Best/Good/Interesting Places to Go/Stop At on US East Coast

[Ziggy]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I did, see post 5. But here a couple, but may have listed before.

Battleship Cove in Falls River Ma - don't get more protected than having a battleship block the weather

Hurricane Hole Maine - exciting to get into, quiet

I know a few good hurricane holes in Maine, but none that are called "Hurricane Hole." Where is it?

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Ziggy

I know a few good hurricane holes in Maine, but none that are called "Hurricane Hole." Where is it?

Guess it is called "The Basin" up river from Cundys Harbor.

Lots of places sound the same in my mind after a while

[searoom]

A few of our favorites heading east past Boston -

Wentworth Marina in Little Harbor New Castle, NH easy access from offshore. Portsmouth is a great old town with plenty to do.

Handy Boat Service Falmouth Foreside, Maine close to Portland with great moorings, restaurant and top notch boat
service and repair.

Sebasco Estates Bath, Maine at far east end Casco Bay.
Well protected mooring field with launch service and pub restaurant.

Biddeford Pool, Maine very friendly welcoming Yacht Club in the pool. Well protected and nice little town with seafood market and great beach.

[searoom]

The basin off the New Meadows River just up from Sebasco Estates. A good storm anchorage.
Harraseeket River in Freeport, Maine home to LL Bean is
very well protected.
Round Pond Harbor mid coast.
RobinHood Marina East Casco Bay in Georgetown, Maine.
All pretty good places to hide from weather.

[searoom]

Another is Snow Island in Quahog Bay. Dodge Morgan’s
island retreat many ospreys and bald eagles

Tucked away east end Casco.

[Achernome]

There are hundreds of lovely places between Key West, Florida and Cutler, Maine. Some of the highlights we love (from South to North)

Saddlebunch Harbour, Florida Keys

No Name Harbor, Florida Keys

Jobe Sound Sand bar, Florida

Manatee Pocket, Stuart, FL

Ft Pierce, FL Municipal Marina

Wabasso Bridge Anchorage near Vero Beach

Anchor off of Eau Gallie Yacht Club in the Banana River

Haulover Creek near the Space center- Manatees Galore

St Augustine, FL

Georgia ICW, south of Savannah, anchoring in the grasses

Georgia ICW, Darien River

Wahoo Creek, Behind Wahoo Island, GA ICW

Chowan Creek, South of Beaufort SC

Bohicket Creek, John's Island SC

Steamboat Creek (the dolphin herding fish onto the shore), SC

Awandaw Creek, SC

Waccamaw River, SC Gliding throught the Cypress swamps is amazing, Best Anchiorages include Bull Creek, SC, Osprey Marina,SC

Southport, NC

Wrightsville Beach/Masonboro inlet, NC

Cape Lookout Bight...Amazing place to spend a few days anchored! We have seen Whales and hundreds of sea turtles there.

Broad Creek (near River Dunes Marina), NC
Either End of the Alligator River- The north end up the Little Alligaor is probably the best for sheer isolation

Gotta Try the Roast Beef at Coinjock...I'm just saying...

Great Bridge, VA -Free Dock or AYB

Jackson Creek, VA near Deltaville

Mill Creek opposite Reedsville, VA- Quiet isolation

Solomons, MD- Calvert Museum is really nice

St Michaels, MD (Across the bay). We usually anchor in San Domingo Creek and dingy to the fisherman's docks. Much less crowded and easier in and out

Harness Creek, MD very crowded on the weekends but very pretty.

Annapolis- You can't pass up Annapolis!

Sassafrass River, Anchor by Turner's Creek. Brave souls have taken their vessels into Turner's Creek but I was chicken.

Once you leave the small harbor of refuge at Chesapeake City in the the C&D canal there isn't much of note in our logs until you get to New York. We have been into Cape May and weren't impressed. Once we shot into Manasquan Inlet in NJ. A real nail-biter even in calm weather. We usually go offshore to Cuttyhunk or Onset Beach heading North and return via Long Island Sound but, I will note the Long Island Sound highlights as if you were doing it first.

New York City- I hate most cities, but NYC is special. We stay in Port Washington on the free moorings and take a day trip into town.

Port Washington itself is really nice as well.

Most of the cities on the CT side of the sound west of Milford are either industrial in nature and not particularly good for cruisers or they are very exclusive and expensive. We haven't visited these spots since the 1980's

Past Milford things are more interesting.

Connecticut River- Sail 3-4 miles up to Old Lyme Marina (excellent place for service). Another 3 Miles takes you to Hamburg Cove. If you are very adventurous, 1.5 miles north of Hamburg one can tie off to the cliffs in Selden Creek. You can't be much more than 35 ft LOA to turn around although the depths are 20-30 ft at low tide in parts the cut.

Coecles Harbor, across the Sound inside Shelter Island is a great Birding place. All of Gardiner's Bay is quite Scenic as is Montauk.

Mystic, CT has a really cool Museum and town. The whaling ship Charles Morgan is Berthed there as well as other historic craft.

Near Watch Hill RI, There is an anchorage in "Little Narragansett" called the Kitchen. Sand bottom and well protected you can dinghy to shore across the nesting grounds of the Piping Plover to the Ocean Side of Nappatree Beach.

Block Island (Great Salt Pond is worth a visit if you've never been there but we tend to avoid it now since it can be very crowded and the holding in the small area where boats are allowed to anchor instead of taking an outrageously priced mooring is poor in shells and loose sand.

Don't miss Cuttyhunk. The inner harbor is for smaller boats (under 40 ft). there is plenty of room outside the inner harbor for larger craft.

