On the northern and north-western side of Peel Island (Teerk Roo Ra National Park), the Lazaret — also called Lazarette Gutter — is the bay’s classic southerly bolthole. When Horseshoe Bay on the southern side is a lee shore, this is where local sailors tuck in. Shelter from south-east through south-west is the main appeal; it is the dedicated northern Peel guide to pair with our Horseshoe Bay notes.

How to get there

Heading out from the leads at Manly Boat Harbour, the most direct route is between Green and King Islands, then south-east to Peel Island. Approach the northern side of the island rather than Horseshoe Bay. Yachts can work around either the western or eastern side of Peel; for the Lazaret, the northern / north-western shore is the destination.

Peel is typically under two hours from Manly in Yachtshare conditions — one of the easiest “proper” overnight options in the bay when the wind is in the south. Cardinal marks, reefs and rocks around the island are charted in the MSQ Beacon to Beacon guides; do not cut corners.

Anchorage Overview

Best winds: South-east through south-west (southerlies)

Depth: Typically a few metres in the gutter — sound carefully; room is limited

Bottom: Mixed — sand / mud near the shore; reefs and rocks nearby

Getting into the anchorage

Lazarette Gutter is a compact anchorage. Swinging room is limited and it can fill quickly on a southerly weekend, so arrive with a plan B (or accept that you may sit further out in less perfect shelter). Set plenty of chain, keep clear of reef patches, and watch the tide as the foreshore and mangrove fringe dry back.

Shore access to the historic lazaret precinct is restricted. Some buildings have been restored, but you need an authorised guided tour or a Friends of Peel Island Association (FOPIA) arrangement to enter — rangers do patrol and fines apply. The old jetty is long gone; a low-tide wade through mangroves is not a good idea. Treat this as primarily an afloat anchorage unless you have organised access.

Be alert for a northerly change: Horseshoe Bay is the better option when the breeze swings north, just as Lazaret is the better option when it is south.

What to do there

Fishing is the usual pastime here — many crews come specifically to wet a line near the reef to the north (check Moreton Bay Marine Park zoning first). Swimming is generally better on the Horseshoe Bay side of the island; local charter advice often steers swimmers away from this shore. Sunbathing on deck, a quiet lunch at anchor, and the short sail home are the rhythm of a Lazaret day.

Historically, Peel was a quarantine station, briefly a home for inebriates, and from 1907 to 1959 the site of Australia’s only multi-racial lazaret (leprosy / Hansen’s disease colony). The island is now Teerk Roo Ra National Park — “place of many shells” — jointly managed with Traditional Owners. Bush camping is available at Horseshoe Bay and Platypus Bay with a Queensland Parks permit; that is a different proposition to anchoring off the Lazaret itself.

Lazaret is an ideal overnight or lunch stop whenever a southerly makes Horseshoe untenable. It’s a favourite with Yachtshare owners who know Peel as a two-sided island — north for the south wind, south for the north.

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