Finding a great spot to swim on the river is as easy as installing a swim ladder on your pontoon. It is best to install this at the rear away from your boat and to make sure that the swim ladder can fold up out of the water to avoid fouling – or consider anti foul paint to avoid any sharp surprises underfoot.
When swimming, be careful to avoid the sharp fouling and barnacles that will attach to your wharf and boats and the rocky shorelines. Homes in Berowra are generally deep waterfront, so a few noodles or flotation devices can help you to enjoy a swim about without the need for too much exertion; and they can also serve as a safety device.
If the tide is low and you prefer sand under your toes then the two best swimming beaches are in Calabash Bay and Joe Crafts Bay. For Calabash Bay, stick to the right as you head into the Bay and follow the Bay up toward the creek. The sand spit is opposite to the last house in the Bay. For Joe Crafts enter along the northern shoreline of the Bay and as you travel into the north-east corner of the Bay the sand bar will appear. The Southern corner of Joe Crafts tends to have sticks and mud more so than sandy beach.
Further afield there are plenty of great beaches and swimming spots along Berowra Creek and the Hawkesbury.
The age old question of course is ‘Are there any sharks?’ Whilst it would be foolish to provide an absolute and unequivocal answer and there are surely some small sharks in Berowra Waters, there have been no known recent shark attacks on people and no catches or sightings of any shark that would pose an issue for people.
We can never say never of course but most of us don’t lose sleep at night because we could be struck down by lightning tomorrow …. the odds of a shark attack in the Creek must be similar. We probably ought to not worry about sharks at all, but if you are a nervous type avoid swimming at dawn and dusk or in deep-water locations.
Water quality unfortunately can be degraded after heavy rains and whilst the estuary is in far better state than 20 years ago it is best to avoid swimming for at least three days after significant rain or flood events.