The reality of finding a place to anchor or moor

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Jammer

So, what's the situation now for cruising boats? Are there good, usable free anchorages? Are prices reasonable at mooring fields? What is availability like? Are we on our way to a situation where reservations must be made in advance and a calendar must be followed? How does the situation vary regionally?

Free to anchor, BUT may be a $15 fee to use a dock and leave the dinghy to go into town.

$15-20/day moorings SE USA, $120-150/wk, $320-375/month. But in the NE I've paid $60/night for a mooring

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by CFS Klopas

Free anchorages in Southern Lake Michigan are rare, pretty much limited to inside parts of the Milwaukee and Chicago breakwaters. I have not heard of a complicated system like San Diego, harbors simply prohibit it. Northern Lake Michigan is much more hospitable.

Good to know CFS. Lake Michigan is the one Great Lake I never explored. As you say, northern Michigan looks like there are lots of good places to drop the hook. Much south of Green Bay and the shoreline on both sides looks pretty exposed — can’t see many good natural places to anchor.

One does have to make choices about where to go if free anchoring and low crowds are a priority. There are places I’ve avoided b/c of the lack of anchoring possibilities. When we sailed the St. Lawrence to Newfoundland this past season we chose the north shore of the river over the south b/c it looked like the anchoring was better, and the population was lower.

BP, I do wonder about the “need” for constant communication most cruisers now seem to have. And I wonder if this concentrates people in fewer places than in the past. If so, that’s great — for oddballs like me .

[Sailmonkey]

The gulf coast icw of Texas and Louisiana has thousands of places to anchor if your draft is shallow enough, all free.

Mexico, Belize, Guatemala. No anchoring restrictions that we ever found. Only paid park fees in certain parts of Belize.

[Mhwalker]

Usually 30 a night for moorings
Anchorages are always free for me in Toms River, Nj

[a64pilot]

Now that is all S Fl. Panhandle you can wander around and anchor as you please, and I have never paid to park my dinghy even in Clearwater etc.
Go further South though somewhere around Tampa and things change, drastically.

[ctl411]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Good to know CFS. Lake Michigan is the one Great Lake I never explored. As you say, northern Michigan looks like there are lots of good places to drop the hook. Much south of Green Bay and the shoreline on both sides looks pretty exposed — can’t see many good natural places to anchor.

One does have to make choices about where to go if free anchoring and low crowds are a priority. There are places I’ve avoided b/c of the lack of anchoring possibilities. When we sailed the St. Lawrence to Newfoundland this past season we chose the north shore of the river over the south b/c it looked like the anchoring was better, and the population was lower.

BP, I do wonder about the “need” for constant communication most cruisers now seem to have. And I wonder if this concentrates people in fewer places than in the past. If so, that’s great — for oddballs like me .

You can anchor down the Michigan side of the lake all the way down to Saugatuck.
Would be interested on more information on anchoring in Milwaukee if anyone has it..

[Group9]

Once you throw southern Florida out of the equation, the whole rest of the southern states are still pretty free and unrestricted as far as anchoring and cruising go.

[Augi]

I read somewhere that for those in RV's on wheels Walmart let's you use their parking lots. Not sure what the limitations / rules are. I wonder what would happen if you hauled your boat out and moved it over to the Walmart parking lot.

[Boston Blackie]

Ahoy Mike,

We too love Canadian Maritime Cruising! Sailed Marion to St John's Nfd early July, then Trinity Bay, the south shore to Port aux Basques, and across to Sydney, the Bras d'Or and on to Marblehead mid Sept. Where were you?

We found ourselves lonely at times and really excited to see another cruiser! And the typical $10 or $15 overnight fee to tie alongside the government wharfs including electricity and water in the snug harbors too small to anchor in was delightful. The gifts of fresh cod and capelin from the local's weekends Home Fishery were amazing.

Gotta have a good furnace though. 42 deg F water in Trinity Bay chilled by bergie bits made the Espar essential. The water on the South Shore fjords was in the 60's due to the Gulf Stream.

We plan a NFD circumnavigation next summer. Love to see some other CF friends there.

Cheers,
Bill

[LACHLANC]

[QUOTE=Jammer;2557018]

Help me mentally assemble a list of places that are already troublesome or that are getting worse. Florida, check. Southern California, check. Mediterranean, I assume also problematic. What about the Bahamas? The rest of the Caribbean? The Atlantic ICW? The Gulf ICW?

The Mediterranean isn't problematic in Greece and from what I discussed with other sailors, most if not all regions that are conducive to anchoring allow it for free [I regard this as separate to a cruising tax in Croatia and the Greek equivalent which is due to be introduced soon].

Over two seasons we've anchored for >300 nights and we've never paid to anchor.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

I went from North Carolina to West Palm Beach and back last year and anchored frequently without paying and without hassle, including in Florida. I've heard the stories about FL, so maybe I just got lucky. That said, I usually plan a primary anchorage and a back-up anchorage if possible. It also is common sense to not try to anchor at the busiest, most populated spots - in such places I usually go to a marina if I want to explore the town or eat at a restaurant. But most of the anchorages identified by Active Captain that I passed in NC, SC, and GA were unoccupied, except for places like Myrtle Beach, Charleston, etc. In April I'm planning to sail to Hilton Head and anchor outside the entrance of the creek my bro-in-law lives on and dinghy in/out. Also, I should note that I often anchor in the boonies, and cook aboard, so if you want proximity to good restaurants, my experience may not be the best example.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

I just noted that Jammer also asked about the Bahamas - no problem in the Abacos, except maybe a handful of crowded places like the Elbow Cay lagoon. I anchored at Marsh Harbour, Green Turtle, Crab Cay, and other places, and passed many good anchorage spots that were empty. I would guess the rest of the Bahamas is the same. I'll find out next year when I go through them en route to DR.

[Olddan1943]

I guess about 15 years ago, I paid 81K for a 75ft slip. Today, I am told the market value is close to 265-275K
A 55ft slip, in the same period of time, when from about 65K to 155K Yes, there is a monthly condo fee too.
My AT34 rattles around the 75ft slip and want to down size to a 55ft slip.
Thanks to the tax laws, once again I will take it in the shorts, when I sell this slip, I will have to pay a significant amount in tax on the profit.

Location is in Adventure FL

[DMBOS]

Provincetown on Cape Cod in Massachusetts is now $2.50/foot for a mooring

[tmason]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Good to know CFS. Lake Michigan is the one Great Lake I never explored. As you say, northern Michigan looks like there are lots of good places to drop the hook. Much south of Green Bay and the shoreline on both sides looks pretty exposed — can’t see many good natural places to anchor.

One does have to make choices about where to go if free anchoring and low crowds are a priority. There are places I’ve avoided b/c of the lack of anchoring possibilities. When we sailed the St. Lawrence to Newfoundland this past season we chose the north shore of the river over the south b/c it looked like the anchoring was better, and the population was lower.

BP, I do wonder about the “need” for constant communication most cruisers now seem to have. And I wonder if this concentrates people in fewer places than in the past. If so, that’s great — for oddballs like me .

Mike, did you go back upstream on the St. Lawrence? How was it? We are in Maine after going out the river from Lake Ontario and were planning to continue south, but circumstances have changed and we either come back to Lake Ontario or sell our beloved Southern Cross 35 where it is.