Best anchorages and harbours in New England

Back Harbor (Sandy Bay)

Anchorage in Sandy Bay off Rockport, Cape Ann, with a sand bottom and the Sandy Bay Yacht Club 0.2 nm to the south-east.

• Sheltered W, SW, S, SE

Matinicus Harbor

Harbour on the east side of Matinicus Island, the most seaward inhabited island of Penobscot Bay, Maine, 22 nm from Rockland.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S, SE

Rockland Harbor

Working harbour on the western shore of Penobscot Bay, Maine, sheltered by a granite breakwater nearly a mile long.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW, W, NW

Hop-O-Nose Marina

Full-service marina on Catskill Creek at Catskill, New York, near Hudson River mile 112.

Sheep Island

Mooring in Castine Harbor at the mouth of the Bagaduce River, head of Penobscot Bay, Maine, on a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE, S, SW, W

Long beach point

Anchorage off Long Beach Point, the low sandbar that separates Orient Harbor from Gardiners Bay at the tip of Long Island's North Fork, New York.

• Sheltered NE, E, SW, S, SE

Majors Harbor

Anchorage on the south-east side of Gardiners Island, set on the east side of Gardiners Bay between the forks of eastern Long Island, New York.

• Sheltered NW, N, NE, E, S, SE

Menemsha Bight

Anchorage in Menemsha Bight on the north-west shore of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, about 2.5 miles east of Gay Head, with a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NE, W, E, SW, S, SE

South Montauk Lake

Anchorage at the southern end of Lake Montauk, a 900-acre embayment on the eastern tip of Long Island, New York.

• Sheltered W, E, SW, S, SE

Warren XOVE

Temporary anchorage in the southern reach of Plymouth Bay, Massachusetts, off Warren Avenue between Plymouth Beach and Rocky Point.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Belden Point

Mooring field off the west side of City Island in Eastchester Bay, the Bronx, New York, on a mud bottom.

• Sheltered NE, E, SE

Edgartown Harbour

Harbour on the east side of Martha's Vineyard, with anchoring permitted in the outer harbour over a sand bottom.

• Sheltered E, SW, S, SE

Oyster Bay anchorage

Anchorage in Oyster Bay on the north shore of Long Island, off Centre Island, opening onto Long Island Sound.

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

Buck's Harbor Marina

Full-service marina in a deep-water harbour at the head of Eggemoggin Reach, near South Brooksville on the Maine coast.

Champlin's Marina

Large marina on the Great Salt Pond at Block Island, one of New England's main offshore yachting destinations.

Oak Bluffs

Town marina on the north shore of Martha's Vineyard, with 81 berths and 50 moorings.

Cape Elizabeth - Little Cove

Small open cove on the Cape Elizabeth shore at the southern edge of Casco Bay, Maine, on a sand bottom with shelter from NW through W round to S.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S

Mystic Shipyard

Marina at Cape Vincent, New York, near the entrance of the St. Lawrence River off Lake Ontario.

Noroton Yacht Club

Private family sailing club founded in 1928 on Noroton Bay at Darien, Connecticut, just west of Long Neck Point.

Portsmouth Yacht Club

Member yacht club at New Castle, New Hampshire, on the Piscataqua River, with visitor moorings and a public fuel berth.

3rd beach

Anchorage off Third Beach at Middletown, Rhode Island, on the west side of the entrance to the Sakonnet River, on sand and mud.

• Sheltered NW, W, SW, S, SE

Norwalk Cove Marina

Full-service marina with over 400 berths on the Norwalk River at East Norwalk, Connecticut.

Port Jefferson Yacht Club

Sailing club on Port Jefferson Harbour, a deep-water harbour on the North Shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York.

Seal Ledge

Anchorage near Seal Ledge on the south-western side of Rockland Harbour, Maine. Mud bottom, sheltered.

• Sheltered NW, N, W, SW, S, SE

Sag Harbor Bay

Anchorage off the village of Sag Harbor, on Shelter Island Sound at the eastern end of Long Island, New York.

• Sheltered E, SE, S, SW, W, NW

Malletts Bay Anchorage

Anchorage on Lake Champlain off Burlington, Vermont, about 4 nautical miles north of Burlington Harbor Marina.

• Sheltered SE, S, SW

Dolphin Marine Services

Full-service marina and boatyard on the tip of Basin Point in South Harpswell, Maine, on Pott's Harbor in Casco Bay.

Block island

Anchorage in the Great Salt Pond at New Harbor on Block Island, Rhode Island, on a sand bottom. It is one of the busiest harbours in the Northeast.

• Sheltered N, NE, E, SE

Threemile Harbor

Anchorage in Three Mile Harbor at East Hampton, New York, sand bottom, sheltered from the west but exposed to winds from the south-west to north-west.

• Sheltered SW, W, NW

Cuttyhunk Pond

Enclosed pond at the western end of Cuttyhunk Island, the outermost of the Elizabeth Islands between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts.

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