Southern Great Sandy Strait
The Great Sandy Strait is one of the great cruising grounds of Queensland: 40-odd miles of sheltered water between K'gari and the mainland, mangrove creeks, sand islands and turtles. It's also shallow in the middle. NGA says flatly that only those with local knowledge should navigate it, and puts the least depth through the banks near Sheridan Flats and South White Cliffs at about 0.6 to 1.4 m. That means a deep keelboat does the middle on the tide, with a plan, the latest marks and a bit of patience. This page covers the southern half, from Tin Can Inlet up to the shallows.
- 1Tinnanbar ramp · TMR TI81.
- 2Poona ramp · TMR MB61.
- 3Tuan ramps · TMR MB40/41.
- 4Boonooroo ramp · TMR MB43.
- 5MRQ Sandy Straits, Boonooroo · MRQ.
- 6Maaroom ramp · TMR MB51.
At a glance
| What it is | Southern and middle Great Sandy Strait, Tin Can Inlet to Sheridan Flats |
| The catch | ⚠ Least depth through the middle normally 0.6 to 1.4 m (NGA). The banks and marks move |
| Marks | Range beacons, buoys and beacons, mostly lit (NGA), and moved to follow the channel |
| Anchorages | Garry's Anchorage, Ungowa and others on the K'gari side (MSQ GSS-7, GSS-8) |
| Map age | MSQ GSS-7 and GSS-8 current to 28 January 2016 |
| Rescue | MRQ Sandy Straits at Boonooroo |
Getting through
- Log on/off: VHF 80 (MRQ lists working channel 82) or phone (07) 4129 8141
- Emergency: VHF 16 or Triple Zero (000)
MRQ Sandy Straits covers the middle of the strait and the Mary River. Log on before you start the passage and tell them where you plan to wait for the tide.
Contacts checked on the unit's official website on 18 October 2026.NGA describes the channels as marked by range beacons, buoys and beacons, most of them lit, with depths that change often and marks moved to suit. For the latest depths, NGA points you to the harbourmaster at Maryborough and the current notices. MSQ has been replacing and adding marks this year: ⚠ 18 June 2026 (344, 345): a beacon replaced and a new starboard mark at Poona Creek; 9 September 2026 (493): more beacons replaced.
The practical upshot for a delivery is simple. Work out where you'll be at high water, carry the flood up to the shallows and over the top, and don't try the middle on a falling tide with no plan B. Coming from the south, the Mary River side has deeper water. MSQ's GSS-6 sheet prints a 1.8 m figure near the upper strait, but don't plan on it. Treat it as a sign of how thin the water is.
Anchoring
MSQ's GSS-8 sheet names the anchorages along the K'gari shore, including Garry's Anchorage, and GSS-7 covers Ungowa, the old forestry landing. Our sources don't give holding or swell exposure, and they're inside the Great Sandy Marine Park, so check the zones. K'gari is national park, and landing and camping there need a Queensland Parks permit. Mind the dingoes ashore.
Skipper's notes
Garry's own observations from deliveries through Southern Great Sandy Strait. 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.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: The tide gate through the middle: where you meet the flood and ebb, and the least depth you plan on.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Garry's Anchorage and Ungowa: holding, swell and sandflies, best wind direction.]
Notes last updated: [date]
Facilities
The mainland villages (Poona, Boonooroo, Maaroom and Tuan) have ramps and the odd shop, but no marina, fuel berth or chandlery in our sources. MRQ Sandy Straits is at Boonooroo.
Boat ramps
From the TMR list: Tinnanbar (2 lanes, tide-limited), Poona (1 lane, tide-limited; Poona ramp was closed for works in August 2025), Tuan (two 1-lane ramps with pontoons), Boonooroo (1 lane, tide-limited) and Maaroom (3 lanes, tide-limited).
Rules in brief
- Marine park. All of this is in the Great Sandy Marine Park, with green zones.
- K'gari. National park and World Heritage. Permits are needed to camp.
- Notices. Maryborough pilotage area list.
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. ⚠ As at 18 October 2026: we haven't confirmed each place is still trading, so check before you walk.
From Poona ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Tides Out Cafe & Bar | Cafe | 140 m | 101 Boronia Drive, Poona QLD 4650 |
| Poona Bay Cafe & General Store | Cafe | 170 m | 114 Boronia Drive, Poona QLD 4650 |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Tinnanbar ramp; Tuan ramps; Boonooroo ramp; Maaroom ramp.
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
These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, 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.
- MSQ notices to mariners, Maryborough pilotage area (Wide Bay Bar, Great Sandy Strait, Urangan)
- Great Sandy Marine Park zoning (Queensland Government)
- Queensland Parks: Great Sandy Marine Park zoning app and maps
- 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 our own words from MSQ Beacon to Beacon Great Sandy Strait sheets GSS-7 and GSS-8 (with enlargements D Maaroom and E Tuan) (read 19 October 2026; each sheet carries its own 'information current to' date, quoted on the page), NGA Pub. 127 Sailing Directions (Enroute) East Coast of Australia and New Zealand (2025), Sector 5, the MSQ notices-to-mariners listings on publications.qld.gov.au (titles and dates checked 19 October 2026), the Queensland Government (TMR) recreational boating facilities list (fetched 19 October 2026), Marine Rescue Queensland unit pages (checked 19 October 2026) and OpenStreetMap. NGA Pub. 127 paras 5.36 and 5.37. MSQ Maryborough notices 344, 345 and 493 of 2026 identified by title and date.
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: 19 October 2026.
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