South Stradbroke Island Anchorages
The Broadwater side of South Stradbroke Island is where the Gold Coast goes to drop the pick: sandy shores, a long strip of mooring areas, a few named anchorages and, up the top, the Tipplers area with its pontoon and café. It's the obvious first night's stop after coming in through the Seaway, or a place to wait for the tide before tackling Jumpinpin. Our sources are good on where the anchorages are and what rules apply, and thin on depth, holding and shelter. That's where Garry's own notes (below) will earn their keep.
- 1Currigee anchorages (approx.) · Two anchorage symbols on MSQ's map; mooring area alongside.
- 2The Deep Hole west cardinal · Q(9) 15s. Channels split north from here.
- 3Tipplers Passage public pontoon · TMR pontoon; Tipplers mooring area nearby.
At a glance
| What it is | The western (Broadwater) shore of South Stradbroke Island, from Currigee north to Tipplers and Couran Cove |
| Named anchorages | Currigee shore (two symbols), Browns Inlet, Curtis Anchorage, The Anchorage |
| Mooring areas | Buoy mooring area along the Currigee shore; marine park mooring area at Tipplers (MGA43) |
| Rules | Gold Coast anchoring time limits; Moreton Bay Marine Park north of Rat Island |
| Fuel / pump-out | None on the island in our sources |
| Last checked | 18 October 2026 |
Getting here
From the Seaway, run up the North Channel to the John Elkes Beacon and the west cardinal at The Deep Hole (see our Runaway Bay page). From there a marked channel runs north along the Currigee shore of South Stradbroke Island. Further north, the island shore runs up past Brown Island and Browns Inlet to the channels around Tipplers Island and Couran Point.
⚠ Time-sensitive. From 19 October to 23 December 2026, dredging and bed-levelling vessels are working the North Channel, mostly by day.
MSQ's map key says the Broadwater channels were surveyed by MSQ in 2019–2020, with other contours from Gold Coast Waterways Authority (2018). MSQ's older soundings snapshot (March 2017) gives a median of about 3.7 m off the Currigee shore, with drying patches. Use the chart and the tide.
Anchoring
- Currigee. MSQ's 2020 map shows two anchorage symbols on the Currigee shore: one by a historic wreck, and one further south beside the shaded buoy mooring area that runs along the shore. Rocks are labelled near the Currigee anchorage, so give the shore some room.
- Browns Inlet. MSQ's map shows an anchorage symbol in the Browns Inlet lagoon, north of Brown Island. Near Brown Island, an unlit special mark ("Hole in the Wall Rocks") marks the outer edge of a shallow rocky shelf. Browns Inlet and the water round Brown Island are 6 knots.
- Curtis Anchorage and The Anchorage (off the Gold Coast Boat Club) are named on MSQ's northern Broadwater map.
- Tipplers. The Moreton Bay Marine Park layers show a designated mooring area at Tipplers (MGA43). The rules for marine park mooring areas are in the zoning plan.
- Wave Break Island anchorages, at the south end near the Seaway, are covered on our Seaway page.
Depths, holding and shelter for each anchorage aren't in our sources. Until Garry's notes are in, go by the chart and your sounder, and pick your spot for the forecast breeze.
Time limits. South of the line running east from the southern tip of Rat Island, this is "northern Broadwater": no more than 7 days in any 60 within a nautical mile of the one place (Waterways Management Regulation). You can't anchor or moor within 30 m of an approved structure or a boat moored to one. In all Gold Coast waters, no living aboard within 3 nautical miles of one place for more than 7 days in any 60 unless you're in a marina with toilets and showers. North of Rat Island you're in the Moreton Bay Marine Park, and GCWA notes there are anchoring restrictions there too.
Skipper's notes
Garry's own observations from deliveries through South Stradbroke Island Anchorages. First-hand notes, dated, and no substitute for the chart.
- Depth
- [Garry to add: depths seen, state of tide and date.]
- Holding
- [Garry to add: bottom type and how the anchor held.]