We've stayed on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket years ago but have given them a miss since we were there in the 1980's.

There are a lifetime of places to visit in Narragansett Bay and this corner of New England but our favorite anchorage is in Buzzard's Bay. Anchor in Onset, MA (opposite the PIYC) or taking a mooring from them. It sets you up nicely for the Cape Cod Canal trip as well. The town is reminiscent of a quiet beach town in the late 1950's and so appeals to us. If you are into disco, or whatever it is probably not your style.

Once through the Canal we hop up to Maine in many small steps

Scituate, MA great seafood store-fabulous guitar store

Boston, MA

Salem, MA House of Seven Gables, Schooner When and If

Gloucester Harbor, MA

Isle of Shoals, NH- Don't miss this place. You are welcome to pick up an unused mooring from the Portsmouth Yacht Club without charge. If the owner shows up he will usually just grab another. It is not safe to try and anchor.

York, ME mooring in the middle of the harbor are great.

Kennebunkport, ME- No place to anchor but Chick's Marina was a taste of the high life!

Skip Portland but the Islands in Caasco Bay are Pretty. We liked Potts Harbor

There are another lifetime of bays and rivers to explore between Portland and Boothbay but we always felt that Maine didn't really start until Boothbay.
From there It is a short hop to Penobscot Bay and the cruising nirvana of Downeast Maine.
Matinicus Rock (Nesting Atlantic Puffins flying about)

Matinicus Island Harbor,
700 Acre Island/Warren Island

Camden- Many restored Schooners taking passengers by the hour, day or week.

Belfast- a much less touristy town than Camden and arguably the best boatyard on the east coast- Front Street Shipyard.

Stockton Harbor and then turning down the eastern side of the bay,

Castine- voted prettiest town in Maine

Holbrook Harbor - Great Seal Show on the rocks

Following Eggemoggin Reach south there is Orcutt Harbor, Benjamin River,
Anchorages throughout Merchant's Row, Stonington on Deer Island, Buckle Harbor, Blue Hill Bay and . Pretty Marsh Harbor, Somes Sound, Northeast Harbor, and around to Frenchman's Bay.

Bar Harbor is a true tourist trap but interesting none-the-less- Worth a night on your way to Sorrento and points east in Flander's Bay. Saw a moose swimming in Flander's Bay once.

Get around Schoodic point and head East to Mistake Island, The Cow Pen and eventually Roche Island.

Jonesport is the only "town" around. it is mostly just a fisherman's village. Everybody is related. The Islanders are very friendly and we have had some great times with local folks from Beal Island on their lobster boats. There were no restaurants when we visited but there is a Hamilton Marine outlet there. Lobstering at its finest!

We have gone as far down east as Cutler (which is a fishing village that was not really all that interesting and wasn't really interested in visitors)

If you want's to keep going East, you'll need someone else's first hand experience.

Good luck with your voyage. We are gaining years too fast and probably won't make it past the Chesapeake ourselves this summer. Maine is beautiful though for those with the stamina to get there!



























Solomons (Don't Miss)

[Achernome]

Been there too. Good Mud stay well away from the rock in the middle off Denny Reed's Point. If you have to let out scope it can get in the way. Yep, we know about that.

[gwilliamson01]

Great list, but Wilmington is in NC

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Achernome

Harness Creek, MD very crowded on the weekends but very pretty.

Annapolis- You can't pass up Annapolis!

I live off Harness Creek, up near the headwaters where the depth is two feet. *grin*

There is a small dock in Quiet Waters Park used by the kayak rental outfit. If you're polite they'll let you tie your dinghy there. Walk up through the park and you come out where Bay Ridge Ave, Bay Ridge Rd, and Hillsmere come together: West Marine, laundromat, True Value (propane), Giant, and Fawcett. A bit of a walk but no further than walking down Edgewood Rd from the marinas and anchorages on Back Creek. Definitely a more pleasant walk.

True Value now has propane tank pickup and delivery service on Fridays. If you use that tell them Dave on Auspicious sent you - it took me two years to talk the owner into that service to cruisers.

The laundromat on Hillsmere across from West Marine has fluff and fold service.

[Achernome]

I didn't think I mentioned Wilmington, NC. We stayed there for over a year in 2011 while rebuilding our boat. Bennett Brothers was a cool place for a while but there have been many changes and most of the old crew is gone. Downtown at the town dock is great as well. You are in the middle of the historic district with great bars and restaurants. Don't miss the Dixie Grill Breakfasts! The battleship Is an interesting tour too.

That being said I didn't really include it as one of our favorites because the river can be very dirty and plugs your intake strainers as well as it being almost 60 miles round trip out of your way. Fighting that current for hours on the way up.

[Cadence]

This may be redundant. Scratch Awandaw Creek. The oyster rake at the mouth is only for few locals to handle and it is narrow with no room to anchor.

[gwilliamson01]

Hey Achernome - it wasn't your post that had Wilmington in SC, it was Pete the Cat's post. Anyway, thanks for the detailed info on the nearby waters - we were going to cruise up to Wilmington this past summer, since one of my daughters was attending UNCW - but thanks to COVID, we decided to stay home in Florida.

[JimmyDarci]

All excellent suggestions on this thread.
Add:
Watch Hill, RI - Napatree Poont is one of the most sheltered and tranquil anchorages in Southern New England. Large sand dunes separate tour calm waters from the surf that provides sound ambience all night. Dark for star gazing. June and September/October great any night. July/August can be more crowded. Good restaurants a dinghy ride away. Reminiscent of outer banks but up north.
Add Stonington CT to the list. Mystic nice but too far up river and too touristy- Uber over from Stonington or Watch Hill.