LI Sound and Marthas Vibneyard Cruise- Your favorite anchorages and spots

[chef2sail]

My wife and I are taking our annual 3 week cruise starting August 17 to September 7 from the Chesapeake. We have done this every year to first see new cruising places, gain more coastal experience for my wife as our retirement approaches ( we have been looking to get a larger boat and cruise the Carribean to Panama) and to escape the heat and Doldrums the Chesapeake is known for in August. The Chesapeake is a great place for spring and especially fall sailing and we sail up till December 15 usually and leave our boat in the water 4 years out of 5.

Our current boat is very manageable for the two of us with a keel centerboard draft of 4'8" to 6'8". It is equipped with radar and chartplotter, 720 ah house battery bank ( no need for the engine for 4 days), and a dinghy on davits so anchoring/ mooring is our preferred way to approach things with maybe a 3rd or 4th night in a slip. e like some fine dining ( go fingure as I used to be a chef), but prefer local seafood restaurants which the area is famous for.

We have cruised the LI Sound and South of Cape Cod and like returning to some of the places which are special to us that we like, but always like to add a few new Ports of Call in every year. We have visited the following places: Cape May, Barnegat Light, Atlantic Highlands, Jersey City Northport, Port Jefferson, Branford, Westport, Old Saybrooke, Mystic, Greenport, Coecles Harbor, Sag Harbor, Block Island, Newport, Cuttyhunk and Vineyard Haven.

Can any of you make suggestions of your favorite spots. If you have favorite anchorages, towns, hangouts, restaurants, cant miss things to see please include them.

Thank you in advance,

Dave

[chrisjs]

I would add Chatham (Stage Harbor) -- even better now that the Gt. Whites are in for the seals!! Also Menemsha (Martha's Vineyard), Padanaram (South Dartmouth), Hadley Harbor (opposite Wood's Hole) and for the best pizza in the Northeast -- Onset - at the end of the CC canal.
Enjoy your cruise.
Chris

[Cotemar]

If your going to Martha's Vineyard than you should try:
Tarpaulin Cove - Nice and quiet. Walk up to the lighthouse
Lake Tashmoo – Looks tight to get in, but is marked well and has 8 feet in the channel and the lake is deeper. Short walk to Vineyard Haven and much nicer. Great swimming.
Your only 25 miles from Nantucket at this point, so you may want to go the extra mile.

All these places you can drop anchor.

[chef2sail]

Chrisjs and Cotemar...thanks for the recommendations. We were thinking about Chatam so interesting to see you recommend it. I probably will save Onset for the next time we are up as we are planning on going through the canal and it would either be the perfect set up for exiting or entering the canal in terms of tide set up.

Taurpaulin Cove looks interesting too though open to the E/SE it appears.

Lake Tashmoo. How far from town? Are there dinghy docks? Is it crowded? It may be a good alternative to Vineyard Haven.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Dave

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by chef2sail

Chrisjs and Cotemar...thanks for the recommendations.

Taurpaulin Cove looks interesting too though open to the E/SE it appears.
Usually calm in there. Prevailing is SW, so its all good

Lake Tashmoo. How far from town? Are there dinghy docks? Is it crowded? It may be a good alternative to Vineyard Haven.
Thanks again for the suggestions.

Dave

Vinyard Haven is a 3/4 mile walk down a nicely tree shaded road.
Just put your dink at the town dock. Trash is across the street.
Much better than Vineyard Havens anchorage. This is like a bird
sanctuary.

[hugosalt]

Mattituck: restaurant at Mattimar Marina (think offer a deal thru Active captain) town dock, can walk nice town
Ct. River/Essex: historic town, several great restaurants, think Black Seal, Griswald, wooden boat museum, sl. further north
Deep River and Hamburg Cove (very crowded in season,
great but usually go in late Sept. or Oct. or can try during week)
North of Newport, Bristol, R.I....Herreshoff Museum (classic sail and motor indoor and out...spectacular!) Bristol good town.
If in Peconics come visit...if we're out there...North sea Harbor
south of Robbins Island..quiet anchorage/harbor...will arrange
5 minute ride into Southampton...lots of great restaurants.
or if we are/you are in western sound...
Manhasset Bay: protected bay, can anchor or pick up free 1st come 1st serve town moorings, always available and believe can stay 48 hours...Port Washington right there...great restaurants town dock, water taxi, close to supermarkets for provisioning.
Steppingstone Marina, our marina...west of Manhasset Bay...free guest moorings for our friends...concerts on the water Sat and Sun evenings ...good place to wait for tide going into East River
(one and half mile to Throgs Neck Bridge) great setting/park
but not much in way of services.
If interested in any of above...will go into specifics.
Enjoy,
Hugo