We're still at Martha's Vineyard and on our way to Cuttyhunk. We prefer staying at anchor everywhere... What is a good spot to anchor in Newport, RI and Mystic, CT? thanks
I just found this in an article I was reading: "it turns out there's only one small designated anchorage, between two huge mooring fields. Not that we object to moorings, but $30/night for essentially no services just seems like a rip-off. I suppose that compared to $2.50/foot/night for a slip it's a great deal, but at those rates we'd go broke fast, so we squeezed into the crowded anchorage." I think you'll find a similar situation in Mystic.
There is limited space to anchor just outside the mooring field north of Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport. If the weather is settled or anything other than W-N you can also anchor just north of the Goat Island causeway. There is usually space to anchor up river from Mystic Seaport if you are less than 60' and have a shallow draft (less than 5'). There is also space outside the mooring field in Noank at the mouth of the Mystic River.
I had cut a bit of the quote that didn't seem relevent at the time, but now raises the question of has something changed. This was written in 2000 I believe. Source: http://windom.cybox.com/logs/2000/07.20.html
You can anchor north of Goat Island. If the wind is easterly, you can also anchor to the west of Goat.
how big is your boat? over 65' there are only a handful of moorings which can accomodate you in Newport, they are first come first serve and you need to call the harbormaster on 16 as you come in. they're what they call the tallship moorings along the edge of the main mooring field. They usually have no pennant so you have to rig it yourself, not a lot of fun when it's blowing! they're $1 a ft but well worth it if you can get one. So far this summer every time i've been there i was out of luck and had to anchor. you'd think that a place like newport would have more moorings for big boats... as Ken said, anchoring is limited to the northern end of brenton cove, between the moorings and the fairway/cable area marked by white markers. i've seen harbormaster make people leave when they were sticking out past the markers. holding is very good but there is very little room and it's about 20' deep so you need a good amount of scope and if the wind shifts it becomes interesting. still beats the average $5 a foot most marinas charges (although I think Goat Island is cheaper) the only other anchorage in the area is north of goat island but there is very little protection. not too many other options... across the bay off Jamestown is doable if you have a big tender but again it's exposed and most of the shallow water is taken up by moorings... last month I couldn't find room in Brenton so i ended up spending the night in the cove just north of the bridge on the west side, in potter cove. good holding, reasonable depths but too far from newport. In Cutty you can anchor in the outer harbor, although exposed to the N. dockage is reasonable there so it's worth it. I really like Cutty... Never anchored in Mystic, the boat i run draws 6+ and i dind't see anything confortable up river. I've anchored along the north shore of fishers a few time, but that's too far from town. btw, if need fuel, Pt Judith Marina is the most reasonable besides Casey's Barge in newport...
