NSW South Coast - Coastal Cruising

[picklesandjesse]

Originally Posted by GILow

I am biased but you are in Swanson territory.

One of the mid sized to smaller Swansons will not set you back much and are designed for the conditions. The Swanson 28 is very commodious for it's length and super dependable, a lot of boat for the money.

The Arends 33 is a Swanson with a GOOD interior, Mr Arends bought the hulls from the Swanson Bros and did the fitouts himself, a little more pricey than an equivalent sized Swanson but a damn side nicer inside.

Edit: I see now there is already one recommendation of a Swanson.

Yes, Elanora is a 27ft Swanson but with higher topsides and a deeper keel and Way more room and also a lot faster. Asking 25K but can be had for way less. Worth a look. You really should look at the website. There's also a dodger somewhere I believe.

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by Gypsy23

While I share your outrage at the restrictions, I need to correct some of your points.
The notification of being away from a mooring is 28 days, not 14. Still absurdly restrictive. One gets the feeling they would prefer to see the bays as permanent parking lots.

I am not sure what you mean by 'camping' on your boat being banned. There are probably laws limiting the period you can stay anchored in one place but there are thousands of boats around NSW being used for overnight/weekend/holidays in which the crews sleep aboard - not to mention the longterm cruisers, without hassle.

I do know the intent of the laws against liveaboard are to avoid pollution and creating aqua-suburbs (which land neighbours object to) but I totally agree that the attitude of the lawmakers is over-the-top when applied to normal recreational boating.

If the Roads & Maritime were more flexible about allowing moorings to be shared or loaned when a user wants to make a long?? cruise, I expect it would put less pressure on mooring availability in the larger cities.

In practical terms I have never been approached by Roads & Maritime (or anyone) to ask me to move on even after I have been anchored in a bay for 4 or 5 days. Public moorings have a 24hr limit but even then it is often easy to move to another mooring in other than peak times.

In any case, enjoy the cruising options available, be a good neighbour to other boaters and the people on shore and I am sure you will not be bothered by anyone.

But as for the 28 day away limit, it is a real pain for those of us who want to go on an extended cruise. Last time I did that I had to buy another boat to keep on the mooring and pay a transfer fee. Of course one can never have 'too many' boats - and the smaller one was in good working order, but there should be a more practical way.

End of rant in reply to a rant.

28 days ,,ok ,,my bad ,,,

Stil crap , there would be an uproar if you had to inform the police if you removed your car from your drive for more than 28 days ,,,,

oh dont sleep over in the shoalhaven river , there will be a maritime boat parked next to you in the morning ,,,,,
The maggot even checked the dates inside our inflatable life jackets ,,,,,
He needs a life ,,,,
Must have been the kid at school no one liked !

[Mozzie]

Originally Posted by GILow

I am biased but you are in Swanson territory.

One of the mid sized to smaller Swansons will not set you back much and are designed for the conditions. The Swanson 28 is very commodious for it's length and super dependable, a lot of boat for the money.

Thanks, I'll add them to the list.

[Mozzie]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

oh dont sleep over in the shoalhaven river , there will be a maritime boat parked next to you in the morning ,,,,,

Did you mean don't sleep aboard if you have a mooring or don't sleep aboard if you are passing through for a night?

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by Mozzie

Did you mean don't sleep aboard if you have a mooring or don't sleep aboard if you are passing through for a night?

Both ,,, the MSB are little hitlers and will be sitting 50 metres away waiting for you to move then they will approch hand you your overnight stay fine (parking fee) I had it happen to me last season , Talking to other river users i found at least 5 others that have been done also , sail and power craft .

my son lives in bega and he said its the same there , its like there are people watching and then bam !

there is no way the msb would have known we were on board unless some **** dobed us in ,,, the lights were off at 10 pm he nailed us at 7.30 am .

[Mozzie]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

Both ,,, the MSB are little hitlers and will be sitting 50 metres away waiting for you to move then they will approch hand you your overnight stay fine (parking fee) I had it happen to me last season , Talking to other river users i found at least 5 others that have been done also , sail and power craft .

my son lives in bega and he said its the same there , its like there are people watching and then bam !

there is no way the msb would have known we were on board unless some **** dobed us in ,,, the lights were off at 10 pm he nailed us at 7.30 am .

So you're not allowed to overnight on a boat?

[shadow]

it really annoys me to hear this nonsense since I live in Sydney and plan on getting a boat soon.. There are so many inlets and places to anchor that are gorgeous, but hate to have these peeps do nothing but harass decent people just enjoying their state! WTF

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

28 days ,,ok ,,my bad ,,,

Stil crap , there would be an uproar if you had to inform the police if you removed your car from your drive for more than 28 days ,,,,

oh dont sleep over in the shoalhaven river , there will be a maritime boat parked next to you in the morning ,,,,,
The maggot even checked the dates inside our inflatable life jackets ,,,,,
He needs a life ,,,,
Must have been the kid at school no one liked !

Just rang maritime, their information as supplied is that there is a 90 day limit on anchoring in NSW waters per year, with a 28 day limit on any one location. The definition supplied regarding one location is that it refers to the one physical location, the example offered by the operator was that a move from Berrys Bay in the harbour to Double Bay in the harbour would be two locations.
Cheers.

