Your two closest ramps sit in different council areas and follow different tide rules. The licence course runs on the Passage they both reach, at Caloundra.
Two ramps are closest to Glass House Mountains, and for a jet ski they aren't equal. Roys Road at Coochin Creek is nearest and isn't restricted at low tide. Donnybrook at Grant Lane comes next, sits in a different local government area, and is flagged low tide restricted. Knowing that before you tow saves a wasted trip. The licence itself happens at our Caloundra course on the Pumicestone Passage. You finish the theory online, then turn up for a theory recap, the assessment and a one-on-one practical on our ski. We supply the jet ski, lifejackets and gear. Hold no boat licence yet? The Boat and Jet Ski Combo gets you both classes.
Look east from the lookout and you can't see the water your ski will ride on. It's there all the same. Sunshine Coast Council names six creeks feeding the Pumicestone Passage, and two of them, Coonowrin and Tibrogargan, share their names with peaks on your skyline. The whole catchment covers 785 square kilometres, draining east off the D'Aguilar Range and the Glass House Mountains. Your creeks go to the Passage. Your ski goes there by trailer, because the locality has no public ramp or water access point of its own. So the local picture is simple enough. The creeks run east on their own, and your ski follows them on a trailer. The rest of this page covers that drive and launch, plus the licence that lets you ride once you're on the water.
The ramp choice is the first real decision a Glass House rider makes, and most people make it off a map. That's where it goes wrong.
Roys Road at Coochin Creek is the closest ramp. Maritime Safety Queensland records it with a slope of 8 and lists it as not restricted at low tide. It's state owned, council managed, one lane, 15 car parks. For a ski that means you can launch and pull out without timing the day to the tide, though you'll still share a single lane.
Donnybrook at Grant Lane is the next closest. On paper it looks like a fair swap. It isn't the same deal. It falls in a different local government area, and it carries the low tide restricted flag that Roys Road doesn't. Turn up at Donnybrook on a low tide with the ski on the back and you may be waiting a while.
So here's a simple rule for new riders: default to Roys Road, and treat Donnybrook as a tide-dependent option you check before you leave home.
One warning on the Roys Road trip. Queensland Parks sends traffic for that road in from the Bruce Highway at Exit 179, rather than Steve Irwin Way, and the Coochin Creek camping area you pass on the way is not the launch.
Whichever ramp you pick, you end up on the same water. The Pumicestone Passage is about 80% less than two metres deep, and tides flush it from Caloundra and Deception Bay. The ramp can be free of tide limits and the water past it still shallow. That's the skill our Caloundra course teaches, because we train on that Passage.
What you need to book: a jet ski is a personal watercraft, and riding one yourself needs a recreational marine licence plus a PWC licence. If you already hold a boat licence, book the jet ski course on its own. If not, the Combo covers both. Theory is online and must be done within three months before the practical. On the day, your one-on-one ski time is on a Seadoo with braking, reverse and a learner mode. It's stable, which helps with docking and the figure 8 at assessment. If you need more time on the water to feel competent, we'd rather you took it.
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.
It's the second closest ramp to Glass House Mountains, so it looks like an easy alternative when Roys Road is busy.
Donnybrook is flagged low tide restricted, where Roys Road is not. Getting the ski off or back on can depend on when you arrive.
We name both ramps and the tide difference, so you pick on the record. ABC Boating's ramp guide also says to time a retrieval for after the tide has come up where a ramp drops off at low water.
They're both short trips from Glass House Mountains, so they feel like part of the same local area.
Donnybrook sits in a different local government area from Roys Road. If you ever need to check a ramp notice or closure, you need the right council.
We point out which is which. Your licence is a Queensland licence, so it travels with you either way, and it doesn't need renewing.
The peaks dominate the view and the Passage is out of sight.
Council's own list of creeks feeding the Pumicestone Passage includes Coonowrin and Tibrogargan. The water you'd ride on is the same system your local creeks drain into.
Our Caloundra course trains on the Passage, so the water you learn on is the water those creeks run into.
Roys Road is recorded as not restricted at low tide, which feels like the tide question is settled.
The ramp is fine, but the Passage past it is about 80% under two metres deep. A ski can reach shallow water fast.
Depth and tide reading is taught on the Passage itself at the Caloundra course, with an instructor on the water with you.
