Marina service
Northbridge Marina
About
Northbridge Marina at a glance
Tranquil marina at the head of Sailors Bay with 24 floating berths for craft up to 18.3 m and 60 fore-and-aft moorings; adjacent Northbridge Boat Works provides slipway services.
Service area: Middle Harbour
- Marina type
- full-service marina
- Operator
- Northbridge Marina
- Region
- Middle Harbour
- Water body
- Middle Harbour (Sailors Bay)
- Wet berths
- 24
- Maximum vessel
- 18.3 m
- Berth types
- permanent berthing, swing moorings
Facilities and services
- pump-out
- slipway
- power & water
- fore-and-aft moorings (60)
- weekend tender service (monthly and casual)
- pick-up/drop-off pontoon
- Northbridge Boat Works shipwrights (GRP, timber, carbon fibre)
- marine mechanic on site
- contracted marine electrics and detailing
- marine sewage disposal
- showers
About Northbridge Marina
Northbridge Marina lies at the very head of Sailors Bay, a steep-sided, bush-fringed arm at the top of Middle Harbour where the suburbs of Northbridge and Castlecrag meet the water. With only 24 floating berths it is one of the smallest marinas on Sydney Harbour, and its position, 2.5 kilometres by water above the Spit Bridge yet less than eight kilometres by road from the CBD, gives it an unusual mix of seclusion and convenience. High wooded hills wrap the bay on three sides, cutting wind and wash, and the marina markets itself on exactly that: a protected, quiet pocket where berthing is calm in almost any weather. The operation has two halves. The marina itself runs the berths and a field of 60 fore-and-aft moorings just metres from the pontoons, while the on-site yard, Northbridge Boat Works, is run by qualified shipwrights Aaron Reardon and Rory Cox, who between them bring more than 30 years of experience and took over the slipway as a going concern. That pairing, berthing plus a genuine working yard, is what draws most customers: this is a marina for keeping and maintaining a boat rather than a social destination, with no restaurant or fuel dock and little through-traffic. The bay itself has a long recreational pedigree. Recreational sailing has run in Sailors Bay since the early 1930s, organised dinghy competition began off Clive Park in 1946, and Northbridge Sailing Club still races from the park next door, so the marina sits inside one of Middle Harbour's most lived-in boating neighbourhoods.
Marina facilities
The marina's 24 floating berths cater for craft from small boats up to 60 feet, or 18.3 metres, and each berth comes with power including electricity costs, potable water, rubbish disposal and access to a marine sewage disposal area. Showers are available for berth and mooring customers, parking and drop-off space sits beside the marina entrance, and the walk ashore is short and flat, which matters when provisioning. The 60 moorings use a fore-and-aft system, with the vessel secured between anchor points at bow and stern; the marina favours this layout because it packs more boats into the sheltered bay while keeping the main waterway clear for traffic heading to and from the Spit. A pick-up and drop-off pontoon serves the mooring field, and a tender service runs on weekends and public holidays, excluding Christmas Day and Good Friday, between 9am and 5pm: $50 a month for up to two trips a day, or $20 per casual trip, with use of the marina bathrooms and bins included. Older cruising guides quoted indicative monthly figures around $500 for a mooring and $1,000 for a berth for a 42-foot yacht, though current pricing comes direct from the office. The boatyard is the serious drawcard. Northbridge Boat Works operates the slipway on site, with two qualified shipwrights handling GRP, timber and carbon fibre work on power and sailing yachts of all sizes, supported by a marine mechanic on the premises and contracted specialists for marine electrics, detailing and vessel management. Berthing, mooring and payment enquiries are handled through info@northbridgemarina.com.au. There is no fuel berth; the nearest fuel is at d'Albora at The Spit, about 2.5 kilometres downstream.
Local sailing knowledge
Every movement in or out of Sailors Bay is governed by the Spit Bridge, the opening bascule span on Spit Road that is the only water route between Middle Harbour and the main harbour. Masted vessels must time their passage to the scheduled openings, and at peak weekend periods the queue of yachts waiting off Seaforth Bluff is a local ritual in itself; powerboats that can pass under the closed span come and go freely. Inside the bridge the water is sheltered and largely current-free, which is why Northbridge Sailing Club at neighbouring Clive Park has trained junior sailors here since 1946, and why the bay's wind shadows and shift patterns, caused by breeze deflecting around the steep hills, are studied by racing crews. Depths are comfortable in the fairway but shoal toward the head of the bay, and the fore-and-aft mooring field keeps the channel narrow, so arriving boats should hold the centre. For supplies, Northbridge village with its cafes and shops is up the hill, while Tunks Park on the Castlecrag side offers the nearest public ramp and playing fields. The wildlife is a talking point: the sailing club records resident seals, occasional little penguins and even a visiting southern right whale in these waters in recent years. Boats heading downstream reach the main harbour in minutes once through the Spit, making the marina a practical base for Sydney Harbour cruising, while upper Middle Harbour's quiet reaches toward Roseville Chase offer sheltered day anchoring. Weekend traffic on Middle Harbour thickens noticeably from late morning, and wake from passing cruisers rolls through the fairways, so fenders matter even in this sheltered pocket.