Marina service
Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron Marina
About
Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron Marina at a glance
325 modern floating berths for sail and power boats from 8m to 25m in Cameron's Bight, just east of Sorrento on the southern Mornington Peninsula. Travel lift to 20 tonnes/40ft, hardstand and washdown bays; an accredited International Clean Marina.
Service area: Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne)
- Marina type
- yacht club marina
- Operator
- Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron
- Region
- Port Phillip Bay (Melbourne)
- Water body
- Cameron's Bight, Port Phillip Bay
- Wet berths
- 325
- Dry storage
- Hardstand with 2 lift-out cranes
- Maximum vessel
- 25 m
- Berth types
- casual berthing, permanent berthing
Facilities and services
- pump-out
- travel lift
- hardstand
- wifi
- power & water
- showers & laundry
- licensed club
- restaurant/cafe
- berth licence sales (up to 18 years)
- seasonal casual berthing rate schedule
- 2 lift-out cranes (to 3t)
- washdown bays
- sewage pump-out
- Scotts' Shed amenities (24hr access)
- Southern Peninsula Rescue base
- sail and power training programs
- club boat fleet
- BYS-sponsored dive platform
- no single-use plastics policy
- conference facilities
About Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron Marina
Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron's marina fills Cameron's Bight on the southern Mornington Peninsula, a north-facing scoop of Port Phillip just east of Sorrento, and at 325 berths it is the largest club-run marina on the bay's southern shore. The squadron itself is one of Victoria's three biggest sailing clubs, and the marina is the working end of an operation that also runs championship racing, a sailing school, disabled sailing programs and the Southern Peninsula Rescue service from the site. Cameron's Bight has been a boat anchorage since the settlement era; the club credits it as one of Victoria's earliest settled localities, and the bight's orientation gives offshore summer sea breezes and flat water for bay sailing. The marina takes sail and power boats from 8 to 25 metres in modern floating pens, with berth licences sold privately for terms up to 18 years and a busy casual visitor trade through the warmer months. It holds International Clean Marina accreditation with a fish-friendly rating and a no-single-use-plastics commitment, and it is a member of the Marina Industries Association. Melbourne is an hour and a half away by road, and the surf beaches of Bass Strait lie barely two kilometres across the peninsula, which explains the clientele: a mixture of bay racers, cruising families and holiday skippers who treat the marina as the Mornington Peninsula's boating base from December through Easter. The club runs one of the bay's most active keelboat and off-the-beach racing programs from the same site, with state, national and international regattas on the calendar, so the marina's visitors often find themselves sharing the bight with championship fleets. That blend of full-service boatyard, licensed clubhouse and competition sailing gives Blairgowrie a busier, more institutional feel than the peninsula's smaller public jetties at Sorrento and Rye.
Marina facilities
The 325 floating berths run from 8 to 25 metres with power and water at the pen, wifi across the marina, and 24-hour access to showers, toilets and laundry in the Scotts' Shed facility via an access card included in rental. Casual visitor berthing is priced by season: a 10-metre pen costs $76 a day or $174 a week in the May to August off-peak, $81 a day in the shoulder periods, and peak summer weeks from 26 December are sold weekly at $1,386 for 10 metres up to $3,811 for 25 metres, with minimum stays over early January and Easter; annual rentals range from $11,180 for 8 metres to $34,913 for 25 metres, and private berth licences change hands on the open market, 10-metre licences having been listed between about $120,000 and $185,000. The boatyard side includes a travel lift rated to 20 tonnes and 40 feet, a hardstand with two lift-out cranes for sports boats to 3 tonnes, 75 metres of low landing, washdown bays for antifouling and light maintenance, and a private jetty; slipping stops from mid-December to the end of January except for emergencies. A sewage pump-out serves the basin. There is no fuel berth on site; the squadron directs boats to Queenscliff or Martha Cove for bunkering. Onsite marina operations staff handle security, inspections and line, power and water checks. The clubhouse provides bar and bistro service, conference rooms and laundry, and the squadron's training centre runs power and sail courses. Contractors must induct with the marina office before working on pens.
Local sailing knowledge
Cameron's Bight is one of the easier entries on Port Phillip: deep water runs close to the southern shore, the marina breakwater is conspicuous from seaward, and the bight's northerly aspect means shelter from the southerlies that dominate bay weather. The real navigation issue is the Heads, 8 to 10 nautical miles south-west, where The Rip runs at up to six knots and breaks heavily in wind-against-tide; visiting boats coming from Bass Strait or heading to Melbourne time slack water, ideally three hours after low water at Port Phillip Heads for a rising-tide run up the bay. From Blairgowrie it is a short sail to Sorrento's moorings and the historic Quarantine Station at Point Nepean, while Queenscliff across the channel offers fuel, a harbour and the Swan Bay anchorage. Weekend cruising up the bay puts Mornington, Sandringham and Melbourne's docks within day-sail reach. Ashore, Blairgowrie village is a short stroll for cafes, a supermarket and the yacht squadron's social scene, and Sorrento's restaurants and the ferry to Queenscliff are a few minutes west; the peninsula's hot springs and the ocean surf beaches over the back fill non-sailing days. The marina's peak is the Christmas to Easter window, when casual berths book out and the club's racing calendar peaks with state and national regattas. Berth holders note the squadron requires insurance details with bookings, and vessels overstaying their confirmed departure can be removed at the owner's cost, a rule enforced in the January crush. Winter is the quiet season and the easiest time for visitors to secure a pen.