Top 10 Marinas in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is not on most cruising itineraries, and that is precisely why those who go there come back speaking of it in the same breath as the Tuamotus, the Louisiades, and the Torres Strait. The country occupies the eastern half of the world's second-largest island and some 600 offshore islands, with coastlines that range from mangrove-fringed river deltas in the south to limestone karst cliffs overhanging impossibly blue water in the Kimbe Bay area. Port Moresby, the capital, sits on a natural harbour protected by Bootless Bay to the east, and the small but functional marina facilities around the city are the entry point for a sailing circuit that few outsiders have charted in any detail.
Royal Papua Yacht Club, Port Moresby
The Royal Papua Yacht Club (RPYC) is the primary sailing institution in Papua New Guinea. Founded in 1928, the club occupies a commanding position on Ela Beach overlooking the Port Moresby inner harbour. Visiting yachts can tie up to the club's floating pontoon in two to four metres — the depth is tide-dependent and Port Moresby's tidal range is about 1.8 metres — or anchor in the outer harbour. The club has fuel available by arrangement, fresh water, showers, and a restaurant. The staff are accustomed to international crews and can facilitate introductions to local chandleries and repair services. Customs and immigration clearance for international arrivals is completed at the city's main commercial port but can be flagged through the club.
Port Moresby Barge Ramp
The barge ramp at the Port Moresby industrial area is the principal haul-out facility for cruising yachts in PNG. It is a working commercial slipway, not a marina, but it handles vessels up to 20 metres and has been used by generations of Coral Sea passage-makers for antifouling, prop and shaft inspections, and engine service. Access is by arrangement with the port authority. The ramp's location next to commercial shipping facilities means parts availability is better here than anywhere else in the country; marine engineers with experience on yacht diesel engines can be arranged through the RPYC.
Bootless Bay and Motupore Island
Ten miles southeast of Port Moresby, Bootless Bay is a sheltered anchorage with excellent diving and snorkelling on the fringing reef. The Papua Diving resort at Motupore Island has a jetty and fuel available and is a popular first or last stop for yachts clearing in or out of PNG through Port Moresby. The bay has good holding in five to eight metres over sand and coral rubble. Motupore Island Research Centre sometimes hosts visiting scientists, and the dive site library has records of the local reef health going back 30 years.
Lae Yacht Club
The Lae Yacht Club, in the country's second-largest city on the Huon Gulf, is historically the most important yacht facility for Pacific passage-makers. The club is located in the Lae Boat Harbour, a semi-protected basin with a breakwater. Visiting yachts can take a mooring or anchor in the outer harbour. The club has a restaurant, bar, fresh water, and basic mechanical contacts. Lae is the main industrial city of PNG and has the best parts availability outside Port Moresby — it is accessible to Kimbe Bay and the west New Britain circuit and is often used as a reprovisioning stop for yachts on the annual ARC+ Pacific route or independent passages between Australia and Asia.
Madang Yacht Club
Madang is frequently cited as one of the most beautiful harbours in the Pacific. The harbour entrance is guarded by several small islands — Sek Island, Kranket Lagoon — creating a labyrinth of channels that give complete shelter from the Bismarck Sea swell. The Madang Yacht Club operates from the inner harbour with moorings and a basic fuel facility. The town has a lively expat community involved in the fishing and timber industries, and the yacht club bar is a genuine crossroads of Pacific sailing gossip. Diving on the WWII wrecks in Madang harbour — a Japanese destroyer visible in 20 metres — is world-class.
Kimbe Bay, West New Britain
Kimbe Bay on the north coast of New Britain is not served by a marina in any formal sense, but the anchorages around the bay — Walindi Plantation Resort, Restorf Island, Kimbe itself — form one of the world's most celebrated dive and snorkelling destinations. The coral diversity in Kimbe Bay was the subject of a landmark 1997 Conservation International survey that found over 400 species of hard coral. Yachts anchor at Walindi in three to five metres and use the resort's dinghy dock and dive compressor. Fuel is available in 44-gallon drums.
Lihir Marina, New Ireland Province
The Lihir Marina serves the Lihir Gold Mine on Niolam Island, one of the largest gold deposits in the world, and functions primarily as a support base for the mining operation. It was not originally built for cruising yachts, but in practice it is the most complete berthing facility in New Ireland Province, with shore power, fresh water, and a small chandlery. Visiting yachts can berth alongside by arrangement with the port management office. The surrounding reefs and the caldera hot springs accessible from the shoreline make Lihir a uniquely unusual stop on any circuit of the Bismarck Archipelago.
Alotau and Milne Bay
At the eastern tip of the PNG mainland, Alotau in Milne Bay Province is the gateway to the Louisiade Archipelago — the string of coral islands stretching southeast toward the Solomon Sea. The Alotau Yacht Club is a modest but welcoming facility with a floating pontoon and fuel drum service. Milne Bay saw significant naval action in World War II; the 1942 Battle of Milne Bay was the first Allied land victory in the Pacific. The surrounding waters hold numerous wreck dive sites, and the coral cruising through Samarai and the Engineer Group islands before the Louisiade chain begins is spectacular.
Weather and Passage Planning
PNG experiences a double monsoon: the northwest monsoon (Wet Season) from December to March brings westerly winds and heavy rain; the southeast trade wind season (Dry Season) from May to November is the preferred sailing period, with steady 10-20 knot trades. The Coral Sea approach from Queensland, Australia, is typically a 500-700 nautical mile passage from Cairns or Port Douglas, taking 3-5 days depending on weather windows. The Torres Strait, 50 miles southwest of Cape York Peninsula, is the standard westward exit for yachts continuing toward Darwin and the Indian Ocean. Tides in PNG coastal waters can run to four knots in constricted passages; tidal planning is essential.
Explore on the map
Papua New Guinea's scattered archipelago, the anchorages from Port Moresby to Madang, and the offshore island circuits around Kimbe Bay and the Louisiades all appear on the interactive map. Use the map to explore the full extent of PNG's cruising grounds, identify the locations of yacht clubs from Lae to Alotau, and plan your approach from Australia through the Coral Sea.