Tin Can Bay & Snapper Creek
Tin Can Bay is the first proper stop once you're over the Wide Bay Bar: a quiet fishing town on Tin Can Inlet with a boat harbour up Snapper Creek, big public ramps and the Marine Rescue base at Norman Point. It's sheltered, shallow and tidal, with lots of sand and mangrove, and it's where the folk who know the bar live. If you've just come in, it's a good place to catch your breath. If you're heading out, it's the place to ask about the bar.
- Marina berths, fuel and haul-out at Snapper Creek: our sources do not confirm current services, so this page names no fuel berth.
- 1Snapper Creek entrance channel · TMR WI84.
- 2Tin Can Bay, Norman Point ramp · TMR WI81.
- 3MRQ Tin Can Bay · MRQ.
- 4Tin Can Bay, Toolara Rd ramp · TMR WI21.
- 5Carlo Point ramp · TMR WI31.
At a glance
| What it is | Town and boat harbour on Tin Can Inlet, about 8 miles south of Inskip Point |
| Entrance | Snapper Creek entrance and public channel (TMR) off Norman Point |
| Ramps | Norman Point (4 lanes, pontoons) and Carlo Point (4 lanes, pontoon) |
| Rescue | MRQ Tin Can Bay at Norman Point, VHF 80 |
| Map age | MSQ GSS-9 current to 28 January 2016; GSS-11 to 28 January 2016 |
| Watch for | ⚠ Sunken vessels and missing beacons in the 2026 notices |
Getting here
From the Wide Bay Bar, the inlet runs south past Carlo Point and the Rainbow Beach side, and MSQ's GSS-11 sheet covers the town reach with enlargements for Snapper Creek and the boat harbour. MSQ warns that depth contours haven't been resurveyed in most areas since the 2011 and 2013 floods, so treat the sheet's depths as a sketch.
MSQ's 2026 notices for the inlet make good reading before you come in:
- ⚠ 2 and 6 February 2026 (049(T), 056(T)): missing beacons and a grounded vessel in Crab Creek.
- ⚠ 10 March 2026 (113(T)): a hazard to navigation in Mullens Creek.
- ⚠ 15 April and 17 September 2026 (196(T), 500(T)): sunken vessels off Carlo Point and Norman Point.
- 16 June 2026 (333): a Carlo Creek beacon replaced with a buoy.
Anchoring
NGA has no anchorages in the inlet itself, and our sources give no holding or depths. Locals anchor along Tin Can Inlet and off Carlo Point, but check the Great Sandy Marine Park zoning first. Further south, Tinnanbar sits on the inlet's western shore with a tide-limited ramp.
Skipper's notes
Garry's own observations from deliveries through Tin Can Bay & Snapper Creek. 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: Depth into Snapper Creek and the boat harbour at low water.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Visitor berths, fuel and haul-out you would use here.]
- To check
- [Garry to add: Anchorages in Tin Can Inlet and their holding.]
Notes last updated: [date]
Facilities
MRQ Tin Can Bay is at Norman Point. Our sources don't confirm current berthing, fuel or haul-out in the boat harbour, so ask MRQ or the harbour before you plan on them. The town has shops and a pub within walking distance of the harbour (see Ashore below).
Boat ramps
From the TMR list: Norman Point (4 lanes, pontoon, toilets, not tide-limited), Carlo Point (4 lanes, pontoon, toilets, not tide-limited), Toolara Road (1 lane, tide-limited) and Tinnanbar (2 lanes, tide-limited).
Rules in brief
- Marine park. The inlet is part of the Great Sandy Marine Park. Check the zones.
- Speed. General limits apply, with 6 knots in the boat harbour.
- 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 Tin Can Bay, Norman Point ramp (boat ramp / dinghy landing)
| Name | Type | Walk | Street address (OSM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bars, pubs and clubs | |||
| Tin Can Bay Sailing Club Bistro | Yacht/boat club | 130 m | Norman Point |
| Restaurants and cafes | |||
| Barnacles Cafe | Cafe | 40 m | Norman Point |
| Snack Shack | Restaurant | 910 m | 35 Esplanade |
| Tin Can Bay Marina Bar & Grill Restaurant | Restaurant | 1.2 km | 2 Oyster Parade |
| Entertainment | |||
| Barnacles Dolphin Centre | Attraction | 40 m | Norman Point |
| Marine stores, chandlers and boat services | |||
| Lee Fishing Company | Fishing tackle & bait | 420 m | 7 Esplanade |
| Tin Can Bay Marine | Boat dealer/marine store | 930 m | 6 Emperor Street |
| The Chandlery Bait & Tackle | Fishing tackle & bait | 1.0 km | Emperor Street |
Nothing mapped within the 15-minute walk of: Tin Can Bay, Toolara Rd ramp; Carlo Point ramp.
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)
- MSQ speed limit schedule (PDF)
- 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-9 and GSS-11 (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 para 5.37. MSQ Maryborough notices 049(T), 056(T), 113(T), 196(T), 333 and 500(T) 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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