⚠ NOT FOR NAVIGATION. Use official charts and tide tables. This page is a planning aid only. Navigate with the current AHO chart, MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice.

1770 & Gladstone cruising guide

Official MSQ Beacon to Beacon mapsDC-1 map (PDF)DC-2 map (PDF)DC-3 map (PDF)G-2 map (PDF)Gladstone Marina enlargement (PDF)N-1 map (PDF)N-6 map (PDF)Free official PDFs from Maritime Safety Queensland. Each button opens the right sheet.Other official mapsMSQ Gladstone small craft navigation areas (image)

Round Hill Creek and 1770 to Gladstone and The Narrows · 4 guidesLast checked: 27 October 2026Report a correction

North of Bundaberg the coast turns quiet: national park, mangrove creeks and long sandy beaches, with the little town of 1770 at Round Hill Creek and the classic anchorage at Pancake Creek behind Bustard Head. Then comes Gladstone, a big industrial port that's also a safe, roomy harbour with a large marina. From there, The Narrows behind Curtis Island is the inside route to Keppel Bay, but only on the tide. MSQ's Beacon to Beacon maps cover all of it, though the Discovery Coast sheets have no soundings.

Map of the 1770 & Gladstone region (Round Hill Creek and 1770 to Gladstone and The Narrows) with a numbered marker for each of its 4 cruising guide pages. — Numbers match the guide list below. Each name links to its page. Positions are approximate. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Positions are approximate and for orientation only. **Not a chart. Not for navigation.**
1Round Hill Creek & 1770 · Shallow creek bar + town
2Pancake Creek & Bustard Head · Creek anchorage
3Gladstone Harbour & Marina · Port + marina
4The Narrows & Curtis Island · Tidal inside passage

Guides in this region, south to north

Round Hill Creek & 1770

Shallow creek bar + town

Round Hill Creek at the Town of 1770: the shallow bar, the creek moorings, Bustard Bay anchorage, ramps and MRQ Round Hill. Not for navigation.

Last checked: 27 October 2026

Pancake Creek & Bustard Head

Creek anchorage

Pancake Creek behind Bustard Head: the entrance, the newly lit buoys, anchoring in the creek and the lighthouse ashore. Free planning notes.

Last checked: 27 October 2026

Gladstone Harbour & Marina

Port + marina

Gladstone for yachts: South Channel in, ships and VTS, Gladstone Marina, fuel, ramps and the Boyne River. Free notes. Not for navigation.

Last checked: 27 October 2026

The Narrows & Curtis Island

Tidal inside passage

The Narrows behind Curtis Island: the drying crossing, tides, Ramsay Crossing ramps and who to ask about depths. Free planning notes.

Last checked: 27 October 2026

Entrances and hazards to plan around

Round Hill Creek & 1770: Shallow, moving creek bar (0.6 to 1 m, NGA). Small boats on the tide; avoid at night (MSQ).
Pancake Creek & Bustard Head: Narrow creek entrance, least 3.7 m in the fairway (NGA); buoys now lit.
Gladstone Harbour & Marina: Ship port via South Channel. Gladstone VTS on VHF 13.
The Narrows & Curtis Island: Tidal passage; MSQ warns it may dry at LAT between Ramsay Crossing and Boat Creek.

Before any bar or creek crossing, read the current MSQ notices to mariners. Depths on bars change between surveys.

Neighbouring regions

About these guides

These are planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources: MSQ maps and notices, NGA Pub. 127, the Reef Authority and OpenStreetMap. They are not for navigation. Use the official AHO charts, current MSQ notices to mariners, official tide tables and local advice. Each page shows when its facts were last checked and dates every notice it quotes.

Sources & credits

Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (Beacon to Beacon guide, notices to mariners, nav-aid open data, port procedures maps, tide information) © State of Queensland (Department of Transport and Main Roads), licensed under CC BY 4.0. Facts restated and summarised in our own words. Not endorsed by MSQ or TMR.

Queensland legislation. Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 and Transport Infrastructure (Waterways Management) Regulation 2012 © State of Queensland, CC BY 4.0. Summarised; the authorised versions at legislation.qld.gov.au prevail.

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 out of date; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.

OpenStreetMap. Map tiles and some facility positions © OpenStreetMap contributors, data available under the Open Database Licence (ODbL).

Others. Facts from local authority pages and notices (for example the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Queensland Parks and Defence notices), volunteer marine rescue sites and businesses' own websites are cited for fact only and restated in our own words. Listing a business is not an endorsement.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Zoning maps and plans of management are linked, not reproduced; the official maps and the zoning plan prevail.

Spotted something wrong or out of date? Report a correction and tell us what you saw and when.

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