Best Bolt Hole

Sailors cast the lines, hoist the canvass and sally forth for all kinds of reasons. The impetus might come from nature, a chance encounter with a dolphin on the prowl, the feeling of liberty that comes with watching a shearwater on the wing, or the sense of freedom that only the wide blue yonder can deliver.

Such wonders give rise to a cruising community for whom the great affair is to sail nowhere in particular, with unhurried glee. But at some point you'll find a different reason for training the bow north or south, east or west. It is called the anchorage.

A postcard anchorage, a place teeming with fish, a port of call with a holiday feel, a five-star marina with amenities, or perhaps a legendary restaurant with a visitor's berth are all great excuses for going boating.

Girt by sea, Australia is blessed with many heavenly boating destinations and anchorages. All you need is a seaworthy vessel - your own or a charter craft will do - and a modicum of downtime to get there.

Where? Here is a quick pick of the premium ports and cruise passages between boltholes within easy reach of our major cities. I haven't revealed them all, as one could spend a lifetime cruising and never quite get there. But consider this guide a framework upon which to build your compendium of favourite cruising destinations. Anchors aweigh.

DAYTRIPS
Time-poor and looking for a quick escape? No problem. A night swinging on the anchor in a clandestine bay will deliver. Don't forget the prawns from the fishmarkets or local fishmonger, a line to tie to your big toe while flat out on the sunpad, and some mood music to while away the time between nibbles.

In Sydney Harbour, Sugarloaf and Bantry bays are the pick of the anchorages to go to. You won't have to contend with rollicking wake from passing ferries; the views are mainly of verdant foreshores, and there's a sense of (albeit backyard) escapism. And it's just 30 minutes from the CBD. Tip: get in early if you want one of the public moorings.

Queenslanders might like to take the cruising advice of one Alan Patterson, dealer network manager for the Riviera Group. Alan is a regular boatie who makes good use of the company's 29-50-footers with his sunloving family. Among his favourite Sunday afternoon boltholes within cooee of the Gold Coast is the lagoon on the southwestern corner of Wavebreak Island.

The blue lagoon is just 300m from the Southport Esplanade, but it offers great swimming, a gorgeous beach and somewhere for a barbie and a relax for the day.

Gold Coast and Brisbane boaties can also head to Jumpinpin at the entrance between North and South Stradbroke Islands. There are several kilometres of gold-sand beaches with lapping blue water and space to swing on the anchor without kissing a neighbour's rubbing strip. This is a top family playground for long, hot summer days. Yet it's only half an hour's zigzag cruise from the Goldie.

Sunny Melbourne is a boating destination largely in the making. The Boating Industry Association has gone to great lengths to promote waterside marina developments as destinations in their own right. A lot of exciting development is in the pipeline. Not that you have to sit on your hands, mind you.

Andrew Rose from St Kilda Boat Sales - which takes its new Caribbean owners on familiarisation cruises - says boaties looking for a daytrip should head down to Blairgowrie Yacht Club, which has visitors' berths, and Patterson Lakes Marina Village, which is introducing a clubroom with indoor pool, spa, gym, sauna and tennis courts soon.

Those looking for a bit more adventure should train the bow on the Geelong Yacht Club across the bay, which has visitors' berths and honest meals. The historic town of Queenscliff is nearby. Look for a berth at the motorboat club, the yacht club or the public wharf. Plenty of local watering holes for a coldie.

Williamstown's Motorboat Club and Royal Victorian Yacht Squadron offer places to park about their historic marina precinct. A cruise up the river to Docklands and New Quay is worth a look-see to check how the city's waterfront developments are coming on. It's early days, but there are plenty of restaurants and bars about. The smart boatie will find a place to moor. On Melbourne Cup day, the must-do trip is up the Maribyrnong River to Flemington. Don't forget the crew hats.

For daytrips out of Adelaide we contacted the SA Mariner dealer Port River Marine Services, situated on historic Port Adelaide. Proprietor Jim Theodre and his wife Leica conduct annual rendezvous with their new Mariner owners. Port River is an interesting daytrip in its own right, with restaurants, pubs and a market, plus public marina pens.

Locals depart the four major marinas: Holdfast Shores, The Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia, the public marina and the Royal SA Yacht Squadron for Port Vincent across the Gulf - a 45-minute to one-hour cruise by motorboat. You can also play nautical hopscotch between the aforementioned marinas.

Port Vincent is an established seaside holiday area with a new amenity known as the CYCSA Port Vincent Marina. The marina has visitors' berths and there's a hotel just a short stroll along the main street. Also juicy fish and chips, hot bread at the baker and a deli or two within walking distance.

Alternatively, for your daytrip you can cruise to the Sunset Cove Marina - an anchorage halfway to Kangaroo Island, or about a two-hour cruise away. The resort has visitors' berths, fuel, a bar or two, accommodation and several restaurants.

In the West, well, there is only ONE daytrip and overnight destination. Out of Perth and Fremantle, Rottnest Island is it. Public moorings and a pub of some repute. Also some great anchorage in some of the quieter bays. Don't forget the dive gear.

WEEKENDERS
Sydneysiders with a hankering for the wide blue yonder should train the bow on Pittwater, which is between 30 minutes and three hours sailing away depending on your vessel and the weather. Unless you want to be shipwrecked, keep Long Reef well abeam of port.

What's cooking in Pittwater? Judging by the smoke wafting from the boats along the western shore it's steak and snags on the rail-mounted barbie. Towlers Bay and The Basin are the pick of the anchorages.

If the summer sea breeze is blowing, try Palm Beach. You can row to shore in the dinghy for a nosh-up.

A personal favourite, Cowan Creek off the lower Hawkesbury has a wealth of perfect anchorages bordered by Kur-ring-gai Chase National Park - and it's scribbly gums, interesting sandstone formations and little beaches with sandflats.

Amenities and charterboats are available in Pittwater, Akuna Bay (the marina has visitors' berths, a laundry and restaurant), Cottage Point and Bobbin Head. Public moorings are coveted in America, Refuge, Yeomans and Jerusalem bays. While they are packed on summer weekends, these honey-holes are wonderfully quiet midweek.

Tip: America Bay has a perennial waterfall where you can shower au natural; the big breakfast at Cottage Point Kiosk is a corker.

Or why not sail south for a change to Port Hacking? While the estuary is too shallow for keel yachts - and Bundeena and Jibbon at the entrance are under the flight path - motorboaters will find South West Arm in the upper reaches a serene experience. Visitors' moorings, bushland setting and a creek to explore in the dinghy. Move over Tom Sawyer.

Queenslanders looking for a weekend bolthole with a whiff of adventure thrown in should consider Peel Island. The bunker is good in westerlies and northerlies. The water is clear and the beaches are pretty quiet midweek. Weekends are a different story, with up to 70 boats - so get in early.

If you want a weekend destination with some quasi passage-making thrown in, cross Moreton Bay to that big sandy pimple called Moreton Island. Here, Tangalooma beckons like a postcard at an airport.

The wrecks off the resort mark a famous anchorage with limpid waters and great snorkelling. If you want to overnight at Tangalooma, make sure you have onshore sea breezes. The place can be a nightmare in winter when the westerlies are strong.

First thing in the morning, make a run for the fishing grounds off Flat Rock at the top of Moreton Island. You'll find everything from snapper and sweetlip to mackerel - and even the odd marlin.

Melbourne's weekend warriors planning on heading out on the high seas can sail around to Wilson's Promontory, where idyllic Refuge Cove has deep, calm water and a truly inspiring setting.

Experienced boaties often make the pilgrimage to Flinders Island, French Island and even cross Bass Strait to Tassie. In a fast cruiser, the crossing will take about nine hours. It's about 10 hours to Eden.

Croweaters often make the passage to Kangaroo Island and the favourite local anchorage, American River, for the weekend. The river has a few wharves and plenty of water for dropping anchor.

There is fuel and food, motels and holiday villas, and shopping for fresh food and bootleg. While American River is secluded, other parts of Kangaroo Island are rugged and wild. The spectacular coastline is famous for fishing and diving. From Adelaide, KI is a three- to four-hour cruise.

Port Lincoln, six-to-seven hours away across St Vincents and Spencers gulfs, reputedly has more millionaires per head than anywhere else in Australia. The cruising is fascinating, with tuna farms, rafts of trawlers, and still the odd - eek! - big, bad shark. There are marinas, waterside taverns, fuel and amenities.

Standing guard off Port Lincoln are numerous stunning islands such as Thistle and those in the Sir Joseph Banks Group. Most are uninhabited with oodles of private and picturesque anchorages. Wedge Island has a landing strip and a cottage for rent.

NSW HOLIDAYS
A weekend afloat, a long weekend away or five days away midweek - when charter rates are at their lowest - will let you really get away from it all.

Train the bow on a neighbouring port or hit the holiday road and charter at these places instead. Pittwater, the Hawkesbury and Port Stephens have sophisticated charterboat operators with fleets of yachts, cruisers and houseboats for hire.

The mighty Hawkesbury offers more than 100km of river to explore, from Broken Bay to the freshwater reaches near Windsor. The scenery is engaging as the river changes from saltwater to tidal brackish and then to freshwater. Concurrently, sandstone-lined gorges give way to low flood plains, mangroves make way for bulrushes, and boathouses become waterski parks.

Midwinter is the time to avoid boat traffic on the Hawkesbury. Stop by Brooklyn for provisions, try Berowra Waters for a night of peace and quiet, and book a table at Peat's Bite restaurant (with its own jetty) for a first-class nosh-up. Tip: take the easel and watercolours and try to emulate the views.

Pleasant anchorages can be found further north around Davistown in Brisbane Water, Swansea, Lake Macquarie and now, at last, Newcastle visiting vessels have a place to berth at the new Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club. Tip: the fish co-op has the sweetest prawns fresh from Stockton Bight, while the jumping Brewery is but a stroll away.

If you can spare three-to-six hours then set sail for Port Stephens - a five-star port with the lot. Beyond the entrance is an archipelago of offshore islands. Broughton Island, 25km to the northeast, has fisherman's cottages, a natural spring and moorings in Esmeralda Cove.

Providence Bay on the northwestern side is snorkelling heaven. Inside Port Stephens the options are many. You can stage your own dolphin cruise at Jimmy's Beach or Shoal Bay, park at the Anchorage for a bouillabaisse to die for, or spend a few days in Fame Cove - one of the very best anchorages on the entire eastern seaboard. Do sundowners with the postcard-perfect sunsets and keep watch for Flipper.

Six hours from Sydney is Coffs Harbour - a big-game fishing destination. But it's the next port, Yamba, that offers a big-river adventure on the Clarence. You can navigate to Grafton, 60km from the entrance, and beyond if you're not carrying a mast.

A Big River tour will take you past prawn farms, dairy farms, cane farms, sugar mills and the old timber towns such as Maclean, where a public pontoon offers access to the town's amenities and pub. Vessels taller than 8.5m will need to have the Harwood Bridge opened to navigate beyond 10km. Call Harwood Bridge, with 24 hour's notice, on (02) 6682 8388 or 0412 604 748. More info at www.clarencetourism.com or Clarence River Visitor Information Centre, tel (02) 6642 4677.

For a southern cruising option, Batemans Bay - four-to-10 hours away depending on your vessel - offers a wonderful week of gadding about the Clyde River all the way to Shallow Crossing. Tip: the local oysters are so succulent they jump off the tongue. Nelligen has a riverfront pub with cold longnecks to complement the seafood. One of the state's most pristine rivers.

On the way home, duck into Huskisson, Jervis Bay for supplies, and Hyams Beach or Hare Bay - depending on wind direction - for a breathtaking swim.

TROPICAL HOLIDAYS
Got time to burn, a boat with home-away-from-home amenities and some passage-making experience? Then you're set to decamp for a serious liveaboard holiday.

It's eight hours from the Gold Coast to Hervey Bay and another 6-7 hours to the Whitsundays. In other words, you can get to Hervey bay in a day, spend time at the back of Fraser Island whale-watching and fishing, and then dash to Rockhampton for fuel. From there you're only a few hours from Lady Elliott Island and the southern Whitsunday Group.

Two days to the tropics - beat that! - and five-star amenities to boot. More than any other time, the Whitsundays call ‘come hither' in winter.

Hamilton Island Race Week in August each year is a bacchanalian boating bash attracting more than 150 yachts - many of which are from local charter fleets. Failing owning a boat yourself, consider chartering from the many local companies. Tuition is given before you take the helm.

Further north, Keith William's new marina complex Port Hinchinbrook - which is an hour's drive north of Townsville - is the hotspot. The marina, which overlooks the towering mountains of Hinchinbrook Island framed through a grove of palm trees, has everything from fuel to food.

Adventure awaits not far beyond the marina. The 39,350-hectare Hinchinbrook Island National Park is the largest island national park in Australia. The channel is 52km in length and nice and deep. It lends itself to cruising and sightseeing. Three different species of dolphins - not to mention the 400kg dugong - are said to breed here.

On Hinchinbrook, gold-sand beaches and swaying palms hide between gnarled volcanic rock outcrops. Unlike a lot of the Queensland coast, the mainland stands tall, shrouded in mist, and the summit of Hinchinbrook itself is 1142m.

To the north and south of Hinchinbrook are numerous uninhabited islands. The Palm Island Group has famous five-star resorts such as that on Orpheus, while a short cruise away is Dunk. In between are lots of little islands begging to be explored given a few lazy months.

Port Hinchinbrook has 120 berths and room for travelling vessels any time up to 35m in length. The mouth is dredged to a depth of at least three metres at low water. Holiday accommodation exists in 25 cabins; there are one-bed apartments under construction, and private homes for sale. Also charter yachts. Details: Port Hichinbrook Marina, tel (07) 4066 2000 or visit www.porthichinbrook.com.au.

Next stop, Lizard Island. Set out from Yorkey's Knob Marina, which in itself is a neat venue, with views back to the tropical mountains behind the Daintree.

Lizard has a great anchorage, but it's an even better stepping-off point for the Great Barrier Reef. Every year, a fleet of big-game fishing boats makes the pilgrimage from Sydney to do battle with the giant black marlin at Yong and the Ribbon reefs. Diving nirvana, too.

SOUTHERN HOLIDAYS
You've got to love the Gippsland Lakes in South Eastern Victoria, where a fetching fleet of riverboats ply the protected Lake Reeves behind Ninety Mile Beach, Lake Victoria, Lake King and the three big rivers - namely the Nicholson, Tambo and Mitchell - that flow into them.

Lots of local charter fleets, pubs, eateries, jetties and anchorages. A perfect flat-water boating destination for the family. Tip: go in August when the wattle is out and you can enjoy brilliant bream fishing to boot.

But for sheer cruising pleasure, the adventurous won't be disappointed with Tasmania. Hobart is home to a wooden-boat-loving society that potters about the waterways with the potbelly stove smoking.

D'Entrecasteuax Channel south of Hobart is heaven. Adventurous salts say the anchorages in Port Davey and Bathurst Island in southwest Tasmania are beyond belief. Deep waters teaming with lobsters. No, you're not dreaming.

Which is to say nothing of the island paradise Lord Howe, three or four day's sailing east of Sydney. Nor the latest angling hotspot Rowley Shoals, 12 hours beyond Broome.

Then again, you may be one of those boaties who take to sea with no destination in mind. Either way, here's hoping for fair winds and following seas.

BOATING RESOURCES AND TOURIST INFORMATION
Tourism NSW, tel (02) 9931 1111 or visit www.visitnsw.com.au.
Tourism Queensland, tel 1300 738 111 or visit www.qttc.com.au.
Lakes and Wilderness Information Centre for Gippsland region, tel 1800 637 060 or visit www.visitvictoria.com.
Tourism Tasmania, tel 1800 623 191 or visit www.discovertasmania.com.

BOATING INFORMATION AND MAPS
NSW Waterways Authority, tel 9563 8511 or visit www.waterways.nsw.gov.au.
Queensland Department of Transport, tel (07) 3224 2835 or visit www.transport.qld.gov.au.
Marine Board Victoria, tel (03) 9655 3399 or visit www.marineboard.vic.gov.au.
Marine Safety Tasmania, tel (03) 6233 8801 or visit www.mast.tas.gov.au.

CHARTERBOAT CONTACTS
Boating Industry Association, NSW, tel (02) 9438 2077 or visit www.bia.org.au.
BIA Queensland, tel (07) 3899 3333.
BIA Victoria and Tasmania, tel (03) 9328 4855.
BIA WA, tel (08) 9271 9688.

BOATING REFERENCES
Cruising the New South Wales Coast, The Cruising Boat and Cruising Australians - all self-published by author Alan Lucas.
For more information about other cruising references specific to Australian waters from Boat Books, Crows Nest, tel (02) 9439 1133.