Isle of shoals and nearby anchorage

[Gabe n Em]

One spot we'd like to go this year is isle of shoals. There don't seem to be any good anchorages on active captain there or nearby. Anyone have insight into good anchorages in Isle of shoals, Rye, Portsmouth, or Newburyport?

Cheers

Gabe and Em

 

[rgano]

I have know direct knowledge of these areas, but a quite check of the Active Captain data on my Coastal Explorer shows two anchorages in the Isle of Shoals with a review as late as August 2019. Try Active Captain or other online guides.

 

[DavidM]

I stopped there once midweek on the way to Jewell Island. There were a dozen or so vacant mooring balls and I took one. Didn't go ashore. Active Captain reviews say that midweek is fine, but on weekends all of the moorings are taken.

David

 

[Gabe n Em]

Thanks rich and David. I looked on AC and the two anchorages get poor reviews. The mooring balls seem to be "take one and see if someone kicks you off". I'm broadening my horizons to nearby harbors on the mainland, assuming there is a nice hidey hole to anchor in.... But I can't find it....

Anyone know of anything? Or should I just scratch the idea and pony up for a mooring ball or dock?

 

[SoWhat]

All moorings at Isle of Shoals are private. Portsmouth is closer than Nbpt and PYC has moorings. Getting into Nbpt can be sketchy on the outgoing tide if there's an onshore wind. Current can easily hit 4-5 kn at the breakwaters. Nbpt is a nice stop during the week.

During mid-week you should be able to hook onto a Gosport mooring and dinghy ashore for an ice cream but you shouldn't leave for a long walk because mooring owner could show up.

Gosport Harbor is a straight run from Boston or Gloucester. Don't attempt the Annisquam, esp at low tide.

 

[DavidM]

Gosport Harbor is a straight run from Boston or Gloucester. Don't attempt the Annisquam, esp at low tide.

I have done the Annisquam River a half dozen times in boats with up to 5" draft. Has it shoaled? Sure saves a lot of time vs going around Cape Ann. The scenery is nice on weekends as well .

David

 

[twistedtree]

The Annisquam was just dredged last winter. The only issue is when people don't watch the markers and get out of the channel.

 

[Gabe n Em]

The Annisquam was just dredged last winter. The only issue is when people don't watch the markers and get out of the channel.

Thanks twisted and David! The Annisquam want even on my radar until you mentioned it! It's on the list!

Cheers

 

[Hippocampus]

One of my daughters lives in Rye. Have friends in Newburyport. Unfortunately all nearby anchorages and slips are difficult. It’s not just the current but also things are quite swirly. You can unexpectedly jump sideways. Hit all different velocities and directions of water flow.
For hanging out Portsmouth is the most fun and has the most activities and services in walking distance. All aren’t bad around slack. Wherever you go in that area a mooring ball is best and easiest.

 

[Hippocampus]

If just heading north my favorite mooring field, yacht club and restaurant in that area is Eastern Point YC in Gloucester. Very easy at any tide regardless of your draft.

 

[Duvie]

Kittery Point Yacht club has 3 moorings at the Shoals. Their website says visitors are welcome to use them. 1st come first serve basis. I usually plan a night at the Shoals during the week and have always been able to grab a mooring. Portsmouth Yacht used to have the same policy but I believe they have changed that in the past few years. PYC does have transient moorings in Pepperell cove for around $35 a night.

There is an anchorage area just outside Pepperell Cove at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. I have anchored up there many times for lunch but never any extended period. I have read anchor holding power is not that reliable in that area but I have not had a problem.

I think there is an anchorage just up river from Fox point in Little Bay. That spot would be quiet and protected but is about 9 miles up river. Not much around there.

My favorite stop a little south is Rockport, MA. Lots of shops, restaurants and activities there. I have not felt any more welcome anywhere. The Harbormasters and Yachtclub are terrific. This is a very tight harbor and the harbormaster sometimes has to be creative in making space for transients. You can end up on on a mooring, floating dock or seawall. Think they ask for about a dollar a foot.

 

[CaptTom]

This question comes up a lot. All the moorings in Gosport Harbor are private. Many belong to several different yacht clubs. Some clubs advertise them as available, but if a member shows up, you have to move. And some members haven't gotten the word, and will kick you off even if they don't need to. (Fortunately, that one lady who used to scream obscenities from a nearby mooring seems to have mellowed.)

