Boat rage spoils Sydney harbour dream lifestyle

It is the dream of every Sydneysider: a large house overlooking the harbour and a boat in the driveway for cruising about on the water at weekends.

The reality is less idyllic. Boat owners are queueing for hours to launch their vessels from a handful of decaying ramps, stoking arguments and confrontations. The shortage of entry points around the harbour is so acute this summer that incidents of "ramp rage" are at a record high.

"It's a very hostile environment," said Roy Privett, general manager of the Boating Industry Association. "There are no proper boarding pontoons, no holding areas and very limited parking. That can lead to conflict situations when many people are caught on the ramp for long periods of time, and it can be very unsafe."

Sydney's boat-owning population has risen by 62 per cent in the past decade, but no new ramps have been built for more than 20 years. There are just 15 ramps and many are in a poor state of repair.

At Rose Bay, in the eastern suburbs, long queues to get into the water are commonplace. One boat owner, Geoff Silvers, said the shortage of launch spots was causing conflicts between locals waiting their turn.

"If you take more than a few minutes, people get very impatient," he said. "There's a major accident just waiting to happen. I'd go somewhere else, but Rose Bay is the only ramp that gives you access to the outer harbour."

Another boat owner, Gabriel Ruizdiaz, tows his 15ft boat across the city to Rose Bay every weekend during the summer to fish off Sydney Heads, the towering cliffs that mark the entrance to the harbour.

Mr Ruizdiaz said there were often hundreds of people queuing at sunrise to use the old, slippery ramp, which is flanked by a ferry wharf and a seaplane terminal. Only two boats are allowed to enter the water at a time, and he said he often waits an hour to get afloat. "We grin and bear it and try not to let the aggro get to us," he said.

The industry body is lobbying for a new ramp to be built off Blackwattle Bay, just west of the city centre. Mr Privett said: "There has been a critical shortage of facilities for the past 10 to 15 years."