Best anchorages and harbours in United States

Santa Maria Bay

Bay with a beach on the north coast of St. Thomas, west of Hull Bay towards the West End.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Belle bluff Marina

Small marina on the White Chimney River off Sapelo Sound, in Townsend, McIntosh County, Georgia, just inside the Atlantic ICW.

Burton island

Anchorage off Burton Island State Park in the Inland Sea of Lake Champlain, Vermont. Mud bottom, sheltered from the south-west through south-east.

• Sheltered SW, S, SE

Dismal Swamp Welcome Center Dock

Free 150 ft face dock at Milepost 28 of the Dismal Swamp Canal, on the east bank opposite the Dismal Swamp State Park, South Mills, North Carolina.

Green Cay Marina at Tamarind Reef Resort

Marina of 154 berths at Tamarind Reef Resort on the north-east coast of St. Croix, about 4 km east of Christiansted and under 3 miles from Buck Island.

Frederiksted

Open roadstead off Frederiksted, on the west coast of St. Croix, beside the town's cruise ship pier.

• Sheltered NE, E, S, SE

Weston Creek

Anchorage on the East River off Mobjack Bay, Mathews County, Virginia. Mud bottom, sheltered among marsh.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Boot Key Harbor

Anchorage and mooring harbour at Boot Key, Marathon, in the Florida Keys, sheltered from all directions on a sand bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Buck Island, St. Thomas

Moorings on the west side of Buck Island, the small island and National Wildlife Refuge off the south-east coast of St. Thomas.

• Sheltered N, NE, E

Sheraton Hotel & Marina

Hotel marina on Harbor Island in San Diego Bay, on the north shore opposite the airport runway, with berths for visiting yachts up to 60 feet.

St Marys , Georgia

Large anchorage off the waterfront town of St Marys, Georgia, on the St Marys River about 4.5 miles west of the ICW near the Florida border.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S

Town of Wareham Moorings

Transient mooring buoys managed by the Wareham harbour master on the Wareham River, a tributary of Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Yellow Bank

US Navy recreation marina on Bayou Grande, at the north-east corner of Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SE

Amelia Island Marina

Full-service marina in a protected basin at Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, with access to the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic.

Bahía de San Juan

Anchorage in San Juan Bay, 0.8 NM south of the walls of Old San Juan, on the north coast of Puerto Rico.

• Sheltered NW, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Kittery Point

Mooring and anchorage area at Pepperrell Cove, just inside the mouth of the Piscataqua River in southern Maine.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW

Little River Inlet

Inlet anchorage where the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway meets the sea near Calabash, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, S, SE

Mangroves

Anchorage among the mangrove cays 3.2 NM south-east of Salinas, west of the entrance to Jobos Bay on the south coast of Puerto Rico.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S

Olde Towne Yacht Club

Marina of 96 berths on Taylors Creek at Beaufort, North Carolina, close to the Beaufort Inlet and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Tektite Reef

Dive mooring off Cabritte Horn, on the east side of Great Lameshur Bay on St. John, over the reef where the Tektite underwater habitat sat in 1969 and 1970.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, S, SE

Thimble Islands

Archipelago of pink-granite islands and rocky outcrops in Long Island Sound, off Stony Creek in Branford, Connecticut.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, S, SE

Trunk Bay

Bay on the north shore of St. John within Virgin Islands National Park, with the park's underwater snorkelling trail around Trunk Cay.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Banana River/ Canaveral

Anchorage in the Banana River near Port Canaveral, by the Canaveral Barge Canal in Brevard County, Florida.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Bahía de Boquerón

Anchorage in Boquerón Bay, Cabo Rojo, on the west coast of Puerto Rico, often described by cruisers as the most popular anchorage on the island.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, S, SE

Log Point

Anchorage off Elliott Key in Biscayne National Park, Florida. Sand bottom with good holding, sheltered from the north through south.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S

Squirrel Creek

Quiet tidal creek anchorage on the lower Eastern Shore of Virginia, off the Chesapeake Bay.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Puerto de Arecibo

Anchorage in the harbour of Arecibo on the north coast of Puerto Rico, close under Punta Morrillos and its 1898 lighthouse.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SW, S, SE

Blue Bay

Anchorage on Aquia Creek off the Potomac River in northern Virginia, about 45 miles south of Washington.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, NW

Brenton Cove

Anchorage and mooring field in Newport Harbour, Rhode Island, off Fort Adams State Park, on a sand and mud bottom.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Las Olas Marina

Deep-water yacht marina on the Intracoastal Waterway at Fort Lauderdale, between the Las Olas Boulevard bridge and the beach.