It feels natural to sort the craft first and the paperwork later.
A Queensland marine licence is valid for life once issued, so there's no benefit in waiting. And you don't need your own ski to train. Waiting just pushes back the first day you can take it out on your own.
We supply the jet ski and gear for the course, so you can be licensed and ready before the new ski arrives.
Where you train
Caloundra
Churchill Street, Golden Beach QLD 4551
Check us on the public record. The Queensland Government's BoatSafe provider register lists Australian Boating College at Caloundra with 0427 110 025, the number on this page. The course is delivered by Australian Boating College, trading name of ABC Licence Training Pty Ltd, holder of RTO 3399 on the national register. We don't ask you to take that on trust. Both registers are free to search, and the links are on this page. 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.
BoatSafe Approved
Approved by Maritime Safety Queensland to deliver the BoatSafe recreational marine and PWC licence courses.
VerifyNationally Accredited Training
Courses are delivered under the registration of Australian Boating College, RTO #3399, so the training is nationally accredited.
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Part of the Australian Boating College network, which delivers boat and PWC licence training across Australia.
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Rated 5 stars on Google by students across the Sunshine Coast. Read the reviews on our Google profile.
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From Glass House Mountains, near the Glass House Mountains lookout, it is along Steve Irwin Way and Caloundra Road to our Caloundra base on the Pumicestone Passage. The Glass House Mountains district is inland bushland and farming country, so training runs down on the sheltered Pumicestone Passage at Caloundra. We run the jet ski licence there with all equipment provided, so Glass House Mountains locals can get licensed close to home.
Tell us the date that suits you near Glass House Mountains and our team will come back to you, usually within one business day. Prefer to talk it through? Give us a call.
For most days, Roys Road. It's the closest ramp to Glass House Mountains and it isn't low tide restricted. Donnybrook at Grant Lane is next closest but carries the low tide restricted flag. Use Donnybrook when the tide suits, and check before you leave home.
No. Donnybrook at Grant Lane sits in a different local government area from Roys Road. That matters if you're looking up a ramp closure or notice. It doesn't change your licence, which is issued by Queensland and works on any Queensland water.
Yes. It's a Queensland marine licence, and once you hold it you don't need to renew it. The Queensland Government says it's valid for life. Keep in mind that local speed limits and zones still change from one waterway to the next.
Yes. Sunshine Coast Council lists Bells, Mellum, Coochin, Coonowrin, Tibrogargan and Elimbah Creeks as the streams feeding the Pumicestone Passage. The creeks themselves aren't launch points, since no public ramp is recorded in the locality. The Passage they feed is where your ski goes.
Take your statement of competency to a transport and motoring customer service centre, or a QGAP office that handles marine licensing. You'll need the F2334 application form, proof of identity and the government licence fee, and it's worth calling ahead first. The statement is only valid for 6 months, so don't leave it in a drawer.
Search the Queensland Government's BoatSafe training provider register. It lists Australian Boating College at Caloundra under 0427 110 025. You can also look up RTO 3399 on training.gov.au, where it's held by ABC Licence Training Pty Ltd, trading as Australian Boating College.
Handling tasks such as docking and the figure 8, plus other manoeuvres. Our Seadoo has braking, reverse and a learner mode, and it's very stable, which makes those tasks easier to get right. The official PWC practical assessment sheet from Queensland's transport department is linked from Australian Boating College's Caloundra page, along with Maritime Safety Queensland's demonstration videos, so you can see what's coming before course day. You'll practise each task one-on-one before you're assessed.
No, they are separate classes in Queensland, and they are not independent: the jet ski (PWC) course assumes you already hold a current recreational boat licence. If you hold one, you can book the jet ski course on its own. If you do not, the Boat and Jet Ski Combo covers both licences in one day.
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.
Yes. You do not need your own boat, jet ski or gear. We provide the vessels, lifejackets and all training equipment, plus the launch sites and sheltered water at all three locations. Just bring photo ID, sun protection and clothes you do not mind getting a little wet, and we take care of the rest.
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.
Settle the ramp question now and the licence question with us. Book a Caloundra date online, do the theory from home in the evenings, and you'll turn up on the day ready to ride. Not sure whether you need the jet ski course or the Combo? Call 0427 110 025 and we'll sort it out in a minute.
