About
Pelican Waters Marina at a glance
Caloundra's premier marina on the Pelican Waters canals near the Pumicestone Passage. 126 berths to 17m with dockhand service, Caloundra's only on-water fuel dock (ULP, diesel and blackwater pump-out), dry stack with one-hour launch, hardstand, antifoul, shipwright and mechanical services; chandlery open 7 days; 24/7 CCTV, ensuites, lounge, cafe and restaurant.
Service area: Sunshine Coast
- Marina type
- full-service marina
- Region
- Sunshine Coast
- Water body
- Pumicestone Passage / Caloundra
- Wet berths
- 126
- Maximum vessel
- 17 m
- Berth types
- casual berthing, permanent berthing
Facilities and services
- fuel
- pump-out
- dry stack storage
- hardstand
- repairs & maintenance
- chandlery
- 24/7 security
- power & water
- restaurant/cafe
- dockhand mooring assistance
- blackwater pump-out at fuel wharf
- boat wash & engine flush
- PropSpeed application
- private ensuites
- guest lounge
- tavern & IGA adjacent
- 3000m2 enclosed dry stack (160 boats)
- Coast Guard fuel stop
About Pelican Waters Marina
Pelican Waters Marina is the newest full-service marina on the Sunshine Coast, and the first built there in more than three decades. Opened in 2023 after an eight-year development effort and a $16 million build, it occupies a dredged basin in the Pelican Waters canal estate at the southern end of Caloundra, a short run from the southern entrance of Pumicestone Passage. The project was a joint venture between Pelican Waters Heart, the developer of the surrounding canal community, and Marine Holdings Australia, the firm of veteran marina builder Les Binkin, and it shows in the layout: 126 floating berths wrapped around a working yard, with the region's first fully enclosed dry stack shed rising behind the fuel wharf. Environmental compliance was part of the pitch from the start. The marina runs a sewerage pump-out system, manages boatyard waste and run-off to clean-marina standards, and offers berths rather than swinging moorings specifically to keep anchors out of the Passage's seagrass. Council modelling at the opening put the marina's anticipated economic impact at $52.68 million and 119 new jobs, a measure of how long the region had waited for new berthing. Its clientele splits between canal-estate locals, trailer-boat owners who have graduated to dry stack convenience, and cruising boats working the Queensland coast, with the Caloundra Coast Guard among the regular commercial users of the fuel dock. A tavern, an IGA supermarket and waterside boardwalks around the marina village mean crews can provision and eat without leaving the basin. Reviews from early customers consistently single out the staff's dockside help and the cleanliness of the pontoons, a promising start for a facility the district waited a generation to get.
Marina facilities
The marina is genuinely full-service. Its 126 floating berths take vessels to 17 metres, each with power and water at the pedestal, and a dockhand service assists with mooring, fuelling and departures; prospective berth holders are asked to check bridge clearance for the canal approaches. The fuel wharf is Caloundra's only on-water fuel dock, dispensing unleaded and diesel alongside a blackwater pump-out, and it operates as a working stop for recreational and rescue craft alike. The dry stack operation centres on a fully enclosed 3,000-square-metre shed racking up to 160 boats: one phone call triggers forklift launch and retrieval, with a target of having the boat in the water within an hour, unlimited lifts, and a wash and engine flush on return. The boatyard offers hardstand space, high-pressure wash-down, antifouling and PropSpeed application, detailing, shipwright repairs and marine mechanical and electrical work, backed by a chandlery open seven days and a generous car park. Launch timing in the dry stack is best-effort within the hour, subject to booking demand, so regulars ring ahead on summer mornings. Security runs to 24/7 CCTV plus daily staff dock walks. Customer facilities include private ensuites, a lounge area, a cafe and the Marina restaurant. Opening rates set the tone for pricing: early-bird dry storage started from $450 a month for a six-metre boat and wet berths from $750 a month for a 10-metre pen, with current quotes tailored by vessel. Berthing is offered on casual and permanent terms, and the marina actively courts marine trades as tenants, so the service bench continues to deepen.
Local sailing knowledge
The marina's appeal starts with its water. Pelican Waters sits beside the southern reach of Pumicestone Passage, the sheltered channel between Bribie Island and the mainland, where a small boat can potter for hours past sandbanks, mangrove islands and bird colonies without ever meeting ocean swell. The Passage is shallow and tidal, so newcomers follow the marks and watch the tide, but the rewards are easy anchoring off Golden Beach and Bulcock Beach, and fishing for flathead, whiting, bream and mud crabs that locals treat as a birthright. Ocean access is via the Caloundra bar at the Passage's southern end, a shifting entrance that demands local advice and a chat with the Caloundra Coast Guard, which itself uses the marina; many owners simply trailer or dry-stack and stay inside. Southbound, the channels connect through to the top of Moreton Bay for those happy to explore. Ashore, the marina village supplies the practical end of a boating day: a tavern, a well-stocked IGA, cafes and kilometres of boardwalk around the canals, with Caloundra's main street, beaches and the Bulcock Beach foreshore a few minutes by car. Bribie Island's southern beaches and the surf breaks off Caloundra's headlands round out a weekend's options. The Sunshine Coast hinterland and Brisbane are each roughly an hour's drive, which explains the marina's mix of local canal residents, Brisbane weekenders and cruising boats pausing on the coastal run. For a facility barely into its second year, it has already become the default fuel and pump-out stop for the southern Sunshine Coast.