Every Dicky Beach jet ski leaves the suburb on a trailer. The licence course is where you learn the ski, and we'll help you plan the launch around the tide.
There's nowhere in Dicky Beach to put a jet ski in the water. Council's register records no boat ramp and no water access point of any kind in the suburb. The two lagoons here, Tooway Lake and Bunbubah Creek, are closed and open lakes that sand can shut for months at a time. So every ride starts with a hitch and a tide table. You learn the ski itself at our Caloundra venue in Golden Beach, on the Pumicestone Passage. Theory goes online first. On the day you get a recap, the theory assessment, then one-on-one time on a supplied ski.
Dicky Beach riders are trailer riders. That's not a complaint about the suburb, it's just how the map works. Knowing it early changes what you should care about on your course day, and what you should ask while you've got a trainer beside you.
Take the suburb's own water first, because it's the question we get most. Dicky Beach holds two of the only five intermittently closed and open lakes and lagoons that Sunshine Coast Council manages. They're Tooway Lake and Bunbubah Creek. Council says sand closes the entrances of this kind of lagoon for weeks, months or even years. It may open them only under an Environmental Authority, for flooding or water quality, and never for navigation. There's no warning when it does. With no recorded access point at either lagoon either, there's no plan here that ends with a ski in Tooway Lake.
That puts you on the road. The nearest mapped ramp is at Seaview Terrace in Moffat Beach. Council codes it a boat ramp, but MSQ lists it as a canoe launching point. The nearest spot MSQ itself calls a boat ramp is at Kings Beach, on Margaret Street. Here's the catch. MSQ flags both of them Low Tide Restricted. Whichever way you turn out of Dicky Beach, the tide decides your day.
For a ski owner that changes the order of things. You check the tide before you check the weather. You plan to come back on a rising tide, not a falling one. ABC's own guide to ramps says it directly: if a ramp has a drop off at low tide, time your retrieval so the tide has risen first. It also warns against racing the car down a ramp and then braking to launch, because plenty of cars have ended up in the water that way. Riders who tow every single time get very good at this, or they get very good stories.
The course itself is where the ski handling comes from. It runs from our Caloundra venue in the Golden Beach locality, on the Pumicestone Passage. About 80% of the Passage is under two metres deep, and the tide moves right through it, so the water gives you practice reading depth as well as steering. Council records six active boat ramps in Golden Beach, all on the Passage. That's worth knowing as a Dicky Beach rider, since it's a second option when the beach ramps are out of water.
You'll ride a Sea-Doo on the day. ABC uses it because its braking, reversing and learner mode give a novice a head start. It's also very stable. That helps with docking and the figure 8, which are part of the assessment. At Caloundra the jet ski practical is published as about 45 minutes, one-on-one. If you're doing the Boat and Jet Ski Combo, the ski session comes after an approx 3 hour group session in the boat.
How do you know which one to book? Look in your wallet. A jet ski in Queensland needs a PWC licence, and anyone riding one has to hold a recreational marine licence as well. Already have a current boat licence? The jet ski course on its own is enough. Starting from nothing? The combo gets you both from the one booking. If you're not sure what you hold, call us before you pick a date and we'll sort it out on the phone.
One last thing that trips people up. Passing the course doesn't put a licence in your wallet on the spot. You're given a statement of competency, and it's valid for six months from the date it's issued. You take it to a transport and motoring customer service centre, or a QGAP office that does marine licensing, with a completed F2334 form, proof of identity and the licence fee. Leave it past six months and the statement runs out. Do it the same week.
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.
The suburb sits right on the coast, so it's natural to expect a ramp somewhere.
Council's register records no boat ramp and no water access point of any kind in Dicky Beach. Every ride starts with a tow.
We treat you as a trailer rider from day one, and talk through the launch options near you on the course.
They're real bodies of water in the suburb, and on a full day they look inviting.
Both are closed and open lagoons. Sand can shut them for weeks, months or years, and council never opens them for navigation. Neither has a recorded access point.
We're straight about it: they're not ski water. Point the trailer at a ramp built for it.
Both of the nearest options, Seaview Terrace and Kings Beach at Margaret Street, are flagged Low Tide Restricted by MSQ.
A good ride ends badly if you're stuck waiting for the tide with a ski and a car on a ramp.
ABC's ramp guide says to time the retrieval so the tide has risen first. We'd rather you learn that on paper than on the ramp.
People pass, feel done, and forget the licence still has to be issued.
The statement you get on passing is valid for six months. After that it's no good for applying.
We explain the next step before you leave: the statement, a completed F2334, proof of identity and the licence fee, taken to a customer service centre that does marine licensing.
