Speed limits on Sydney Harbour aren’t about going fast. On Capri you can’t — she tops out under 22 km/h. They are about wash, the wave a boat drags behind it, and about keeping clear of things that can’t get out of your way. Once you understand those two ideas, the signs make sense.
Knots, quickly
Boat speeds are in knots. One knot is about 1.85 km/h, so 4 knots is roughly 7.4 km/h — a brisk walk. Ten knots is about 18.5 km/h, which is the ceiling for licence-free vessels and roughly where Capri lives when you open her up.
4-knot zones
A 4-knot zone is the harbour’s version of a school zone. You will find them in bays, near moorings, around marinas and wharves, and in narrow stretches. At 4 knots a boat makes almost no wash, and you have time to react to a swimmer, a kayak or a dinghy appearing from behind a moored boat. On Capri, 4 knots is a touch above idle. Look for the signs at the entrance to bays and near the shore.
No-wash zones
No wash means exactly that: your boat must not leave a wave that could disturb other vessels, people or the shore. It isn’t a number; it is a result. On a heavy pontoon that means idling. If you are throwing a wake behind you, you are going too fast for the zone whatever the speedo says. Typical places: around moored boats, alongside seawalls and pools, past rowing clubs and sailing schools.
Distances
NSW rules set minimum distances from people in the water, from other vessels, from the shore and from structures when travelling at speed. The exact metres at each speed are TBC for this post; the principle for a first-time driver is simple: if you are near anything, slow to 4 knots, and give swimmers and paddlers as much room as the water allows.
Ferries and the Quay
Ferries have priority in practice: they are bigger, faster and on a schedule. Keep clear of ferry wharves, never cut across a ferry’s bow, and stay out of Circular Quay and Sydney Cove altogether — they are exclusion zones for Capri, along with Woolloomooloo Bay and the major terminals. You see the Opera House from Farm Cove, outside the exclusion zone, and it is a better photo anyway.
Keep right
Boats pass port to port — keep to the right of a channel, as on the road. When two powered boats cross, the one with the other on its right gives way. Sailing boats, paddlers and rowers get room. If you are unsure, slow down: everything on the harbour is easier at 4 knots.
Under the Bridge and around the icons
The stretch under the Bridge and past the Opera House is busy: ferries, tour boats, yachts, kayaks. Ease off before you reach it, hold a steady line, and don’t stop dead in a channel for a photo — drift to one side, out of the traffic. Any exclusion areas around the Bridge and Opera House on a given day are TBC and marked on your map.
Anchoring
Where you may and may not anchor inside the hire area is TBC and covered at your induction. Never anchor in a channel, near a ferry route, on rocks or ramps, or in a no-anchoring area, and never leave the boat unattended.
Where this leaves a first-timer
Capri does most of it for you by being slow and heavy. Your job is to watch for signs at the entrance to bays, drop to idle around moorings and swimmers, keep right, keep clear of ferries and stay inside the hire area. Do that and you will spend the day hearing the music, not a warning from a patrol boat.