Yachties at sea over coronavirus restrictions

High seas confusion has hit Sydney’s northern beaches, with mariners travelling to Pittwater from outside the lockdown and socialising with friends from other boats.

A boat with at least eight people in Pittwater on Tuesday. Picture: Nikki Short

High seas confusion has hit Sydney’s northern beaches, with mariners travelling to Pittwater from outside the lockdown and socialising with friends from other boats.

More than a dozen sail and motor boats were moored in The Basin, in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, on Tuesday, including Sydney superyacht Masteka 2, which charters for $100,000 a week.

Boat Owners Association of NSW president Chris De Jong said the regulations were “very clear” that people from outside the northern beaches were out of bounds if they came by boat.

He said the association had received many calls from people outside the northern beaches who were unsure whether they could sail there with their boat, or take their boat out if it was moored there.

Mr De Jong said most people wanted to abide by regulations but there were “stupid-minded, very selfish people” who flouted restrictions, including by rafting up to other boats with more ­people on board than permitted.

“If locals do go out on their own boat, I can’t see why police should do anything, or with their family on their own boat,” he said.

“But if they start rafting up with other boats and other families, then it’s against the law.”

An employee at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, in Newport on the northern beaches, said they didn’t encourage anyone to go boating as it wasn’t a necessity. “It’s a grey area at the moment,” Ann Doherty said.

“If they don’t like what I’m telling them, I tell them to ring the Broken Bay water police.”

Gibson Marina Bayview manager Peter Hewett said people were “just being a bit careful” and calling about the restrictions before taking their boat out.

“They don’t want to go to the trouble of going up the bay and getting asked to leave,” he said.

“People down here want to do the right thing.”

Mr Hewett said restrictions on boating were unclear for a long time around Easter and water police travelled around the bays kicking people out. “When they said everyone couldn’t use their boat, everyone wanted to get out and use them,” he said.

The Australian spoke to a group of eight people relaxing together on The Entertainer, having motored from Batemans Bay and stopping overnight before heading up the coast to Swansea, near Newcastle.

The owner, who did not want to be identified, said the friends were confident they could enter and stay in the hot zone provided they didn’t go ashore.

At least four adults were on 122ft superyacht Masteka 2, with two more adults and two children in a dingy alongside. A crew member refused to answer questions about its stay in Pittwater.