East coast of Australia in late winter, early spring

[smoothpiere]

live aboard in NSW is very restrictive (says one who has lived aboard for 15 years.) Only true chance is at a marina that accepts liveaboards. it is a hassle living under the radar of RMS (the state authority) anchoring is only 28 days in each port or 90 days for the whole state. Being in Armidale you will commute to your boat on weekends and that is doable as it is not liveaboard. You will need to apply for a mooring unless you use a commercial one. as for sailing up the coast leave yesterday! in fact the best bet is to get hold of Alan Lucas' guides to the coast and use that information. Bibles to the cruisers.

[jazzgtr]

Good time for run up east coast, low moving into Bight will give you westerlies that turn southerly as it moves across. The Gold Coast is an option when working away a lot (usually) lots of cheap flights from anywhere in Aus, lots of marinas and easy access to Moreton Bay, weeks of exploring. Gold Coast bar is navigable in all but worst of weather. Nice choice of boat, by the way.

[Fete Accomplie]

Originally Posted by TDB1227

Hi Raymond,

Can you tell me more about those NSW restrictive live aboard rules? My boat is now on the hard in QLD and I have not been able to make it back as all flights are cancelled. I now suspect that I will not be able to make it back to BRISBANE until Q4 2020 and that means I have to stay in the area or go south to avoid the cyclone belt.

Thanks Teun

I lived in Port Macquarie marina for a couple of years working down there from Queensland. Although they say NO liveaboards, it is tolerated in most areas. Port Macquarie was great and you should have no problems

[Abundance]

Matt,
Great minds think alike. I am heading to the East coast and looking at departing Adelaide in mid Jul for Coffs Harbour or Southport. I brought my yacht around from Coffs last Oct and had planned to be sailing to SEAsia when Covid raised its ugly head. Happy to get together to discuss possible options.
Cheers,
Simon

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by smoothpiere

live aboard in NSW is very restrictive (says one who has lived aboard for 15 years.) Only true chance is at a marina that accepts liveaboards. it is a hassle living under the radar of RMS (the state authority) anchoring is only 28 days in each port or 90 days for the whole state. Being in Armidale you will commute to your boat on weekends and that is doable as it is not liveaboard. You will need to apply for a mooring unless you use a commercial one. as for sailing up the coast leave yesterday! in fact the best bet is to get hold of Alan Lucas' guides to the coast and use that information. Bibles to the cruisers.

i know everyone's experiences are different, but sorry : must disagree as don't wish potential visitors getting the wrong impression

we all know about these anchoring rules in nsw, but neither us nor any of the many other nsw based live-aboards we know have ever run foul of such.

in fact i have been told by a nsw bso that waterways cannot and do not enforce these rules unless somebody is making a nuisance of themselves. of course if you anchor in farm cove, you are likely to be spoken to, but otherwise it's simply not an issue

there must be other nsw live-aboards on this forum : has anyone ever been told by waterways to move on under these anchoring rules ? (not just heard about the rules, or has a brother-in-law who's neighbours knows somebody - THEM, at first hand)

cheers,

[Abundance]

Hey Matt,
I am heading to the east coast from Adelaide in July. Probably to Coffs Harbor or south port so happy to compare notes. I brought my yacht around From Coffs Harbour in October last year. And to me, the trick is just is catching the right weather windows.
Cheers Simon

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Abundance

Hey Matt,

I am heading to the east coast from Adelaide in July. Probably to Coffs Harbor or south port so happy to compare notes. I brought my yacht around From Coffs Harbour in October last year. And to me, the trick is just is catching the right weather windows.

Cheers Simon

Thanks Simon, but, touch wood, I seem to have navigated the bureaucracy for now and SHOULD be staying in Adelaide until November. THEN it’s off to Tassie for me.

Is your boat “Here n now” by any chance?

[Jim Cate]

here must be other nsw live-aboards on this forum : has anyone ever been told by waterways to move on under these anchoring rules ? (not just heard about the rules, or has a brother-in-law who's neighbours knows somebody - THEM, at first hand)

Well Chris, it did happen to us, right there in Towlers about three years back. The then acting Maritime officer wanted us gone and threatened us with various things, including registration issues, 28 and 90 day anchoring issues, and, rather unbelievably, threatening us with prosecution as vagrants because we had no fixed address.

I even reported this in a letter to Afloat magazine! As it happened, this particular officer retired not long after, and we've not been bothered by his successors... and we've not spent as much time in the area subsequently... partly because of lingering feelings of unwelcome.

You've personally seen that we keep a pretty low profile, and certainly don't have loud parties, etc. We have friends ashore in the cove and they welcome our return each year as we have migrated through. It was reported to us that the specific officer had a personal grudge against Americans that he exercised towards us, but that could be paranoia.

At any rate, it was one of the most unpleasant things that has ever happened to us in our 34 years as live aboard cruisers.

Jim

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

... It was reported to us that the specific officer had a personal grudge against Americans that he exercised towards us, but that could be paranoia.

An American sailor probably “stole” his girlfriend in 1950. If so, she made a good choice.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Well Chris, it did happen to us, right there in Towlers about three years back. The then acting Maritime officer wanted us gone and threatened us with various things, including registration issues, 28 and 90 day anchoring issues, and, rather unbelievably, threatening us with prosecution as vagrants because we had no fixed address.

I even reported this in a letter to Afloat magazine! As it happened, this particular officer retired not long after, and we've not been bothered by his successors... and we've not spent as much time in the area subsequently... partly because of lingering feelings of unwelcome.

You've personally seen that we keep a pretty low profile, and certainly don't have loud parties, etc. We have friends ashore in the cove and they welcome our return each year as we have migrated through. It was reported to us that the specific officer had a personal grudge against Americans that he exercised towards us, but that could be paranoia.

At any rate, it was one of the most unpleasant things that has ever happened to us in our 34 years as live aboard cruisers.

Jim

really sorry to hear that jim...and pleased that it was a'one off' for you

we know of boats that have anchored in towlers for 3 months or more ("Goanna" for one) without any question fm waterways. i believe you'd be safe these days

cheers,