A Pittwater weekend under sail

Pittwater is the easiest good sailing in Australia to reach. It is about an hour north of central Sydney by road, it is sheltered, the water is deep, and the anchorages are close enough together that a weekend feels like a holiday rather than a passage plan. This itinerary is deliberately modest: two short legs and two nights on the hook.

Who this suits and who it does not

It suits first time bareboaters, families with small children, and experienced sailors who want a weekend without a flight. It suits Sydney locals who can leave after work on Friday. It also suits couples who want the shortest possible gap between deciding to go sailing and being anchored somewhere quiet.

It does not suit anyone looking for open water sailing or long passages. Pittwater and Broken Bay are estuarine. You will not get an ocean day here unless you go out through Broken Bay into the Tasman, and many charter vessels are not permitted to. A vessel's Survey: see glossary">Certificate of Survey sets its operating area, and a boat certified for sheltered water may not be allowed to make that passage at all. See safety and commercial vessel rules.

It also does not suit people who want solitude on a summer long weekend. Refuge Bay and America Bay fill up.

The shape of the days

Two legs of six to nine nautical miles each, which are rounded planning estimates. That is an hour and a half to three hours depending on wind.

The first leg is short because handovers take time and because you want to pick your spot in the anchorage rather than take what is left. Get in early, especially on a Saturday.

The last leg is short and early for a specific reason. The afternoon nor-easter is a reliable summer feature on this coast and it funnels up Pittwater. Sailing home into it is fine. Picking up a mooring or coming alongside at Church Point in twenty knots with a tired crew is less fine.

Decision points

Southerly changes are the thing to watch. They arrive abruptly on this coast, often with a sharp wind shift and a short steep chop. Most Pittwater anchorages are good in a nor-easter and poor in a fresh southerly, so if a change is forecast overnight, choose your anchorage for the wind you will have at three in the morning, not the wind you have at five in the afternoon.

The second decision is whether to go into Cowan Creek instead. If Pittwater is crowded or the nor-easter is strong, the Cowan arm is narrower, more sheltered and quieter. The Hawkesbury and Cowan Creek page covers that ground.

The third is simply whether to sail or motor. Pittwater has patchy wind under the headlands. Nobody is judging you.

What to book ahead

Book the boat as far ahead as you can for any weekend between December and February, and for every long weekend and school holiday period. New South Wales runs from about September to May for the broadest choice, with sheltered harbours operating year round when conditions permit, so the shoulder months of September, October, April and May are the value window. See weather and seasons.

Book a mooring or a berth for the night you arrive if you are getting in late.

Provision in Sydney, not at Church Point. The local shops are good but small. See provisioning and costs.

One honest warning

The moorings are the trap. Pittwater is thick with private moorings, and picking up one that is not yours is both rude and risky, because you have no idea what it is rated for or when it was last inspected. Charter operators will tell you which moorings you may use. Use those, or anchor properly with enough scope for the depth, which is greater here than it looks.

The second half of that warning is the ferry and water taxi traffic around Church Point and Scotland Island. It is busy, the fairway is narrow, and the ferries are working. Keep clear and keep a lookout.

Options and operators are on the Pittwater and Broken Bay page and in the operator directory. If you are unsure what tickets or experience you need, read qualifications.