Cowan Creek & Ku-ring-gai Chase
Cowan Creek is the classic Sydney weekend anchorage: bay after bay running off the main arm inside Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, with no bar to cross and national park moorings in many of the bays. NGA rates it the best anchorage in Broken Bay, which makes it a handy place to sit out weather on a delivery between Sydney and the north. TfNSW's map warns it gets congested, so don't count on having a bay to yourself.
- 1Refuge Bay · OSM.
- 2America Bay · OSM.
- 3d'Albora Marinas Akuna Bay · OSM.
- 4Cottage Point · OSM.
At a glance
| What it is | Deep drowned valley off the south-west side of Broken Bay, inside a national park |
| Anchorage | NGA reports about 8.2 m about 1 mile inside the entrance as the best in Broken Bay |
| Moorings | National park visitor moorings in many bays; numbers on map 9A |
| Hazards | Seaplanes at Cottage Point, isolated rocks, congestion |
| Maps | TfNSW map 9A (Cowan Creek) and coastal map 9 |
Getting here
From Broken Bay. Cowan Creek opens off the south-west corner of Broken Bay past West Head. There's no bar. NGA says anchorage inside Middle Bank is protected, and that a submarine cable crosses Cowan Creek about 2.7 miles above the entrance, so don't anchor near the cable signs.
Seaplanes. Map 9A warns that seaplanes regularly operate around Cottage Point. Keep a lookout and stay clear when one is landing or taking off.
Rocks. The map marks several isolated rocks close to the shore and points, including Shark Rock Point and Little Shark Rock Point in the lower creek. Have the sheet open as you nose into a bay.
Anchoring and moorings
- Refuge Bay. NGA gives anchorage on the south side of Challenger Head in 4.5 m.
- Up the creek. NGA reports the best anchorage in Broken Bay is in Cowan Creek in about 8.2 m, about 1 mile inside the entrance.
- Flint and Steel Bay. Just outside, NGA gives good sheltered anchorage in 11 to 13 m, sand and mud, close south-west of Flint and Steel Point.
- Park moorings. Map 9A shows the number of NPWS visitor moorings in each bay, including America Bay and Little Jerusalem Bay. Pink public moorings are marked as well.
- Wash. The map asks you to reduce your wash in this congested area.
Facilities
- Akuna Bay. OpenStreetMap shows the d'Albora marina at Akuna Bay, up Coal and Candle Creek.
- Cottage Point. Marine Rescue Cottage Point is based at the Ku-ring-gai Motor Yacht Club. It's open from 7 am to sunset on weekends and public holidays, plus Thursdays and Fridays in summer.
- Ramps. Map 9A says launching ramps inside Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park close at night, and the park gates are locked at night.
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 d'Albora Marinas Akuna Bay (marina)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Shed | Cafe | 270 m | – |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Refuge Bay; America Bay.
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 marine notices (current)
- 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 9A (Cowan Creek and Narrabeen Lakes, printed September 2022) (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). Marine Rescue Cottage Point unit 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.
Need a boat moved to or from Cowan Creek?
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