Moreton Bay

Baracuma is in survey for Moreton Bay to the Gold Coast allowing you to reach a variety of locations, including Tangalooma, Horseshoe and Deanbilla Bays, Canaipa Passage, Slipping Sands, and resorts such as Tipplers, Couran and Sanctuary Coves.

Over 300 islands make up this magnificent waterway, and the waters are smooth and well protected. Just sit back, relax and enjoy your trip, looking out for sea birds, dolphins, turtles and the elusive dugong as you sail past Coochiemudlo Island towards beautiful Horseshoe Bay or Bird Island, where you can walk the beach or enjoy a leisurely swim. By spending a day on Baracuma you will experience the sun, the sea and the natural beauty of the Moreton Bay Marine Park in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Moreton Bay, stretching 125km from Caloundra to the Gold Coast, is one of Queensland's most important natural, recreational, cultural and economic resources.

The Bay offers a diversity of foreshore and offshore features, seascapes and landscapes, relatively safe boating and wide scope for recreational activities on the water and nearby. Some areas have significant Aboriginal and European cultural heritage values. Fortunately, the Bay remains mostly in its natural state - an internationally significant wetland providing habitats crucial for migratory shorebirds, turtles and dugong.

Moreton Bay Marine Park
This was declared in 1993 and extended in 1997 to cover most of Moreton Bay's tidal lands and tidal waters seawards to the limit of Queensland waters. The boundary is generally three nautical miles off the east coast of Bribie, Moreton, North Stradbroke and South Stradbroke Islands. Along the mainland and around the islands, the boundary is the line of the highest astronomical tide.

Horseshoe Bay and tiny Bird Island are fed by the crystal clear waters of the Rainbow Channel, the setting will encourage you to walk the beach, swim in the warm tropical waters or try snorkelling the rocky bluff. The waters provide habitat for all kinds of marine life including dolphin, dugong, pelicans and migratory birds.

As we sail southwards we enter a series of narrow channels surrounding the Southern Bays deserted and inhabited islands. About 300 islands form the Moreton Bay Marine Park and we will pass near the bay islands of Karagarra, Macleay, Russell and Lamb islands. These islands have a permanent resident population of about 2000 and provide pleasant safe anchorages with protection from most wind directions.

As we leave the bottom of North Stradbroke Island we pass Jumpinpin Bar, the most southerly point of Moreton Bay. Jumpinpin Bar separates North and South Stradbroke islands and was formed in the early 1900's. South Stradbroke Island's sandy shorelines and resorts (including Couran Cove a 4.5 star, eco tourism resort) are a change from the smaller and uninhabited islands in lower Moreton Bay. You may choose to anchor up in the Cove or alongside a sandy beach on South Stradbroke Island or visit a world-class resort such as Sanctuary Cove, where you can enjoy an exotic meal in a marine village atmosphere.