One partner does the licence, and the other rides along or waits on the beach.
Someone without a licence can operate a ski only with a supervisor on board who holds a valid marine licence and can take immediate control. That falls over if the licensed rider is the one in the water.
Book two places on the same date. One past student got her licence in case something happened to her husband while they were out, and that thinking works on a ski too.
Where you train
Caloundra
Churchill Street, Golden Beach QLD 4551
Check the provider before you book. The Queensland Government's BoatSafe register lists Australian Boating College at Caloundra under 0427 110 025. Training is nationally accredited through Australian Boating College, the business name of ABC Licence Training Pty Ltd, RTO 3399. We supply the jet ski, lifejackets and every piece of equipment. You bring photo ID, sun protection, a towel and a change of clothes. In Queensland a marine licence can only come from an approved BoatSafe provider, so that listing is the one that counts. The training organisation behind the courses, Australian Boating College, is current on the national training register. Every approved provider works to the same floor: trainers hold a commercial marine qualification and pass a criminal history check, the training vessel is commercially certified and carries sun protection, and the organisation running it has to carry public liability cover of at least 20 million dollars. Maritime Safety Queensland audits providers and can suspend one that cuts corners.
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Approved by Maritime Safety Queensland to deliver the BoatSafe recreational marine and PWC licence courses.
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Courses are delivered under the registration of Australian Boating College, RTO #3399, so the training is nationally accredited.
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From Dicky Beach, near Dicky Beach and its surf club, named after the wreck of the SS Dicky, it is a few minutes south along Coochin Street and Arthur Street to the Caloundra base on the Pumicestone Passage. The sheltered Pumicestone Passage nearby gives protected water for early on-water training. We run the jet ski licence there with all equipment provided, so Dicky Beach locals can get licensed close to home.
Tell us the date that suits you near Dicky Beach and our team will come back to you, usually within one business day. Prefer to talk it through? Give us a call.
Plan on no. They're two of the five closed and open lagoons council manages. Sand can close their entrances for months or years, and council says it never opens them for navigation. There's no recorded access point at either. Tow to a proper ramp instead.
The two closest are Seaview Terrace at Moffat Beach and Kings Beach at Margaret Street. MSQ flags both Low Tide Restricted, so pick your time before you pick your ramp. The Passage ramps at Golden Beach are another option, and there are six active ones on council's register.
Timing the retrieval. If a ramp drops off at low tide, wait until the tide has risen before you pull out. ABC's guide adds that you should walk any ramp you haven't used before, since it may be slippery or drop away. For a rider who tows every time, those two habits save the most grief.
Yes. The statement of competency you get on passing is valid for six months from the day it's issued. Take it to a transport and motoring customer service centre, or a QGAP office that does marine licensing, with a completed F2334, proof of identity and the licence fee. Don't leave it sitting in the glovebox.
Only while you're on board and able to take immediate control, holding a valid marine licence. The moment you're off the ski, that cover's gone. Lots of couples book the course together so either of them can ride, and either can bring the ski home.
Because it lets you learn the ski before you add waves. The Passage is shallow and tidal, with about 80% of it under two metres, so you still learn to read the water. The docking and figure 8 work on a stable Sea-Doo is the same handling you'll use off any ramp.
Yes. A jet ski is a personal watercraft, so you need a PWC licence to ride one legally in Queensland. You must already hold a current recreational boat licence to sit the jet ski course on its own. If you do not have one yet, our Boat and Jet Ski Combo covers both in a single day.
The course fee covers your online theory, the theory recap and assessment on the day, your one-on-one practical session on the jet ski, and your first practical assessment. Current pricing shows in the booking calendar once you pick a date and location. Remember the jet ski course assumes you already hold a boat licence, so if you do not, the combo is the course you want.
You must be at least 16 to hold a recreational marine or PWC licence in Queensland. You can operate a powered boat without holding one at any age, as long as someone with a valid marine licence is supervising you on board. Sixteenth birthdays are a popular time to book, so it is worth getting the course done early.
What a personal watercraft licence covers in Queensland, how it differs from a boat licence, the age rules, and how to get your jet ski licence in a day on the Sunshine Coast.
A simple checklist for your boat or jet ski licence course day on the Sunshine Coast: ID, what to wear, sun protection, and what we provide so you can just turn up and learn.
You'll tow to every ride, so make the ski the easy part. Learn it on the Passage with a trainer beside you, then plan your launches around the tide. Choose a Caloundra date on the calendar, or call 0427 110 025 and we'll help you pick the right course.
