Best anchorages and harbours in United States

IGY Yacht Haven Grande

Superyacht marina of 46 berths on the east side of Charlotte Amalie harbour on St. Thomas, taking yachts up to 656 feet, 200 metres, a short walk from the cruise ship dock and downtown.

Liberty Park Anchorage

Free anchorage off the Liberty State Park bulkhead in Jersey City, New Jersey, within New York Harbor opposite Lower Manhattan.

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

Silver Bay Marina

Harbour-of-refuge marina of around 108 berths on Lake Superior's North Shore, about 55 miles by water north-east of Duluth, Minnesota.

Wiscasset

Town anchorage on the Sheepscot River in Maine, about 13 miles above the river mouth, in one of the deepest, ice-free harbours in the state.

• Sheltered NW, NE, W, E, SW, SE

Matia Island State Park

Marine state park anchorage in the San Juan Islands, Washington, off Rolfe Cove on the northwest side of Matia Island.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Point Roberts Marina Resort

Large marina on the south shore of Point Roberts, the US exclave at the tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula reachable from the rest of Washington only by sea, air, or by driving through Canada.

Compo Beach

Anchorage off Compo Beach in Long Island Sound, near the mouth of the Saugatuck River at Westport, Connecticut.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW

Puerto Real Sud

Anchorage in the southern part of Puerto Real harbour, 500 m south of Marina Puerto Real on the west coast of Puerto Rico.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SW, S, SE

Queen Mary Island

All-round sheltered anchorage in Kilkenny Creek off the Bear River, just off the Intracoastal Waterway in coastal Georgia, on a mud bottom.

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

Matanzas River

Anchorage on the Matanzas River off downtown St Augustine, Florida, on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, mud bottom.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Sailfish Point Marina

Private deep-water marina at the southern tip of Hutchinson Island in Stuart, Florida, with direct ocean access through the St Lucie Inlet.

Tropic Isle Anchorage

Anchorage on the Intracoastal Waterway at Delray Beach, Florida, with mud bottom and good all-round shelter.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, SW, W, NW

Aguadilla Pueblo

Anchorage off the town of Aguadilla, on the north-west coast of Puerto Rico, 1.9 NM south of Crash Boat Beach.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Bear Island

Anchorage off Bear Island, a 21-acre Maine Coast Heritage Trust conservation island on the eastern edge of Eggemoggin Reach near Deer Isle.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

Nantucket

240-berth marina inside Nantucket Harbour, on the north shore of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.

Safe Harbor Ballena Isle

Full-service marina on the bayfront of Alameda, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in California, with a view of the San Francisco skyline and the Bay Bridge.

Stillwater Cove

Anchorage on the north shore of Carmel Bay at Pebble Beach, California, in the lee of Pescadero Point.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, SE

York River Yacht Haven

Full-service marina of 280 berths at the mouth of Sarah Creek, on the lower York River opposite Yorktown in Gloucester Point, Virginia.

Apostle Islands Sandscapes

Anchorage among the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, Wisconsin, within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Frenchtown Harbor Marina

Small marina in Frenchtown, on the west shore of Charlotte Amalie harbour on St. Thomas, facing Hassel Island.

Hornbarn Cove

Quiet cove on the lower St. George River in mid-coast Maine, with a mud bottom and shelter from every quarter.

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

Peacock Park

Members' yacht club marina at Brickyard Cove in Richmond, California, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W

Pickering cove

Anchorage off Pickering Island in East Penobscot Bay, Maine, near the western end of Eggemoggin Reach. Mud bottom.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, W, E, SW

Puerta de San Juan

Anchorage under the walls of Old San Juan, off the Puerta de San Juan, the last surviving gate in the city walls, just inside the entrance to San Juan Bay.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Back Creek, Solomons Island

Anchorage further up Back Creek at Solomons Island, Maryland, set among the working marinas off the Patuxent River.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE, SW, W, NW

Bon Secour South Fork

Anchorage on the South Fork of the Bon Secour River, near Gulf Shores, Alabama, on a mud bottom with all-round shelter.

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

Caesar Creek

Anchorage in the channel separating Elliott Key and Old Rhodes Key, within Biscayne National Park south of Miami, Florida.

• Sheltered N, NE, W, E, SW, SE

Chesapeake bay

Anchorage in a cove off the Sassafras River near Georgetown, in the upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E

Nichol's Point

Anchorage near The Gut, the narrow passage between North Hero and South Hero islands on Lake Champlain, Vermont.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Cape May anchorage

Anchorage in Cape May Harbour at the southern tip of New Jersey, on a mud bottom, at the southern end of the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE