Can a boat with a 1.9 m draught safely navigate from Wide Bay Bar to Tin Can Bay Marina?

A boat drawing 1.9 m may be able to make this passage safely, depending on current channel depths, the tide and conditions across Wide Bay Bar. Confirm the marina's shallowest approach and berth depths first, then plan the bar crossing and inland passage to ensure enough water at every stage.

Confirm marina access depths

Draught alone does not establish whether Grace can get in. Check each part of the passage: crossing Wide Bay Bar, following the channels towards Tin Can Bay, and reaching a berth with enough depth through low water.

Call Tin Can Bay Marina with your actual loaded draught of 1.9 m. Ask:

• What is the latest measured minimum depth in the entrance and access channel, and when was it measured?
• Is that depth reduced to chart datum, or was it a sounder reading at a particular tide?
• Which berth can accommodate 1.9 m throughout your stay, including the lowest predicted tide?
• Are there recent shoals, dredging works or recommended arrival windows?

"We take yachts your size" tells you less than a measured depth, its reference level and a specific berth. A berth may have enough water while the approach has a shallow patch, or the reverse.

Allow clearance beneath the keel

For preliminary planning in sheltered water, adding 0.5 m beneath your 1.9 m keel gives a minimum actual water depth of 2.4 m. This is a planning allowance, not a published minimum for this route. Increase it where soundings are uncertain, the bottom is hard or the boat is moving in waves.

The basic calculation is:

Charted depth + tide height = predicted water depth.
Predicted water depth − loaded draught = predicted under-keel clearance.

A hypothetical shoal charted at 1.2 m with 1.3 m of tide would give 2.5 m of water and 0.6 m beneath Grace's keel. These figures illustrate the calculation; they are not soundings for Tin Can Bay.

Use tide predictions for each location and allow for local timing differences. Wind and atmospheric pressure can alter actual water levels. Squat can reduce clearance underway. Before checking the calculation against your depth display, establish whether it reads below the transducer, below the keel or from the surface.

Assess Wide Bay Bar separately

The bar is the passage's most exposed stretch. Sandbanks and the preferred crossing track can change, so get current advice from the local marine rescue service and check Maritime Safety Queensland notices before departure. An old cruising guide or another yacht's saved track is not enough.