Dredging needed to safely enter Sail Port Stephens

Boaties from Royal Motor Yacht Club Toronto, Lake Macquarie Yacht Club and Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club say they cannot safely sail out of Lake Macquarie because of the recurrent silting of the Swansea Channel.

Lake Macquarie Yacht Club member Geoff Edman said sailing a boat out of of the lake has become an extremely difficult and dangerous task.

"To get a boat out of the lake is a huge exercise at the moment. A couple of boats are trying to get out so they can compete but to get out of the lake at the moment you have got to tilt your boat over, which means tying your boat to a yacht, and laying the boat over on the side to drag it over the sand hill that needs dredging," he said.

"Everyone who planned to go to Sail Port Stephens now have to make other arrangements, either cancelling or finding alternative ways of getting the boats up the sand hill."

Royal Motor Yacht Club Toronto member Robert Dawes said silting in the Swansea Channel is now worse than it has ever been.

"You've not only got Sail Port Stephens in two weeks time but you have also got SailFest in Newcastle this weekend and if we had decent access to navigate the channel there would be more participation and support to even that event, let alone Sail Port Stephens," he said.

Labor announced they will spend $10 million on a permeant dredge for the Swansea Channel if they win the next Federal election, but Mr Dawes said he is pessimistic about the promise.

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"Any announcement is appreciated, provided it is followed through. However there has been many announcements made over many years and they have come to absolutely nothing," he said.

"Back in July last year the state government announced several million dollars to dredging non commercial ports up the coast and they said Swansea was at the top of the list and it would be done before Christmas, and it hasn't been done and it looks like it's not going to be done for a long time.

"There must be a sustainable, long term solution if they are going to pledge this sort of money to the dredging of the channel."

Dredging works began on the Swansea Channel in April last year, but Mr Dawes said the channel was left worse off.

"There was a very sketchy job done in early April last year and it hasn't been done again since, and it is now the worst it has ever been."

Parliamentary secretary for the Hunter Taylor Martin announced in July 2021 that Swansea Channel would be the first NSW waterway to benefit from a $6.2 million dredging program, but nothing has been spent on the channel eight months later.

Past failed promises have made both yacht club members weary of the announcement.

"It was pleasing to hear that Labor is going to put money up to buy a dredge which will be a great improvement, we have just got to see it happen yet. I look forward to seeing it happen, whether it will or not, but I am a bit concerned that it won't happen," said Mr Edman.

Member for Swansea Yasmin Catley said a lack of dredging is impacting businesses as well.

"Sail Port Stephens and other boating events have the ability to increase visitors to the Hunter and drive the region's economic activity. However, the absence of dredging in Swansea Channel is stopping this from occurring," she said.

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