Newcastle

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Revision as of 12:15, 5 September 2013

Newcastle (Port of entry)

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	32°55.2′S, 151°44.5′E
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	Local chartlet

Newcastle, New South Wales is a former steel milling town which still has a big focus on heavy industry and engineering. Now quite a cosmopolitan city with waterfront cafes, luxury river-side real estate and all the services one could want, it still has a big blue-collar heart. Because of this there are several advantages for the long distance cruising sailor to visit Newcastle, and it's often cheaper and easier to have major boat refit and repair work done here rather than in Sydney or elsewhere in New South Wales.

For example, steel boat owners will find a range of services from steel milling, stainless steel manufacturing, welding and other related services available here with better quality workmanship and lower prices than would be found in Sydney.

Even without major refitting work required, berthing options in Newcastle are easily available, and Newcastle affords the visitor access to some of the best coastal and inland scenery in this part of the world -- not to mention access to the famous Hunter Valley wineries area where one could easily lose oneself for a weekend or longer.

Cruising the region

There probably isn't a whole lot of cruising around Newcastle to do, but a daylight sail or cruise around the Hunter River getting a good look at the associated historic buildings, engineering works and other activities along the shore line is certainly worthwhile.

A visit to nearby Port Stephens or Lake Macquarie (for shallower draft vessels) will provide you with a good cruising ground.

Local Weather

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Sources for Weather forecasts:

Charts

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Radio Nets

Also see Cruiser's Nets.

Approach and Navigation

Approach to Newcastle via the Hunter River entry is easy day or night. The things to be aware of are:

• Eddies and tidal rips associated with shoals to the south of the southern breakwater.
• The lights on the southern breakwater that can be confused with similar floating lights nearby. My recent entry indicated that both the C-Map and Navionics charts had these all in the correct location, however the "occulting" lights on the breakwater were only just occulting and were nearly isophase. The only issues this would cause would be at night, the breakwaters being easily visible for some distance away in daylight hours and well marked on all charts.
• Many big big big ships! Ships carry hundreds of tonnes of coal each year from Newcastle, with a large ship movement 1 1/2 times per day. Associated with each of the big ships are a plethora of tugs, lighters, pilot and other engineering vessels, all of which are mostly pretty well behaved and so it pays to correctly behave as well (keeping to starboard, carrying the correct lights, respecting the rights of vessels constrained by draft, etc).

Approaching from the south at night, here is what I would do:

• Attain a distance offshore at least as far as 2nm when heading north.
• At the end of the breakwater you will see a red occulting light. Be aware that this light is on dry land, do not try to round it.
• To starboard of the breakwater light you will see a red flashing light and a set of white flashing lights. Round the closest in white flashing light leaving it to port, and then round the closest red flashing light, leaving it to port by at least a boat length or two.
• By this stage observe that the breakwater light will have changed from red occulting to white occulting.
• You are now in the main Hunter River channel. Beware of ships and pay normal attention to the red and green marker buoys. Entry from here is easy following the lights even in conditions of poor visibility, the channel is wide enough and dredged to over 10 metres for its entire length.

Check-in facilities (for Customs and Immigration)

Newcastle is port of entry into Australia. Please submit details about facilities for checking in - location of immigration & customs, etc.

Berthing Options

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Marinas & Yacht Clubs

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• The Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club is the premier boating location in Newcastle. Club facilities are second to none, with floating berths, shower/toilet/laundry facilities, 24/7 security card access, a club-house with restaurant and bar, as well as several other restaurants, cafes and bars nearby. Follow the link to the Marina web page and contact the dockmaster via email ([email protected]) or the phone numbers listed on the page to arrange berthing. According to the posters on the end of the docks, visitors arriving without prior arrangement or late at night are invited to tie up in any vacant berth on Wharf A and contact the dockmaster from there the next morning to arrange a suitable berth.

Anchorages

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Offshore Islands

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Yacht Repairs and Services

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Marine Stores

• Midcoast Boatyard located at the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club is the go-to place for servicing, anti-foul, repairs and maintenance. The hard stand area is available if you want to do your own work (an on-site induction is required, standard safety protocol), or the staff there can organise the work for you. Formerly part of the Noakes network it has been purchased by the new owner, Joe de Kock, the former (staff) manager.

Repairs/Yards

Fuel, Water, & Electricity

Fuel

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Water

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Electricity

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Things to do ashore

Tourism

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Grocery & Supply Stores

Eateries

Internet/WiFi

Available?

Laundry

Motorbike & Car Rentals

Garbage Disposal

?

Transportation

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Routes/Passages To/From

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Cruiser's Friends

Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.

Forum Discussions

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External Links

• Newcastle

References & Publications

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Personal Notes

Personal experiences?

Last Visited & Details Checked (and updated here)

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