Marina service
Tuncurry Fisherman's Co-op Berths
About
Tuncurry Fisherman's Co-op Berths at a glance
Trawler berths on the Tuncurry side of Wallis Lake operated by the Fishermen's Co-op, available to visiting vessels with or without power; diesel available alongside by arrangement and slipway facilities adjacent. Berthing bow into the current with fender board recommended.
Service area: Mid North Coast
- Marina type
- commercial club
- Operator
- Tuncurry Fisherman's Co-operative
- Region
- Mid North Coast
- Water body
- Wallis Lake
- Berth types
- casual berthing, permanent berthing
Facilities and services
- fuel
- slipway
- diesel alongside by arrangement
- powered and unpowered berths
- fish shop
- limited chandlery
- caravan park shower arrangement
- ice
- slipway adjacent
About Tuncurry Fisherman's Co-op Berths
The berths at Tuncurry belong to a working fishing harbour, not a marina, and visitors should arrive expecting exactly that. The Wallis Lake Fishermen's Co-operative operates the trawler wharves strung along the Tuncurry foreshore on the northern side of the Cape Hawke Harbour entrance channel, a few hundred metres upstream of the bridge that has joined Tuncurry to its twin town of Forster since 1959. Trawlers unloading catch, the co-op fish shop, ice works and the smell of diesel and prawns define the precinct; recreational vessels are accommodated as guests of the fleet rather than catered to as customers. The arrangement suits a particular kind of cruiser: one who values a secure alongside berth and cheap fuel over showers and a marina office, and who does not mind being woken by a trawler crew preparing for an early departure. Wallis Lake itself is a serious fishing waterway, the state's biggest producer of Sydney Rock oysters, and the co-op berths sit at its tidal throat, where the whole lake exchanges with the Tasman Sea through the breakwater entrance. The berths came fully under co-op management after organisational changes some years back, and the co-op remains the point of contact for everything from berthing fees to diesel. For coast-hopping yachts making the run between Port Stephens, 45 nautical miles south, and the Camden Haven, 41 miles north, this is one of the few practical overnight stops on a stretch of coast short on all-weather harbours, and its working-waterfront character is precisely what gives it value and charm in equal measure.
Marina facilities
The co-op offers alongside berths on the trawler wharves with or without power, and bookings are made by phoning 02 6554 6402 during business hours, or by taking a vacant berth and reporting to staff at the office beside the fish shop. Rates recorded by cruising guides sit around $25 a night without power and $45 a night with power, with reductions for longer stays, though current figures should be confirmed by phone. Berthing technique matters here: the tidal current runs hard through the channel, so vessels berth bow into the stream, and a fender board is strongly recommended because the wharves are pole structures rather than finger pontoons. Diesel is available alongside by arrangement with the co-op, and water can be taken on at the wharf. Slipway facilities operate adjacent to the co-op and have long served the local fleet. Shore amenity is basic but workable: through an arrangement between the co-op and the Tuncurry Caravan Park, visiting crews can use the shower and toilet block at the caravan park a short walk away, and there is a public toilet block in the park next to the wharves. The co-op maintains a small chandlery suited to working boats; yachties needing more than basics head to Barclays chandlery several kilometres south. Provisioning is easy, with a supermarket and a strip of shops a short walk into Tuncurry. There is no fuel dock attendant, no marina wifi, no laundry and no security gate; the service model is that of a fishermen's co-operative extending hospitality to transients, and the price reflects it. What you do get is alongside diesel, a powered berth, a slipway next door and some of the freshest seafood in the state sold over the co-op counter.
Local sailing knowledge
The entrance is the first thing to plan. Cape Hawke Harbour has one of the better bar crossings on the NSW coast, protected in southerly weather by Cape Hawke itself, but it demands respect: Wallis Lake is a large body of water and the entrance runs a tidal overrun of two to three hours, so an inward flow continues well after high water at Fort Denison. Cruising guides advise arriving on a flooding current, roughly two to three hours either side of Sydney high water, and never attempting the bar on a falling tide, when the ebb race can stand up serious waves inside the walls. The leads are orange triangles, lit fluoro blue at night. Marine Rescue Forster-Tuncurry keeps a 24/7 station on the southern breakwater and broadcasts forecasts on VHF 16 and 67. Once inside, the co-op berths lie on the Tuncurry side; the Forster side is silted and its small harbour is full of local boats. Anchoring is possible in the stream in good sand holding a hundred metres above the bridge, but the berths are exposed to winds between south-east and south-west, and a fresh sea breeze over that fetch against a flooding tide makes for an uncomfortable night. Ashore, Tuncurry's shops, including a supermarket, are a short walk, and the Tuncurry Bowling Club nearby is well regarded for a counter meal; a wider restaurant choice sits across the bridge in Forster. The lake behind the wharves rewards a longer stay: 25 kilometres of oyster leases, sand flats and channels holding flathead, whiting and blue swimmer crabs, with prawns scooping on dark summer nights around the bridge. Do not anchor in the bridge channels, watch for lease washboards in The Paddock, and give the trawlers right of way.