Destinations: Pittwater

A haven for cruising sailors, yet only a stone's throw from Sydney, Pittwater is unrivalled as a destination, reports Matthew Smeal.

When you think of cruising destinations, you tend to think of deserted islands. Pittwater lies to the north of Sydney, bordered to the west by Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and to the east by the long peninsula making up half of Sydney’s famed northern beaches. The peninsula, incidentally, contains some of the best surfing beaches in Australia and some of the most sought-after real estate on the planet.

In stark contrast to Sydney Harbour ‘ that little bay to the south' Pittwater is something of a sleepy village, as the locals are keen to tell. ‘From Monday to about halfway through Friday, it’s empty,’ says Stuart McFarlane, manager of the Quays Shipwrights at Church Point. ‘It’s a lot quieter than Sydney Harbour. Overall, Pittwater is beautiful.’

So much of that beauty is made up by the national park and its series of bays that line the western foreshore. Apart from some walking tracks and a road that runs along the top of the ridge out to West Head, the western side of Pittwater looks virtually the same as when Captain Phillip first had a Captain Cook at it back in 1788. ‘The finest piece of water I ever saw,’ he was to write about the waterway in general.

With walking tracks and boats being the only access and camping permitted on only one beach, The Basin, the bush-lined bays of Pittwater are as tranquil as they come and it’s not uncommon to have a bay to yourself. This changes on summer weekends and holidays, but you can still get lucky during those times.

The Waterways authority has also made life easy by providing an abundance of moorings within the bays. Most marinas and shipwrights also have moorings available, often with tender service, which may be handy if you need to use their facilities.

The area around Pittwater was originally home to the Garrigal people, part of the large Guringai group from where the shire of Ku-ring-gai gets its name. Fish was the staple diet and the Garrigal people were expert fishermen with spears and hooks and line.

When Governor Phillip camped at Resolute Beach in 1788 he found the Garrigal people extremely friendly and helpful. Within two years, not just the Garrigal people, but half the entire Guringai nation that stretched from Pittwater in the north, to Sydney Harbour in the south and west to the Turramurra area (inhabited by the Terramerragal people) had been decimated by smallpox and measles. It is documented that when Phillip revisited the area only 12 months after his initial visit, the Garrigal people fled from him in terror such was the devastation already under way.

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park ‘ Australia’s second oldest national park' contains many culturally significant sites, including rock carvings, midden sites, cave paintings and burial sites. Visitors to Pittwater can easily learn a great deal about Aboriginal culture and early European settlement simply by walking the tracks and reading the information provided by the NPWS.

Sailing
Colin Beashel’s contribution to sailing is well known and this six-time Olympian is certainly qualified to talk about the sailing characteristics of Pittwater. ‘Competitively, it can be a bit tricky but just cruising, it’s fine,’ he says. ‘There are high hills that create a lot of lees and it’s more the geography of the place that makes it tricky because it’s not that tidal. But for cruising up and down, it’s fairly straightforward.’

One of Pittwater’s greatest assets for the cruising sailor is the abundance of bays on both the eastern and western shores. ‘There is plenty of little bays and beaches to shelter in,’ says David Marks, manager of Careel Bay Marina, a long-standing Pittwater business of 48 years. ‘The westerlies can get strong, but Pittwater is fairly well protected.

Pittwater is actually the gateway to one of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the world: Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River. The secluded bays and beaches are seemingly endless and so is the surrounding bushland of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park that continues west creating something of a northern border to Sydney.

It would take months to fully explore all the bays and inlets of Broken Bay, the Hawkesbury and Pittwater. Making this a reasonably easy task are the numerous places for victualling: the eastern and southern end of Pittwater; Cottage Point, Akuna Bay and Bobbin Head in Broken Bay and Brooklyn in the Hawkesbury.

Don’t let all these facilities fool you. The area is very secluded and gets a little Apocalypse Now-ish at times, especially well up-river. ‘When you get up the river you could be anywhere,’ Beashel says.

Of course, it’s this seclusion that makes it such an ideal cruising area and why it is such a contrast to its southern neighbour, Sydney Harbour. ‘Pittwater doesn’t have the traffic that Sydney has and you don’t have ferries and their wake rocking you about at a mooring,’ Beashel adds. ‘It’s hard to find a quiet bay in Sydney.’

The contrast to Sydney has made Pittwater a regular short cruise destination for city-based sailors. ‘Apart from New Year’s Eve, you rarely see boats heading from Pittwater to Sydney, but you see plenty coming up,’ he says.

That’s to take nothing away from Sydney, well regarded as the most beautiful natural harbour in the world. Cruisers, however, generally prefer a bit of peace and quiet and this is where Pittwater really shines and delivers the best of both worlds: being so close to a major city with all its associated attractions and facilities, yet world’s away in the metaphorical sense.

With so many little bays and beaches to explore and yet being so close to surf beaches and major facilities, the area is great for kids. ‘If you can get ashore and get up the walking tracks it’s fantastic and a great way to stretch your legs if you’ve been cruising for a while,’ Beashel says.

‘You can moor up near Palm Beach and get out of the nor’easter and just walk across to the surf beach or go across to The Basin which is great for kids and has a netted swimming area. There’s always somewhere to get out of the breeze and there’s easy access to get groceries or to go to one of the yacht clubs,’ he says.

Facilities
Pittwater and its environs is very much the quintessential seaside village ‘ or many villages. The facilities for the cruising sailor are in abundance with numerous yacht clubs, marinas, shipwrights and shops, especially in the southern part of Pittwater.

‘You can get anything you need,’ says David Marks, and he’s right. With all the shipwrights in the area, having repairs carried out shouldn’t be a problem at all. Each has their own area of specialty as well. Some like Beashels are known for their timber work, Careel Bay Marina is forging a reputation for painting and bow thrusters and The Quays Shipwrights have the only travel lift in the area and waste pump-out facilities. Of course, all can handle general maintenance and repairs with ease.

Most cruisers often need simple repairs or maintenance and any number of shipwrights or marinas in the area can help out. As most have moorings available, you can simply phone ahead or call on approach and arrange a berth for a few nights or weeks.

Pittwater residents are more than aware of what lies at their doorstep and as such are a very environmentally conscious group. This attitude has filtered through to the commercial sector and you can now find businesses like The Quays Shipwrights with Environment Protection Act (EPA) approval that helps keep the waters crystal clear. ‘It’s EPA approved, the whole marina,’ says McFarlane. ‘There’s no waste that goes in the water, it goes into a specific drain, the water gets recycled and everything is used again.’

Careel Bay Marina also has plans in at council for a similar set up and it is definitely a positive step for the industry especially when the preservation of areas like Pittwater is at stake.

Many cruisers ignore Sydney altogether simply because it’s a major port and therefore a busy waterway. Unfortunately, in doing so they neglect to take a look at Pittwater and miss out on so much that the area has to offer. Maybe it’s time to have a look at this jewel in Sydney’s crown and perhaps, like Captain Phillip, it may just be the finest piece of water you ever see.