Anchorage

Daufuskie

Shelter: NW, N, NE, W, E, SW, S, SE
Seabed: mud
Anchoring: Allowed

Anchorage in the waters off Daufuskie Island, the southernmost inhabited sea island of South Carolina, on a mud bottom that gives all-round shelter.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Daufuskie lies between Hilton Head and Savannah, ringed by Calibogue Sound, the Cooper River and the New River. The island is reached only by ferry or barge. Holding is on mud. Freeport Marina lies 1.9 miles to the south-west and Harbour Town Yacht Basin 2.5 miles to the south-east, both with fuel and provisions.

Ashore

The Daufuskie Island History Museum occupies the early 1930s Mary Field School. Two disused lighthouses stand on the island: the Haig Point Light of 1873 and the Bloody Point Light, which guided shipping into the Savannah channel from 1883 to 1922. Gullah cottages, art galleries and a protected wildland area lie along the island lanes.

History

After emancipation the Gullah people of Daufuskie, descendants of enslaved Africans from the rice and Sea Island cotton plantations, lived in isolation here and kept a culture with strong African roots. Pat Conroy taught at the Mary Field School in 1969 and drew on the experience for his 1972 book The Water Is Wide, filmed as Conrack.

Key facts

Type: Anchorage
Coordinates: 32.16143, -80.85250 (32°9.69'N 80°51.15'W)
Country: United States
Shelter: Sheltered from north-west, north, north-east, west, east, south-west, south, south-east winds
Seabed: mud
Anchoring: Allowed
Boaters' rating: 5.0/5
Updated: July 7, 2026