FROM THE APPROVED YOUSAIL RECORD
Get to know Breakwater Marina.
Published profile copy from YouSail’s Supabase catalogue, exported on 16 Sept 2026. Treat operational details as a starting point and confirm them with the marina before relying on them.
About the marina
Breakwater Marina occupies the edge of Cleveland Bay on Sir Leslie Thiess Drive, a short walk from Townsville's CBD, The Strand and the casino-entertainment precinct whose construction created it. Work began in 1986 as the first stage of the Breakwater Island casino development - the Sheraton Breakwater (now The Ville) opened the same year and Reef HQ followed in 1987 - and the original 150 wet berths served a then-traditional commercial marina with haul-out and repair facilities. Nearly four decades on, the basin holds 325 berths across six cyclone-rated piers, from B Finger near the ANZAC parklands out to G Finger at the entrance, taking everything from jet skis and runabouts to superyachts of 45 metres. The marina has repositioned itself as a lifestyle precinct, but the boating fundamentals remain its claim: deep-water access to the Coral Sea with Magnetic Island eight kilometres offshore, a dredged entrance channel and genuine cyclone-season credentials in a city that knows what cyclones do. It is also one of the few marinas in the north designated a Port of Entry under the Customs Act, so international yachts clear in at its refuelling wharf. A strong liveaboard community, an active social calendar and a steady flow of cruising boats heading for the reef or the Palm Group give the piers a year-round population rather than a seasonal one, and the adjoining parklands and dining strip keep crew ashore happy. The marina's city setting is unusual for the north: berth-holders step off their pontoons into parklands, a cinema and restaurant strip and the casino resort, yet the basin itself stays calm behind the reclaimed peninsula's rock walls. Townsville's role as the commercial and military capital of North Queensland also feeds the marina a distinctive clientele - defence contractors, research vessels bound for the reef, and reef-trip crews mixing with the cruising fraternity and the locals who keep their boats here year-round.
Berthing & shoreside services
Berthing spans casual, monthly, quarterly and six-monthly agreements for monohulls and multihulls from 10 to 45 metres, allocated by overall length including davits, bowsprits and tenders - staff may measure on arrival, and oversized boats are moved up a berth class. All berths carry modern power pedestals and fresh water behind locked gates with CCTV; superyacht berths offer 32, 63 and 125-amp up to 415-volt three-phase supply. The 24-hour fuel wharf just inside the entrance is dual-sided with eight bowsers delivering diesel in high, mid and low flow plus unleaded, with ice and gas refills alongside and a loading wharf adjacent - it is the busiest fuel stop on this part of the coast. Liveaboards are welcomed but regulated: approval is by written application, attracts a service fee covering electricity, rubbish, amenities and security, and comes with concessional rates; pets are allowed on application with leads mandatory on the piers. All vessels must hold $10 million public liability insurance plus full hull cover, and the marina has blacklisted certain insurers. House rules are firm on maintenance - there are no onshore repair facilities, so only minor in-berth work is allowed, with contractors required to register and show insurance at the office. Amenities include spotless bathrooms and laundry, wifi, and dedicated social areas; casuals get a Stay 7-Pay 5 deal in cruising season, when early booking is strongly advised. The office works 8am to 5pm seven days, monitoring VHF 10 and 16, with after-hours arrivals pre-arranged by email. Customs clearance for overseas yachts happens at the landward side of the refuelling wharf after 96-hour pre-arrival reporting to Border Force. An adjoining public boat ramp serves trailer boats, and the Bluewater Bar and Grill feeds the crew.
Local context in YouSail
This is directory context, not navigation advice. Check current charts, notices and official boating resources before passage.
Access is the first thing skippers ask about: the entrance channel is dredged to minus 2.0 metres and the basin carries better than 3.5 metres, but tidal restrictions matter for deep-draft superyachts, so call the marina on VHF 10 or phone ahead for current advice. The marina shares Cleveland Bay with the Port of Townsville, and Ross Creek ferries, Coast Guard and port traffic all move nearby - keep a proper lookout crossing the bay. Once in, everything urban is walkable: The Strand's foreshore and swimming enclosures, the Palmer Street and city restaurants, Reef HQ aquarium, supermarkets and chandleries. The cruising menu from here is exceptional. Magnetic Island's twenty-odd bays start 20 minutes away; the Palm Group, Orpheus and Pelorus Islands lie 60 to 80 kilometres north; and the reef proper begins within day-trip range. Rattlesnake and Herald Islands in Halifax Bay are Defence live-fire areas - check notices before planning an anchorage there. Cyclone season (November to April) sees the piers fill with local boats taking advantage of the cyclone rating, and the marina's cyclone plan activates early; visiting cruisers time their stay for the dry, settled winter months from May to October, which is also when berth demand peaks and the Stay 7-Pay 5 offer gets a workout. SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week in late August and September brings the region's racing fleet to town, and the marina's social areas fill accordingly. Fuel up on arrival rather than departure on busy weekends - eight bowsers still queue in season.
