Jet Ski Licence Bli Bli

Bli Bli riders launch onto a stretch of the Maroochy with a limit of its own. Upstream of the David Low Bridge, MSQ posts 20 knots through the shallows by the Bli Bli Islands and the Wetland Sanctuary. Plenty of people assume the whole river is 6 knots. Your end of it isn't. The council lists three public ramps in Bli Bli, every one on the Maroochy, and the course runs downstream at our Maroochydore venue on the same river. Theory is online first. Then the course day gives you a recap, the assessment and a one-on-one practical on the jet ski, with the craft and gear supplied. Already hold a boat licence? Book the jet ski course alone. If not, the combo covers both.

Twenty knots on a jet ski feels quick. On a shallow river, it is. The limit above the bridge sits inside a whole safety system MSQ built for the Maroochy, with its own hazard signs and speed signs. So a Bli Bli rider gets more room to open up than the 6-knot pockets downstream allow, and less water under the hull to do it in. That trade is what this page is about.

Start at the ramp. Muller Park, listed by MSQ as MA21, carries a Low Tide Restricted flag in the state boating facilities database. A ski is light, so people assume the tide won't matter. The trailer still has to reach water deep enough to float it off, and the car still has to climb back out. ABC Boating's ramp guide has two habits worth stealing: walk any ramp you haven't used before, and where a ramp drops off at low tide, wait for the tide to rise before you retrieve.

Now the 20 knots. The posted limit is the ceiling, and the PWC rules still sit underneath it. Within 60 metres of the shore, a pontoon, a ramp, a moored boat or someone in the water, a jet ski is held to 6 knots. On a river the shore is never far away, and the law allows for that. Where the water is less than 120 metres wide, you may run above 6 knots near the bank, up to the posted limit, if you hold the middle or a marked channel and travel straight through. That's how a ski legally uses a 20-knot reach on narrow water. Zig-zagging bank to bank at speed isn't covered.

There's also a passing rule. Within 30 metres of another moving vessel, a ski is capped at 10 knots. On narrow water, overtaking at 20 can put you inside that 30 metres before you've thought about it. Slow first, pass, then wind it back up.

Head down past the bridge and things tighten again. The lower river has a gazetted 6-knot zone around Chambers Island, and further on sits the bar, which MSQ says shouldn't be crossed without local knowledge. It's all one continuous river from your ramp to the ocean. The rules just change every few kilometres.

The course practical runs at Maroochydore on the river below the bridge. That's where you'll learn low-speed control, docking and the figure 8 on a Seadoo with braking, reversing and learner mode. The 20-knot judgement comes later, on your own reach, with the rules already in your head. If you need more time on the water to feel competent, we'd rather you took it. You must be 16 to hold the licence, and it doesn't expire once it's issued.

The day itself is easy to plan around. Do the theory online at home, in your own time. Then turn up with photo ID, sun protection, a towel and a change of clothes, because you will get wet. The ski, lifejackets and every piece of safety gear are ours. Nothing to tow down from Bli Bli on course day.

The course itself is the same wherever you sit it: the theory online first, in your own time, then a day on the water with a trainer before the assessment. You need a licence for any boat with an engine over 4.5 kilowatts, which is nearly every tinny, runabout and cruiser. Pass, and the Queensland licence never expires. Pick the date that suits you and book online.