Darwin catamaran berth availability.

[dirkdig]

We are keen to sail to Darwin Aus but can not get a berth for our cat.
Cullen Bay marina it seems is the only place with a wide enough lock that we can get through but there are no berths available.
Any one offer any suggestions as we need to leave it there for 2-3 months before we leave for Indonesia.
Thanks

[Factor]

In the dry Anchoring at Fannie Bay is pretty reliable. Perhaps contacting the Darwin Sailing Club or the Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht association may be useful. Dinah Beach run the Ambon race/cruise so they may have some ideas for temporary storage of large yachts.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

We are keen to sail to Darwin Aus but can not get a berth for our cat.
Cullen Bay marina it seems is the only place with a wide enough lock that we can get through but there are no berths available.
Any one offer any suggestions as we need to leave it there for 2-3 months before we leave for Indonesia.
Thanks

Assuming you mean unattended; if so I would not be happy to leave it on the hook unattended in Fannie Bay even though it is a good dry season anchorage as Factor indicates. Someone from Darwin Sailing Club may care take it for you.

There used to be pile moorings available in Sadgroves Creek (upstream from Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Association) and these are well protected (except from sandflies ). However that was 15 years back and I don't have current knowledge of their availability.

[IslandHopper]

You could try Frances Bay Marina | Darwin Port Corporation "The Duck Pond"....

"The Frances Bay Marina is a basin provided primarily for fishing vessels. The basin is tide free with access through a 35m x 15m lock. 85 berths are provided catering for vessels up to 30 metres. Amenities include showers and toilets"

Seen a few sailing cats in there over the years, and only a 10min walk into the CBD.....

[dirkdig]

Thanks veryone i will try these options as it will be unattended for some time.
Our choice is either find somewhere in Darwin or bring the boat back from Cairns to Victoria later this year.

[nevpen]

I realise this is an old thread but wondered what you ended up doing as we are in the same predicament. Any advice appreciated.

[dirkdig]

We ended up anchoring off stokes hill wharf and used the tender to get in.
But we did actually get onto the lockmaster at cullen bay marina and he said we could get through no worries at 7.62m wide.
That was after being told many times by the marina rental ladies we could not fit.
It is a great spot to anchor off, no swell at all.
We hauled out for a day in Darwin and that was another experience altogether, never again.Cairns wanted $5000 for a haulout so we needed to do in Darwin.

[nevpen]

Great, thanks very much for that info. Haul out sounds traumatic!

[dirkdig]

They used a lift under the bridge deck and would have destroyed my cat if i had let them, complete morons. Everything is triple the price in Darwin too. Mackay marina is probably the last and best haulout option.
Easy anchoring out in Darwin, would do it again. We sailed to Indonesia after a few days anyway.