Marina service

Kirribilli Marina

Kirribilli, NSW
4.3 from 11 Google reviews
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About

Kirribilli Marina at a glance

Kirribilli Marina is a small harbourfront marina on Sydney Harbour at 1 Bradly Ave, Kirribilli. The marina operates a 15-berth facility for boats from about 6m to 20m and advertises shore facilities including water and power to berths, toilets, showers and 24-hour security. The site also offers waterfront office spaces for rent (listed sizes ~20–190 m²). The marina lists a network of local service partners covering boat sales, marine engineering and fabrications, rigging, ropes and yacht equipment.

Satellite view of Kirribilli Marina

Service area: Kirribilli, Sydney Harbour, NSW

Marina type
full-service marina
Region
Sydney Harbour
Water body
Sydney Harbour (Kirribilli)
Wet berths
15
Maximum vessel
20 m
Berth types
permanent berthing, casual berthing

Facilities and services

  • power & water
  • showers & laundry
  • 24/7 security
  • waterfront offices for lease
  • destination berth (Sydney Harbour boating destinations program)
  • casual berthing

Useful for sailors looking for

  • Wet berthing and moorings
  • Dry storage or hardstand
  • Vessels up to 20 m

About Kirribilli Marina

Fifteen berths tucked into the corner of Careening Cove make Kirribilli Marina one of the smallest commercial marinas on Sydney Harbour, and one of the best placed. The address is 1 Bradly Avenue, on the Kirribilli foreshore barely six hundred metres east of the Harbour Bridge, with the Opera House and the city skyline filling the view south. The cove itself has deep boating roots: it takes its name from the practice of careening wooden ships for hull work, boatbuilding yards once lined its shores, and the heritage-listed Patton's Slipway site across the water still holds its original slip rails and timber jetty. The marina shares its building with waterfront office suites of between twenty and 190 square metres, so the tenants above the pontoons are as likely to be small businesses chasing a harbour view as boaties. Clientele skews to local professionals keeping cruisers and day boats within walking distance of home, plus a rotating cast of casual visitors using the marina's destination berth under the NSW Government's Sydney Harbour boating destinations scheme. The Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron occupies the next point east, and the whole precinct feels like the harbour as it was before the superyacht era: compact, residential and quietly busy. A planning document before the Sydney North Planning Panel notes that the marina at 1 Bradly Avenue has increased its berth numbers and taken larger vessels in recent years, evidence that even this pocket-handkerchief facility has felt the harbour's squeeze on berthing space. The suburb around it needs little introduction: Admiralty House and Kirribilli House stand on the point next door, making this perhaps the only marina in the country whose neighbour is the Prime Minister's Sydney residence.

Marina facilities

The berthing offer is simple and tightly specified: fifteen berths taking boats from six to twenty metres, each with access to shore power and fresh water, backed by toilets, showers and a 24-hour security access system. Conditions are plainly stated and enforced: every vessel must be registered and insured, and owners are responsible for supplying their own mooring lines and fenders, a standing rule across the small private marinas on this part of the harbour. Berths are offered on both permanent and casual terms, and the marina participates in the Sydney Harbour boating destinations program, under which recreational boaters can pre-book a destination berth, marked by the scheme's blue banner, for a free short stop to step ashore for a meal or supplies. There is no fuel berth, pump-out, slipway or workshop on the premises, and no chandlery; for fuel, slipping or repairs, skippers run to the full-service yards at The Spit, Rushcutters Bay or Balmain, all within a few miles. The office suites on the site are the other half of the business, rented on commercial terms to firms wanting a Kirribilli address. Bookings and berth enquiries are handled directly by the marina, and given only fifteen pens exist, casual availability in summer needs planning. What the marina sells, ultimately, is position: step off the pontoon and the harbour's working heart is ten minutes away by boat. The destination berth can be used free of charge for a short stop, handy for collecting takeaway or stepping ashore for coffee, though overnight casual stays are charged and booked directly. Rates are not published; the marina quotes per vessel and length of stay.

Local sailing knowledge

Careening Cove opens straight onto the main harbour channel, so the approach is deep and unobstructed, but two local rules shape every arrival. First, the Sydney Harbour Bridge transit zone imposes a fifteen-knot limit from six hundred metres east of the bridge to seven hundred metres west, and vessels may not stop or drift beneath the arch itself; NSW Maritime patrols the zone and issues penalties. Second, ferry wash is a fact of life here, with the Kirribilli and Jeffrey Street commuter services crossing the cove's mouth through the day, so berth lines want proper snubbers. Once tied up, the shore side rewards exploring: Kirribilli village's cafes and the Ensemble Theatre sit within a ten-minute walk, Milsons Point station is just beyond, and the foreshore walk west through Captain Henry Waterhouse Reserve passes under the bridge to Luna Park. Good overnight anchorages lie close by in Lavender Bay and Balls Head Bay for boats waiting on a berth. The cove faces south-west and takes the afternoon sea breeze squarely, which cools summer evenings but can push a chop onto the outer pens. Cruising options from the berth are effectively unlimited: under the bridge to the Lane Cove and Parramatta rivers, or east past Bradley's Head to the harbour's island anchorages and the Heads. Admiralty House and Kirribilli House sit on the point just west of the cove, which occasionally means waterborne security restrictions during official visits; water police advise any closures on the day. Pink courtesy moorings in nearby bays provide free 24-hour alternatives when the pens are full.

Opening hours

  • Monday7 AM to 5 PM
  • Tuesday7 AM to 5 PM
  • Wednesday7 AM to 5 PM
  • Thursday7 AM to 5 PM
  • Friday7 AM to 5 PM
  • Saturday7 AM to 5 PM
  • Sunday7 AM to 5 PM

Customer perspective

Recent Google reviews

★ 4.3 · 11 Google reviews

a year ago

“Nice”

3 years ago

“Small marina but quiet. Pickuo and drop off here is easy, a nice little park next to it and obviously on the waterfront.”

4 years ago

“Absolutely lovely place. Tucked between Kirribilli houses, high trees and a park, the marina is a stunning place for the neighborhood to congregate and enjoy a peaceful and relaxed time.”

7 years ago

“Beautiful little bay with some nice restaurants and park nearby. In occasions you can see large cruise ships”

7 years ago

“A small place with great view”

Reviews are customer opinions sourced from Google, not YouSail endorsements or verified sailing evidence.

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