produced 18 December 2023) (each sheet read with pdftotext or viewed on 27 October 2026; each carries its own 'produced' or 'printed' date, quoted on the page), NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), Transport for NSW boating pages and marine notices, Port Authority of NSW notices, Marine Rescue NSW unit pages (checked 27 October 2026) and OpenStreetMap. NGA Pub. 127 Sector 5 (5.7). The TfNSW coastal bar list and exclusion zones page read 27 October 2026.
Transport for NSW. Facts from the Transport for NSW boating maps (each sheet's 'produced' date is quoted where we rely on it), nsw.gov.au boating pages and TfNSW marine notices, restated and summarised in our own words. Maps are linked, not reproduced. The official maps, notices and the Marine Safety Regulation 2016 prevail. Not endorsed by Transport for NSW.
Port Authority of NSW. Local marine notices and recreational boating advice for Newcastle, Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay and Port Kembla, cited for fact only.
NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are old; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.
OpenStreetMap. Map tiles, facility positions and the Ashore lists © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Marine Rescue NSW. Unit contacts and hours from each unit's own website, checked on the date shown in the rescue box.
Last checked: 27 October 2026.
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