Half Moon Bay Marina (Yorkeys Knob Boating Club)

About the marina

Half Moon Bay Marina occupies the curve of beach south of the Yorkeys Knob headland, about 17 kilometres north of central Cairns, and is one of the few cyclone-rated marinas on the Far North Queensland coast. Built in 1994 at a development cost of around $12 million, its 197 berths sit behind twin breakwaters engineered to cyclonic standards, a claim tested within its first decade: Cyclone Justin in 1997 and Rona in 1999 both passed through without damage to moored craft. The clubhouse, completed in October 1995, is built out over the water under one of the largest shade sails in the north, and the whole operation is run as the Yorkeys Knob Boating Club, so the marina functions as a licensed community club as much as a boat haven. The headland rising about 100 metres behind the bay knocks the edge off the prevailing south-east trade winds, and the suburb's name remembers George Lawson, a Yorkshire fisherman known as Yorkey who lived on the knob in the 1880s. The clientele is a Far North mix: liveaboards on long leases running to 2044, game boats chasing black marlin off the Ribbon Reefs, cruisers staging for Cape York or the Kimberley, and trailer boats using the public ramp inside the southern breakwater. The marina also plays an unexpected role in Cairns tourism, as cruise ships too large for the city port anchor offshore and tender passengers ashore beside it. That dual identity sums the place up: a member-owned boating club with gaming machines and a deck bar on one side, and a serious tropical refuge where owners buy 20-year berth leases precisely because secure cyclone-season berthing is scarce between Townsville and Cooktown.

Berthing & shoreside services

Berthing spans 197 floating pens from 10 to 30 metres for monohulls, multihulls and power boats, with casual, weekly, monthly and annual rental plus berth sales on leases expiring 30 June 2044; berth owners must be or become club members, and 10-metre leases have been advertised around $35,000 to $65,000 depending on term. Every berth has water and single-phase 15-amp shore power via Comsen pedestal units, with three-phase 32 or 63-amp supply in the larger pens for an added daily charge. The fuel wharf sells diesel and petrol with 24-hour access for full members using fuel fobs; bosuns dispense fuel, refill gas bottles and handle waste oil and waste fuel disposal from 8.30am to 4.30pm seven days, though fuel operations pause while cruise ships are moored offshore. A dry store and haulage service cover out-of-water needs, and a sheltered public boat ramp with trailer parking sits on the southern edge inside the breakwater. The marina holds Clean Marina accreditation and enforces nil discharge within the basin. Security is 24-hour CCTV at all entrances, and gate and amenities access runs on a refundable $50 fob deposit. The marina office works 8am to 4.30pm daily with a bosun on call, and all vessels must show a certificate of currency with at least $10 million third-party liability before signing the berth agreement. The clubhouse supplies the rest: restaurant, bar, gaming room, ATM, wifi, bags of ice, showers, laundry, provisioning trolleys and permit-based car parking. Berths to about 4 metres draft at low tide can be accommodated.

Local context in YouSail

This is directory context, not navigation advice. Check current charts, notices and official boating resources before passage.

Approach is straightforward from the Coral Sea: Half Moon Bay opens to the north-east, and the twin breakwaters are hard to miss beneath the knob. Depths suit most cruising yachts, with about 4 metres draft workable at low water, but the marina office prefers contact before arrival and VHF 16 is monitored. The bay is open enough that a fresh northerly puts chop into the entrance, while the south-east trades are blocked by the headland, making winter the comfortable season. On cruise ship days the anchorage offshore fills with tenders, and the club notes fuel is unavailable while ships are alongside their anchorage, so plan bunkering around the cruise calendar. From the marina it is roughly 15 nautical miles back to Trinity Inlet and Cairns, and the outer reef edge with its marlin grounds lies 30 to 40 nautical miles offshore; green season boats head for the mangrove creeks of Trinity Inlet when a cyclone threatens, despite the breakwater's rating. Ashore, Yorkeys Knob village is a five-minute walk for cafes, a pharmacy and takeaway, while the Smithfield shopping centre five minutes south handles serious provisioning. The beach is one of the country's rated kitesurfing spots from April to November, with stinger nets in summer. Crocodile signage around the marina basin is not decorative; this is croc country and swimming off the pontoons is out. The Half Moon Bay golf course borders the suburb, and TransLink buses 110 to 113 connect to Cairns in about 75 minutes for crews reprovisioning or flying out of the international airport 15 minutes away.