Great Sandy Strait, QLDprotected western side. It can prove
a little tricky to launch and retrieve
a boat on either ramp if a big tide is
running due to their exposed positions;
it is also very rocky with little room
available for loading and unloading a
boat either side of the ramps.
After rounding North Head, the
Susan River is entered by passing
a yellow mark beacon to port and
following a series of red lateral marks
westward to an anchorage above
Separation Point. The tidal stream is
swift and ebb tides make the anchorage
uncomfortable during strong south-
east winds. Shallow draft vessels may
penetrate the Susan’s upper reaches on
a full tide.
With muddy banks and a mostly
sandy bottom, Mary River is
navigable, with caution, all the way
to Maryborough 30km upstream. A
set of leading beacons at Beaver Rock
show the best water over the shoals
between Crab Island and Middle Bank.
Anchorages just beyond Horseshoe
Bank and at Beaver Rock are secure
and comfortable in both northerly and
south-east weather.
Since Fraser Coast Marina was swept
away in the 2013 floods, there is room
to anchor in the Town Reach towards
the Granville Bridge, allowing for
the flood-tidal stream when turning
before the bridge. At Maryborough,
tides produce a seven-hour ebb and a
five-hour flood on the upper navigable
reaches. During spring tides, the river
can run at 3kts and a little more at the
entrance.
A better anchorage is in the Lower
Reach, from which a powered dinghy
can use flood tides up and ebb tides
down when commuting to town.
Dinghies may be left at the public jetty
or by arrangement at the Mary River
Marina, where berths and moorings are
available upstream from the city. Small
berths and mooring are sometimes
available at the Maryborough and Mary
River slipways.NORTH WHITE CLIFFS-
KINGFISHER BAY
Back in the strait, North White Cliffs is
on the western shore of Fraser Island,
opposite the mouth of the Mary
River. It is also known as McKenzie’s
Jetty for the ruins on the shore, made
conspicuous by a special mark beacon
near their end. Depths here are around
12m and anchorage with good holding
is possible off the intertidal ledge, or
at a wider ledge in shallower water
south-west of McKenzie’s at Bennett
Creek. Both are untenable in moderate
northerlies, when a better option is in
behind Big Woody Island about 8km
further up the strait.
Barely 3km up the coast lies the
world-class Kingfisher Bay Resort,
where there is good anchorage againstsouth-east to north-east winds off a
lovely sand beach either side of the
barge ramp/jetty. The jetty must be left
clear for commercial craft and dinghies
are best taken ashore at half-tide to
avoid the soft sand that exposes at the
low.
The resort is boat-friendly and
visiting yachties are welcome to use
the pool, toilets, showers and bistro
at the Sand Bar just behind the beach.
At the resort centre there is a bakery,
more restaurants and a basic general
store with fuel, limited groceries,
a bottle shop and other essentials.
Tour bookings, car hire, internet and
payphones are also found on site.BIG WOODY ISLAND
Above Kingfisher Bay, the strait’s main
channel flows deep and wide between
Big and Little Woody islands. There is
an excellent northerly anchorage in
the gutter behind South Point on Big
Woody, while anchorages along that
island’s eastern shore are only fair to
middling.
Lying about 5km due east of
Urangan, the two Woodys together
form an undeveloped section of
the Great Sandy National Park. Big
Woody is 8km long and 500m wide,
with a heavily timbered terrain
rising to about 80m. The twin Woody
Island lighthouses were completed
in 1870 to guide ships through theCLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Golden Hour on the water is a special experience; All kinds of water activities are available; The region
is rightly famous for its pristine beaches; Hervey Bay is the start of countless offshore adventures.tradeboats.com.au 49