Marina service
Pittwater Aquatic Club
About
Pittwater Aquatic Club at a glance
Member boating club founded 1924 on Winnererremy Bay with marina berths, moorings, slip and work berths and a secure hardstand yard where owners can work on their own boats; on-site waste-water treatment.
Service area: Pittwater
- Marina type
- yacht club marina
- Operator
- Pittwater Aquatic Club Co-Operative
- Region
- Pittwater
- Water body
- Pittwater (Winnererremy Bay)
- Berth types
- permanent berthing, swing moorings
Facilities and services
- slipway
- hardstand
- boat ramp
- licensed club
- work berths
- secure trailer-boat yard
- dinghy/kayak/runabout racks
- casual moorings
- waste-water treatment plant
- solar power
- rainwater tanks
- volunteer-run DIY slipping
- sailing division
About Pittwater Aquatic Club
Pittwater Aquatic Club began in 1924 as a rowing club racing against other Sydney clubs, went dormant through the Second World War, and was revived in 1956 as the Pittwater Marine Social Club by boat owners tired of dropped moorings, theft and navigational headaches. After amalgamating with another marine club it became the Pittwater Aquatic Club Co-Operative, and the co-operative model still defines it: the club is run by volunteers, membership is capped at 400, and the waiting list has stretched to around five years. The clubhouse stands on the Esplanade at Mona Vale with frontage onto Winnererremy Bay, affectionately known to members as the puddle. What the PAC offers that almost nothing else in Sydney does is sanctioned DIY: boat-owner members can slip their vessels and work on them in the club's secure yard, a privilege steadily extinguished at commercial marinas. That ethos keeps boating affordable and explains the waiting list, the hundred-strong annual working bee, and the mentoring culture in which senior members teach newcomers boat maintenance. The sailing division, Pittwater Sailors, runs relaxed competition on the waterway. Environmental investment is serious for a volunteer club - an on-site treatment system cleans antifouling wash-water to a high standard, solar panels cover the clubhouse roof, and rainwater tanks installed with a state grant supply boat-washing water, earning a commendation visit from the then Environment Minister. The club celebrated its 90th birthday in 2014 with a Rock and Roll Ball, which tells you something about the membership's tone. The original home near the Bayview tennis courts was abandoned as rowing faded, and the move to the current Esplanade site gave the club the yard space that underpins its maintenance model today.
Marina facilities
Everything at the PAC is members-only and priced accordingly, with the published 2026/27 schedule showing annual subscriptions at $420 plus $300 application and $400 entrance fees for new members. Marina berths run from a $2,520 minimum to $6,223 maximum annually, swing moorings cost $2,121 a year, and casual moorings at Bayview are $52 per week in minimum one-week blocks. The secure hardstand yard for trailer boat storage ranges from $1,080 to $2,159 annually, with dinghy, kayak and runabout racks at $105. Two slipways serve the DIY workforce: Slip 1 costs $346 for three days and Slip 2 $300 for four days, with additional days at $101 and $66 respectively, and work berths alongside cost $15 per day. A boat ramp is available to members at $131 a year, and marina electricity is unmetered. Facility waiting lists carry their own fees - $100 for yard, marina or mooring and $50 for racks - reflecting demand. The clubhouse, built about twenty years ago and licensed, hosts the social program and functions, and off-street parking serves the yard. Environmental infrastructure doubles as a service: the waste-water treatment plant processes antifouling runoff so members can wash and scrape hulls legally, and tank rainwater supplies the wash-down. There are no commercial trades, fuel or chandlery on site - that is the point - but the slip, work berths, yard and peer expertise between them cover the full maintenance cycle for trailer sailors and mid-size keelboat owners at a fraction of commercial yard rates. The club's burgee, key tags and yard key deposits are all itemised in the same fee schedule, a small window into how precisely the volunteer committee manages costs to keep boating cheap.
Local sailing knowledge
Winnererremy Bay sits on Pittwater's western shore at Bayview, tucked behind the main channel and shallow enough in places that members learn their tides - the puddle nickname is affectionate but accurate, and deeper-keeled boats pick their moments on the slip and ramp. The bay's foreshore park, playground and public ramp make it a family boating hub, and the club's moorings spread across the sheltered middle ground. From the club, Pittwater's full cruising menu is on the doorstep: Careel Bay around the corner for a first-night anchorage, The Basin and Mackerel Beach for swims, Coasters Retreat and Towlers Bay further up, and the whole of Broken Bay, Cowan Creek and the Hawkesbury beyond the headland for longer cruises. Bayview's marina strip, a kilometre along Pittwater Road, supplies fuel, slipping backup, chandlery bits and cafes for anything the club itself does not provide, and Mona Vale's supermarkets are a short drive. The club's culture shapes who ends up here: budget-conscious owners who want to antifoul their own boat, trailer-sailor families, and older members happy to pass on skills. Guests and prospective members typically encounter the club through its sailing division's low-key races or the social calendar. Summer weekends see the yard full and the ramp busy from first light; winter is maintenance season, with boats up on the slips and the clubhouse doing the social heavy lifting. For many members the arithmetic is simple - five years on a waiting list is worth a lifetime of economical boating on Pittwater. Winter southerlies sweep straight into Winnererremy Bay off the hills, so mooring tackle gets a regular workout and members check on each other's boats after blows.