Marina service
Christmas Cove Marina
About
Christmas Cove Marina at a glance
Small council marina at Christmas Cove just north-west of Penneshaw, sheltered from all directions once inside, with pontoons installed in 2006 and 19 possible berths (a small number under long-term lease, the rest casual hire with honesty-box payment). Power, water and effluent disposal are available; depths are shallow and the entrance is difficult at low tide and dangerous in strong W-NW winds.
Service area: Kangaroo Island
- Marina type
- government/transport wharf-marina
- Operator
- Kangaroo Island Council
- Region
- Kangaroo Island
- Water body
- Christmas Cove / Backstairs Passage
- Wet berths
- 19
- Berth types
- casual berthing, permanent berthing
Facilities and services
- pump-out
- power & water
- boat ramp
- honesty-box payment
- sullage/effluent disposal point
- security gate
- periodic seabed survey information from council
About Christmas Cove Marina
Christmas Cove is a small pocket of calm water carved out of the Kangaroo Island coast a short distance north-west of Penneshaw, the island's ferry port on Backstairs Passage. The marina is a Kangaroo Island Council facility, and a modest one: floating pontoons installed by Superior Jetties in November 2006 at a cost of about $133,600 plus GST, part-funded by a $120,000 state boating facilities grant and partly by berth lease income. Nineteen berths are shown on the plan, of which only a couple are under long-term lease; the balance stays open for casual public hire, a condition of the original grant. The cove's value to cruising boats is out of proportion to its size, because it is one of the few genuinely sheltered refuges on the island's north coast and sits within dinghy range of Penneshaw's shops, hotel and the SeaLink ferry terminal. Council holds the site under lease from the Minister for Transport until 2050, with obligations covering dredging, seaweed removal, water quality and navigational aids. The facility has attracted its share of local scrutiny over the years, including council questions on notice about finances, liability and maintenance, but it continues to operate as a working refuge and arrival point for island visitors. Geologically the cove is significant in its own right, with rock formations that were considered during the development approvals, and the small breakwater basin sits below low cliffs that cut the wind even when Backstairs Passage is white-capping. For a small island community, it remains an unusually well-documented piece of marine infrastructure, thanks largely to that public debate.
Marina facilities
The 19 pontoon berths serve a mix of casual and long-term users; berths 2 and 10 are privately leased and must not be used, and at least two other berths have been leased on terms of up to 21 years. Payment for casual stays is by honesty box, an Iron Ranger pay-as-you-go unit at the base of the ramp, with directions posted on the box and fees set under council's annual fees and charges schedule. Services at the berth include mains power, potable water (connected through SA Water at the time of construction) and an effluent disposal or sullage point, a rare inclusion on a facility this small. A security gate controls access to the pontoons. There is no fuel berth, no lift and no hardstand; fuel and supplies come from Penneshaw, and mechanical help is limited on the island, so visiting boats should arrive self-sufficient. A boat ramp beside the marina serves trailer boats, and the cove's breakwaters and revetments are maintained by council, which has commissioned periodic seabed surveys from Flinders Ports, most recently published as a navigable waters plan. Showers and toilets are not on site; the nearest public facilities are in Penneshaw. Bookings are informal and enquiries run through the Kangaroo Island Council on (08) 8553 4500, which can also supply the latest depth soundings for the basin and entrance. Council records show the installation cost was recouped within a few years through lease income, while casual mooring fees have historically been modest, reflecting the facility's role as a public amenity rather than a commercial venture. Maintenance obligations under the head lease include keeping the basin dredged for normal operation and maintaining navigation and safety equipment.
Local sailing knowledge
Inside the breakwaters Christmas Cove is sheltered from every direction, but getting inside demands respect. The entrance is shallow, known to be a problem at low tide, and dangerous to attempt in strong winds from the west or north-west; depths within the basin are limited, manoeuvring room around the berths is tight, and larger or deeper-keeled vessels will find it awkward. Council's published depth plan dates from 2016, so skippers should phone ahead for current soundings and favour the top half of the tide. In south-easterly conditions a workable alternative is to anchor just south-west of the headland, where the holding is good, and run the dinghy into the marina; crew transfers to or from the Penneshaw ferry are an easy walk from there. Penneshaw itself has a hotel, a general store, cafes and the ferry terminal, and the cove puts a visiting boat within reach of Kangaroo Island's north-coast anchorages and the run east through Backstairs Passage toward Cape Jervis. Hog Bay, immediately adjacent, is a noted spot for evening little penguin viewing ashore. The marina sees its heaviest use from mainland cruising boats crossing from Gulf St Vincent, from local trailer boats, and as a bolt-hole when the passage turns foul; in summer north-westerlies, expect company. Keel boats drawing much more than a metre and a half should treat the whole exercise as tide-dependent, and first-timers do well to enter near high water in settled weather and have a look at the entrance on the way out before committing in worse conditions. Cruising forum reports describe the entrance as tiny with very little depth inside at low water, matching the official warnings.