⚠ 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.

Gold Coast Broadwater cruising guide

Official MSQ Beacon to Beacon mapsNGC-1 map (PDF)NGC-2 map (PDF)NGC-3 map (PDF)NGC-4 map (PDF)NGC-5 map (PDF)NGC-6 map (PDF)NGC-7 map (PDF)NGC-8 map (PDF)NGC-9 map (PDF)NGC-10 map (PDF)SMB-11 map (PDF)SMB-12 map (PDF)Free official PDFs from Maritime Safety Queensland. Each button opens the right sheet.
Seaway to Jumpinpin · 8 guidesLast checked: 18 October 2026Report a correction

Behind the Gold Coast Seaway is the Broadwater, a busy, well-marked stretch of water with a big spread of marinas, fuel and haul-out: Main Beach, Runaway Bay, Sanctuary Cove, Hope Island and the Coomera boatyards. To the north it narrows into the channels past South Stradbroke Island towards Jacobs Well and the Jumpinpin bar. The Seaway is the main all-weather entrance on the southern half of the coast, but it still deserves respect on the ebb. Inside, watch for heavy small-craft traffic and seaplanes, and know the 24-hour anchoring limits before you drop the pick.

Map of the Gold Coast Broadwater region (Seaway to Jumpinpin) with a numbered marker for each of its 8 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.
  1. 1Gold Coast Seaway · Bar crossing + anchorages + marinas
  2. 2Runaway Bay Marina · Marina
  3. 3Paradise Point & Sovereign Islands · Harbour + channels
  4. 4South Stradbroke Island Anchorages · Anchorages
  5. 5Sanctuary Cove & Hope Island · Marinas
  6. 6Coomera Marine Precinct · Boatyards / haul-out
  7. 7Jacobs Well & Pacific Point · Marina + boat harbour
  8. 8Jumpinpin Bar · Bar crossing

Guides in this region, south to north

Gold Coast Seaway

Bar crossing + anchorages + marinas

Crossing the Gold Coast Seaway bar, Wave Break Island anchorages, Main Beach marinas, fuel and the rules, in plain English. Not for navigation.

Last checked: 16 October 2026

Runaway Bay Marina

Marina

Runaway Bay Marina on the Broadwater: berths, dry stack, travelift, fuel jetty, plus the North Channel approach and Biggera Waters.

Last checked: 18 October 2026

Paradise Point & Sovereign Islands

Harbour + channels

Paradise Point Boat Harbour, Sovereign Island Marina, the Coomera mouth and Rat Island channel, with 24-hour anchoring rules.

Last checked: 18 October 2026

South Stradbroke Island Anchorages

Anchorages

Broadwater anchorages along South Stradbroke Island: Currigee, Browns Inlet, Tipplers and Couran Cove, with the 7-day and marine park rules.

Last checked: 18 October 2026

Sanctuary Cove & Hope Island

Marinas

Sanctuary Cove Marina, Hope Harbour and Hope Island: berths, 24/7 card fuel, pump-out, provisioning and the 24-hour river rule.

Last checked: 18 October 2026

Coomera Marine Precinct

Boatyards / haul-out

Gold Coast City Marina and the Coomera boatyards: travelifts, hardstand, fuel, river depth and the approach from the Broadwater.

Last checked: 18 October 2026 ⚠ 1 item flagged unverified

Jacobs Well & Pacific Point

Marina + boat harbour

Jacobs Well and Pacific Point Marina (ex Horizon Shores): berths, dry stack, 70 t travelift, 24/7 fuel, VMR Jacobs Well and Calypso Bay.

Last checked: 18 October 2026

Jumpinpin Bar

Bar crossing

Jumpinpin bar between the Stradbroke islands is a designated bar for local knowledge only. Hazards, ebb warnings, lifejacket rules.

Last checked: 18 October 2026

Entrances from the sea

  • Gold Coast Seaway: The main all-weather entrance, between training walls with leads. Still treat it carefully on the ebb.
  • Jumpinpin Bar: Shifting bar between the Stradbroke islands. Local knowledge only.

Before any bar crossing, read MSQ's bar advice and the current 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 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 flags anything dated or unconfirmed.

Sources & credits

Maritime Safety Queensland. Contains Maritime Safety Queensland data (Beacon to Beacon guide, notices to mariners, nav-aid open data, pump-out map C2-335, speed-limit schedule, 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 Gold Coast Waterways Authority), 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.

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

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