The rest of the moorings belong to individuals. Again, some won't mind if you borrow theirs mid-week, but you have no idea how well maintained the gear is, or if it's even sized for your boat. I've watched boats drag up on the rocks during squalls there. Some moorings belong to fishermen, who are generally well armed, often cranky, and sometimes drunk. Others to locals or to the hotel operations. Best to avoid those.

Basically, don't plan on spending the night there on good-weather weekends. Be prepared to move even if there are plenty of moorings available. It seems everyone knows there are "free moorings" there and the place can fill up quickly.

Anchoring in the harbor is poor at best. There's hundreds of years' worth of debris on the bottom. Any wind out of the northwest really churns things in there.

Around the other side of the breakwater there's a good anchorage in settled weather, or northerly to westerly winds. But there's no good place to go ashore.

Not sure if the hotel will open this year. Last year Covid killed the whole season. If so, by all means check it out. There's a dinghy dock. Sign in at the pier. Enjoy the rocking chairs on the porch, or walk the island. Check out the book store, gift shop and snack bar. Make a reservation for dinner. Lots to see and do!

That anchorage marked on the charts off Kittery Point, just upriver from Pepperell Cove, is deep and there's a swift tidal (reversing) current. Some people make it work, but the holding is hit-or-miss. Above Fox Point in Newington works, and there are a few more of those private "destination" moorings that are usually available mid-week. There's still a good current up there, and you need to watch the charts for ledges (like the one right off Fox Point, and another across the river from the mooring field) but most of the bottom in the Great Bay area is good mud for anchoring, anyway.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Isle of Shoals is 10 NM from my slip and I go there often. As others have said, getting a mooring in Gosport Harbor mid-week is pretty easy, especially early or late on the season. Anchoring there is a bad idea.



Rockport is probably your best bet for an anchorage "near" Isles of Shoals. Nice town and huge anchorage outside the main harbor if you can't get a mooring in the harbor. It's really not that far from Rockport to Gosport Harbor, 22 SM if memory serves.



If you can live with tidal contraints, I can likely get you a transient tie up in Hampton Harbor by Hampton Beach. You just may not be able to leave the dock within an hour or two of low tide. Hampton Beach is a fun place to hang out and there are tons of things to do. My home marina (Hampton River Marina) does not really do transient slips, but there's usually a ton of unused space on the outside of the H dock because people don't want to rent a seasonal space where the tide is a limiting factor. At low tide in a PDQ, you could likely step on the dock on one side of the boat and onto the sandbar on the other side...

 

[Gabe n Em]

Awesome! Some great stuff here! Thanks everyone

 

[CaptTom]

I should add, all the islands at the Shoals are private. Star, the one with the big white hotel, allows visitors when they're open, and they have a dinghy dock to the left of the stone pier. It's next to the swimming area, so be careful!

Cedar, the one between the two breakwaters, is off limits, owned by a family of several generations of fishermen. The current generation is pretty easy-going, but they have to put up with so much grief from people wanting to come ashore or cross the breakwater that they've learned to be pretty assertive.

At the other end of the breakwaters, Smuttynose is also private, but is open to the public. Land your dinghy in the little cove between Smuttynose and Malaga Island. There are caretakers who live in the cabin and maintain the island. There's a sign-in and information box just up from the landing.

Malaga is the only island where dogs are allowed. Just follow the rest of the dog-laden dinghies crossing the harbor from the mooring fields.

Appledore has a number of private homes, and also the large buildings of the UNH/Cornell Shoals Marine Lab. You may or may not be allowed ashore at the lab's dock, on the West central bight of the island. Do NOT try to go ashore on the rocky South shore. Like Cedar, the residents there have learned to be assertive in chasing off tresspassers.

Lunging and White are private and have no public landings. Duck is a protected wildlife sanctuary and again, there's no safe place to land anyway. All three would require an open water passage by dinghy, not recommended in anything but the most settled weather anyway.

A few navigation tips: Half-tide ledges extend more than half-way across the passage from Appledore toward Smuttynose. Have your charts out when using that passage! The folks in the house on Appledore overlooking the passage have some great stories to tell about people who didn't.

Mind the red buoy between Star and Lunging. The rock is on the opposite side of it than how it looks from inside the harbor. The chart is correct. Believe it.

All of these islands and the waters around them have irregular contours. Ledges stick out and submerged rocks abound. They're all charted, and you can often tell by the lay of the land where fingers of rock extend below the surface. But not always. Running aground here is much more than an inconvenience.

 

[twistedtree]

If just heading north my favorite mooring field, yacht club and restaurant in that area is Eastern Point YC in Gloucester. Very easy at any tide regardless of your draft.

Ha, that's where I learned to sail and got hooked on boats in general.