The Marina Mindarie

About the marina

The Marina Mindarie anchors the Mindarie Keys coastal development about 30 minutes north of central Perth, and it was conceived from the start as a destination marina rather than a boat park. The harbour and its surrounding precinct were built with a deliberate Mediterranean inflection: waterfront restaurants and bars around a boardwalk, a hotel with balconies overlooking the pens, and apartment towers rising behind the quay. The marina operation itself carries a 5 Gold Anchor rating under the Yacht Harbour Association scheme, and the association's listing puts the fleet at 273 berths. The fleet is a mix of long-term berth holders from Perth's northern suburbs, casual overnight visitors working the coast between Hillarys and Two Rocks, and the charter fleet that runs fishing and diving trips from the quay. Behind the harbour's wave attenuator the water stays flat even when the Indian Ocean outside is standing up, which is much of the time on this stretch of coast, and the secure gatehouse entry on every jetty gives the marina a controlled, private feel that distinguishes it from the open government harbours to the south. The precinct runs on hospitality as much as berthing: weekend crowds come for breakfast on the boardwalk, boutique beer and live music as much as for the boating, and the marina has leaned into that dual role. For Perth boat owners the attraction is simple arithmetic: a secure serviced pen half an hour from the city, with dinner, fuel and a chandlery within a hundred metres of the gangway.

Berthing & shoreside services

Berthing is on floating jetties behind the wave attenuator, in fully serviced pens of 10, 12, 15, 18 and 20 metres plus dedicated catamaran berths, and every jetty is reached through a secure gatehouse operating on a security tag system; all jetty fees include utilities, meaning power and water at the berth without separate metering surprises. Casual berthing is genuinely catered for: overnight secured berths are available at casual rates with a two-night minimum and bookings essential, and casual daily moorings can be taken on the boardwalk in front of the restaurants. The fuel operation sells diesel and premium unleaded petrol on site. Ashore, the marina provides toilets, showers and laundry for berth holders, a boat ramp with launching facilities, and ticketed trailer parking with casual tickets or annual passes available from Guest Services. Free wifi runs through the hospitality venues. Fishing and dive charters operate from the marina for those without their own hull, and the Yacht Harbour Association listing adds a chandlery, convenience store, customer lounge and business facilities to the service sheet, alongside the restaurants, bars, cafes and retail of the boardwalk and The Marina Hotel's accommodation overhead. What the marina does not have is a travel lift or hardstand of its own; haul-outs are typically done at Hillarys or by mobile contractors, a gap worth noting for owners planning refits. Bookings and berth enquiries run through the marina office on 08 9305 9305, and the 5 Gold Anchor rating reflects audited standards across the whole facility.

Local context in YouSail

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

Mindarie sits on a straight, exposed piece of the Perth coast with no natural shelter, so the harbour's breakwaters and wave attenuator do real work; the entrance is short and marked, but westerly swell wraps onto the leads and summer sea breezes can make the final approach lumpy, particularly for smaller boats arriving late in the day. Winter fronts push heavy swell onto this coast and entries are best made on the making tide with the leads held squarely. Once inside, the water is millpond calm. The local boating ground is the northern end of Marmion Marine Park and the reef line that runs past Burns Beach and Ocean Reef, giving crayfish, dhufish and herring close in and deeper pelagic water a short run out; Rottnest Island lies roughly 20 nautical miles to the south-west for a day trip, and Hillarys Boat Harbour is a quick hop south if Mindarie's berths are full. Ashore, the precinct covers most needs without a car: supermarkets and bigger retail at the nearby Ocean Keys centre, boardwalk dining beside the pens, and accommodation in the hotel above the marina for crew or family. Claytons Beach, the dog-friendly surf beach just north of the harbour, is the local walking spot. Visiting skippers should book casual berths ahead on summer weekends, when the combination of Perth's boating population and the precinct's events calendar keeps the gatehouse busy, and note the two-night minimum that applies to casual overnight pens. Mindarie Keys itself is worth a wander for first-time visitors; the canal estate that surrounds the harbour was dug from coastal dunes in the 1980s and 1990s, and the whole precinct, marina included, is younger than most of the boats riding at its pens.