- Shelter
- [Garry to add: wind directions it is good or bad in.]
- Other notes
- [Garry to add: anything else worth knowing, with date.]
Notes last updated: [date]
Marine park zones
From about Rat Island north, the island shore is inside the Moreton Bay Marine Park. On our reading of the 2019 zoning plan:
- The open Broadwater is mostly habitat protection zone (HPZ02, Moreton Island to Broadwater), where line fishing, crabbing and trolling are allowed.
- Marine national park zone (green, no fishing) runs along the island, including MNP32 (Offshore South Stradbroke Island) and MNP33 (McCoys Creek).
- There are small general use zones at South Stradbroke Island–Tipplers and Jacobs Well, and a go-slow area at McCoys Creek.
Zone boundaries matter if you're fishing. Check the official zoning map rather than our summary.
Facilities
There's not much on the island side in our sources. The Queensland Government (TMR) list has a public pontoon at Tipplers Passage and a facility called Dux Anchorage on South Stradbroke Island. MSQ's map also has an enlargement of Couran Cove, but we don't hold current details on it. Fuel, marinas and trades are all across the water: Runaway Bay, Paradise Point, Sanctuary Cove, Coomera and Jacobs Well.
Rescue. MSQ's 2020 maps print VMR Jacobs Well, VMR Southport and Coast Guard Southport for this stretch. ⚠ As printed in 2020. Confirm current channels and hours with your local unit.
Fuel, water and pump-out
None on the island in our sources. Nearest fuel: the Runaway Bay Marina fuel jetty across the Broadwater, or Sanctuary Cove up the Coomera River. Please don't pump out in the Broadwater.
Rules in brief
- Speed. 6 knots in Tipplers Passage, McKenzies Channel and Tiger Mullet Channel, and in Browns Inlet and round Brown Island. 6 knots for boats 8 m and over near Crab Island between 8 am and midday.
- Seaplanes. MSQ's maps warn that seaplanes use parts of the Broadwater, including near Crab Island and in the northern Broadwater.
- Submarine cable. MSQ's map shows a cable line across the Broadwater from Ephraim Island towards Currigee. Don't anchor on or near it.
- Shark-control gear. Stay out of the 20 m exclusion zone around any shark-control apparatus.
Ashore
That's about it for the island. For shops and pubs, Jacobs Well is the closest on the mainland side (see our Jacobs Well page).
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. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.
From Tipplers Passage public pontoon (marina)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Tipplers Cafe | Cafe | 700 m | – |
| Supermarkets and provisioning | |||
| Tipplers Kiosk | Convenience store | 700 m | – |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Currigee anchorages (approx.).
No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk; see the Facilities section above for marine businesses we know of.
Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 18 October 2026.
About this page
This page is a planning aid written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. It is not for navigation. Use the official AHO chart (Aus 814), current MSQ notices to mariners, 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.
- Gold Coast Waterways Authority: anchoring and mooring
- Queensland Parks: Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning maps and app
- MSQ notices to mariners, Southport (current list)
- MSQ: crossing a coastal bar (safety advice)
- Queensland notices to mariners, all areas (subscribe)
- MSQ Queensland tide tables
- Bureau of Meteorology: tide predictions
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland warnings (incl. marine wind warnings)
- Bureau of Meteorology: Queensland coastal waters forecasts
Sources & credits
Written in fresh words from the facts in the Hartshorne Marine Sailing Directions area guides for Runaway Bay and Paradise Point, the Sovereign Islands and Coomera mouth, and Tipplers, Couran Cove and Jacobs Well (edition of 16 October 2026, Ashore data added 18 October 2026), and chapter 2 of the Tweed to Mooloolaba guidebook. Those draw on MSQ Beacon to Beacon maps NGC-2, NGC-6 and NGC-8 (current to 6 July 2020), the Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning plan and layers, the Waterways Management Regulation, the MSQ speed-limit schedule and TMR boating-facility data.
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.
Last checked: 18 October 2026.
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