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

Melbourne & Bayside cruising guide

Official Victorian sources for this areaParks Victoria Port Phillip Recreational Boating Guide, 7th ed. (PDF)Parks Victoria notices to mariners (Port Phillip & Western Port)Ports Victoria notices to mariners (Melbourne, Geelong, Hastings)Parks Victoria: boating and swimming zonesFree official pages and PDFs from the Victorian port managers. Read the current notices before you go. Not for navigation.
Sandringham and Brighton, St Kilda, Docklands and the Yarra, and Williamstown · 3 guidesLast checked: 28 October 2026Report a correction

The top of Port Phillip is Melbourne: Sandringham and Brighton on the bayside, St Kilda with its pier and marina, the Yarra River up to Docklands, and Williamstown on Hobsons Bay. It's a busy working port, with a Transit Only Zone over the shipping channels, fast ferries and Melbourne VTS on VHF 12.

Map of the Melbourne & Bayside region (Sandringham and Brighton, St Kilda, Docklands and the Yarra, and Williamstown) with a numbered marker for each of its 3 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. 1Sandringham & Brighton · Bayside harbour + clubs
  2. 2St Kilda, Docklands & the Yarra · Bay marina + city river
  3. 3Williamstown · Historic port + moorings

Guides in this region, east to west

Sandringham & Brighton

Bayside harbour + clubs

Sandringham and Brighton on Port Phillip: Picnic Point breakwater, Red Bluff, Bonnet Rock and the bayside reefs. Not for navigation.

Last checked: 28 October 2026

St Kilda, Docklands & the Yarra

Bay marina + city river

St Kilda Pier and marina, the Yarra River to Docklands, bridge clearances and the ship channels: free notes. Not for navigation.

Last checked: 28 October 2026

Williamstown

Historic port + moorings

Williamstown and Hobsons Bay: the public moorings, ferries, ship channels and current notices. Free notes. Not for navigation.

Last checked: 28 October 2026

Entrances and hazards to plan around

  • Sandringham & Brighton: Picnic Point breakwater shelters Sandringham (NGA); Bonnet Rock dries 0.6 m off Middle Brighton Pier (NGA).
  • St Kilda, Docklands & the Yarra: Transit Only Zone over the shipping channels: no anchoring, drifting or fishing (NGA). Westgate Bridge 50.1 m, Bolte Bridge 25 m (NGA).
  • Williamstown: Fast ferries up to 15 kn in Williamstown Channel (NtM 463(T)-2024).

Read the current Parks Victoria and Ports Victoria notices before you go, and listen to Melbourne VTS on VHF 12 near the channels.

Neighbouring regions

About these guides

These are planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources: Parks Victoria, Gippsland Ports and Ports Victoria notices and guides, the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook, the Bureau of Meteorology, NGA Pub. 127 and OpenStreetMap. They are not for navigation. Use the official chart, current notices, official tide tables and local advice. Each page shows when its facts were last checked.

Sources & credits

Parks Victoria. Facts from the Parks Victoria notices to mariners, the Port Phillip and Western Port Recreational Boating Guides, the boating and swimming zones pages and the Gabo Island, Refuge Cove and Wilsons Promontory pages, restated and summarised in our own words. Parks Victoria web content is CC BY 4.0 unless marked otherwise; the boating guides and notices are linked, not reproduced. Not endorsed by Parks Victoria.

Gippsland Ports. Facts from Gippsland Ports notices to mariners, navigation warnings, local navigation notices and port pages, cited for fact only and linked, not reproduced. The current notices prevail.

Ports Victoria. Notices to mariners for the ports of Melbourne, Geelong and Hastings, cited for fact only.

Safe Transport Victoria. Facts from the Victorian Recreational Boating Safety Handbook (2024 edition), restated in our own words and linked, not reproduced. The handbook and the Marine Safety Act 2010 and its regulations prevail.

Bureau of Meteorology. Tide, tidal stream and forecast pages are linked, not reproduced; the Port Phillip Heads slack-water guidance is summarised.

NGA. Background from NGA Pub. 127, Sailing Directions (Enroute) South and East Coasts of Australia, U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a US Government work in the public domain. Parts of it are old; where a page leans on it, we say so. Not endorsed by NGA.

OpenStreetMap. Map tiles, facility positions and the Ashore lists © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Victorian Government. Marine search and rescue units from the vic.gov.au unit list, checked on the date shown in the rescue box.

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

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