[KiwiKen]

The problem is that these people who have bought houses in areas near pleasant anchorages see the area as their own personal preserve and look an yachties who anchor there in the same light as they would view a caravaner who chose to park his wagon on the street outside his home and then live in it.
The NSW government certainly makes it easy for these people to frustrate people who are cruising and just wish to spend a quiet evening anchored.
At least Queensland is more receptive and welcoming to sailors anchoring and living aboard their yachts.

Round the New Zealand coast yachties do not get hassled unless they disturb the peace with bad behaviour or leave litter or pollution about the coastal environment.

[GILow]

I must say this all correlates with advice I received when looking for places to live aboard while teaching. NSW got ruled out pretty firmly. Anyway, it's NSW's loss, high school maths teachers are rare creatures and they'll be missing out on one of the best. (Yeah, ok, I don't know if I'll be the best but I'm gonna try!)

[Jim Cate]

I would be interested to hear what statute thed Maritime chap is alleging these guys to have broken. One is not allowed to "live aboard" a vessel in NSW, but I'm not aware of any rule prohibiting overnight anchoring when cruising. We've anchored in the Shoalhaven without issues several times, occasionally for several days... then moved on.

And re the "one location" thing: the local Maritime officer, Steve Nugent, has declared to us that the whole of the Pittwater, from Mona Vale to the bridge at brooklyn, and including all the creeks is "one location". IMO this is nonsense, and I'm glad that the head office disagrees with Steve (apparently). Steve just retired, so it will be interesting to see what nuances his replacement settles upon.

We're on our way back to Tasmania where folks are a bit more welcoming...

Jim

[ZULU40]

Originally Posted by GILow

I must say this all correlates with advice I received when looking for places to live aboard while teaching. NSW got ruled out pretty firmly. Anyway, it's NSW's loss, high school maths teachers are rare creatures and they'll be missing out on one of the best. (Yeah, ok, I don't know if I'll be the best but I'm gonna try!)

I think Queensland is more ok with liveaboards, well at selected marinas Ive seen. Can categorically say Hope Island Marina is fine with it.

In South Australia its common for marinas to refuse liveaboards. Some crazy in Enfield Council, whose domain covers several important marinas; decided that marina berths need to be strata title managed. Which quickly emptied the berths they managed on the Port River, now I hear Crown Marina has been placed in receivership.

Don't take your dog to the boat in SA either, apparently having a dog on the dock contravenes Occupational Health and Safety Laws. It doesn't, but this is how marinas are dealing with it.

The caveat is that I see people living aboard their boat in marinas all the time, and with dogs, some marinas police these draconian rules, some turn a blind eye. But if you ask them what the rules for the marina are, these are the things they will say.
.

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Just rang maritime, their information as supplied is that there is a 90 day limit on anchoring in NSW waters per year, with a 28 day limit on any one location. The definition supplied regarding one location is that it refers to the one physical location, the example offered by the operator was that a move from Berrys Bay in the harbour to Double Bay in the harbour would be two locations.
Cheers.

anchoring or sleeping ?
We were told we can anchor but we MUST leave the boat every day to sleep ,

Funny thing is the back packers from Europe have had the same rules apply to them ,
eastern suburbs got so bad the councils have put a "NO SLEEPING IN VEHIClES "
sign at near every car park ,
WE ARE NOT AS FREE AS WE SEEM
BOB
VK2LOZ

[Mozzie]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I would be interested to hear what statute thed Maritime chap is alleging these guys to have broken. One is not allowed to "live aboard" a vessel in NSW, but I'm not aware of any rule prohibiting overnight anchoring when cruising. We've anchored in the Shoalhaven without issues several times, occasionally for several days... then moved on.

And re the "one location" thing: the local Maritime officer, Steve Nugent, has declared to us that the whole of the Pittwater, from Mona Vale to the bridge at brooklyn, and including all the creeks is "one location". IMO this is nonsense, and I'm glad that the head office disagrees with Steve (apparently). Steve just retired, so it will be interesting to see what nuances his replacement settles upon.

We're on our way back to Tasmania where folks are a bit more welcoming...

Jim

I'm sure that if you got the one location rule in writing, it would be pretty straightforward to challenge the fine in court if not a pain the the but. If enough people do it, the maritime officers will be told to pull their heads in.

Either that or they'll change the rules.

As an aside, I once worked with a German postdoc who had to go to Immigration to for some interview or something. When he came back he said: <accent=german>"I have to give it to you Aussies, I thought we had perfected bureaucracy, but you have perfected it."</accent>

We Australians like to think that we are larakins, but we are insanely officious. There is this belief in Australian society that if everything isn't regulated, everyone's heads will fall off or something.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Robert Tilbury

anchoring or sleeping ?
We were told we can anchor but we MUST leave the boat every day to sleep ,

Funny thing is the back packers from Europe have had the same rules apply to them ,
eastern suburbs got so bad the councils have put a "NO SLEEPING IN VEHIClES "
sign at near every car park ,
WE ARE NOT AS FREE AS WE SEEM
BOB
VK2LOZ

Hey, the question I asked was what were the current rules re the use of my boat cruising up and down the NSW coast using available ports and waterways to stay a day or two along the way. The response received was that up to 28 days in one place was OK, enjoy.
Perhaps I should have asked for it in an email.