Easy in, easy out

Fall 2024

By David Popken

After many summers spent in Maine, we have found some tried-and-true destinations that work for us on the return south. These also are good for the journey north.

These spots meet just a few simple criteria: They are free (anchorages) or reasonable (moorings). They are close to open water, and they are spaced out so that after a long day-sail or a day motoring you can still get a full night’s rest before continuing on the following day.

A handful of these legs are in the 60-mile range, so the days can be long. Three stops have the bonus of proximity to public transportation and airports, should you need a crew change or a flight home. Few have easy access to groceries and other supplies beyond perhaps fuel, ice and snacks. You just can’t check every box.

Departure Casco Bay: For us, Portland is typically the start of the end-of-summer journey south. One big reason is the airport. It is large enough to offer competitive flight options. We usually splurge and grab a marina to provision, refuel, etc., but also to facilitate a crew change. Portland is a cool city as well, so a marina offers us an easy chance to get in and sample its offerings.

However, Portland is not that close to the coast, so it’s a time consuming trip in and out. If provisioning and other needs have been taken care of before we reach Portland, and our crew is set, then we head to the anchorage at Jewell Island. Jewell is out near the eastern edge of Casco Bay, so it is a quick entry back into the Gulf of Maine. The little cove on the northwestern corner is well protected and spectacularly beautiful. There is ample room inside for a dozen or so boats, although it can get crowded, especially on weekends.

If time permits, a visit ashore is a must. The island was used as a submarine spotting base in WWII, and vestiges of that era remain. It is now a state park, with camping allowable ashore and lots of trails to enjoy.

From Isles of Shoals: Our next stop is typically Isles of Shoals, which sits out in the Bigelow Bight about 11 miles east of Portsmouth N.H. Gosport Harbor, at Isles of Shoals, has nearly all-round protection, and the entrance is well marked. Portsmouth Yacht Club maintains several moorings in the harbor and allows transients to use them, with the caveat that, at any given time, one might be asked to move by a member. The mooring balls are bright-blue, with white PYC letters.

The Isles themselves have a rich history, and, if time permits, a trip ashore to Smuttynose Island, the only public access here, is worth the effort. The Isles of Shoals area is well-known as a whale-watching hotspot, so keep an eye out for these splendid mammals.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Jubilee Yacht Club in Beverly, Mass., across the harbor from Salem. Due to its location, it does not meet our delivery-mode criteria. However, this is a gem. Moorings are $55 and come with launch service and full use of the facilities, including showers, the bar and second-floor deck overlooking the harbor. The commuter train to Boston is a half-mile away, with a Salem stop included. This is a great place to hang if making a crew change, or to take a day-trip to Boston or Salem on a budget.

Since time is of the essence, we would skip Jubilee and, instead, travel from Isles of Shoals down past Cape Ann and across Massachusetts Bay to Scituate, Mass. This is a small, secure harbor just minutes from open water. Scituate is about 25 miles southeast of Boston. Here, a mooring is the only choice as anchoring is not allowed. A mooring can usually be had for $40 a night. Scituate is three to four hours north of the Cape Cod Canal, depending on tide and boat speed.

From Scituate: Our exit from Scituate would be timed to make the Cape Cod Canal on the ebb, putting us into Buzzards Bay at the canal’s western terminus. The choices then are many depending upon the time of day and one’s inclination. If arriving at the west end late in the day, Onset Harbor is a popular spot to anchor before continuing on. Onset has the benefit of a nearby marina with fuel, ice and snacks. If there is plenty of daylight left, and tide and weather are cooperative, then Cuttyhunk is a great choice. The bight just north of the north jetty outside of the channel into Cuttyhunk Pond is an excellent anchorage, and it allows a quick exit the following morning.

If leaving from Cuttyhunk, Fishers Island, N.Y. – near the Connecticut shore of Long Island Sound – is typically our next stop. If leaving from Onset, then an intermediate stop might be prudent. Cuttyhunk could serve well in this case. At Fishers, there are two harbors on the north shore, East and West harbors. Both offer secure anchorages with good holding and plenty of room. We typically anchor in West Harbor, where you can also find dockage, fuel and repair facilities.

From Fishers Island: For maximum efficiency, departure from Fishers should be coordinated with the flood at The Race, where currents can reach as high as five knots. With a following tide and settled weather, we aim for Port Jefferson, on the southern shore of the sound. Here, there is a lovely anchorage not far in beyond the entrance jetties. To enter, follow the marked side channel that heads west into a small protected bay.

This anchorage has 15 to 20 feet at mean low water, but there are a few humps that can be found in the 10- to 15-foot range. The anchorage can get crowded with day-trippers in summer, but not so much in the fall. The Port Jefferson Yacht Club has moorings, with launch service, at the head of the bay. From here, it is a short walk to the town, which is charming.

From Port Jefferson, N.Y.: Situated inside Manhasset Bay – 32 miles east of Port Jefferson and about two hours east of Throgs Neck – Port Washington has it all. This is essentially the end of Long Island Sound and the beginning of the East River. Town operated moorings are $35 a night, launch service included after the first night. The launch will deliver you to either the town dock or to another public dock farther north, the latter across the street from a well-stocked Stop & Shop. A few blocks farther north are a laundromat, liquor store, West Marine, Ace Hardware and a Target.

If you are there on a Saturday morning, an organic farmer’s market sets up in the parking lot of the Town Dock and should not be missed. A free pump-out boat operates daily, except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Long Island Railroad station is a mile away. It’s 45 minutes on the train to Penn or Grand Central stations.

From Port Washington: An East River transit is legendary for the strong currents, especially at Hell Gate, where the Harlem River joins the East River, but also for stunning views of the Manhattan skyline. This is a trip that must be timed properly if in a slow-moving sailboat or trawler. I find the “Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book” to be invaluable for any Eastern Seaboard journey. The book is published yearly and has a full year’s worth of tides and currents for key East Coast locations, including the major canals. The 2024 edition is its 150th anniversary.

Our ultimate destination, once through the East River and into New York Harbor, is often a little-known anchorage inside Coney Island Creek, which is about 2.5 miles southeast of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and easily accessible through a narrow, but deep, channel off of Gravesend Bay. Once inside, there is ample room to anchor but be aware of numerous wrecks lining the northern edge. The anchorage, which sits between two city parks, is quite charming in a quirky, urban way. It is protected, with good holding, but no shoreside amenities beyond a short dinghy ride to the public beach.

From Coney Island Creek: A leg off the Jersey shore is the only option, so weather will play a large part in the timing. Given a good weather window, our next stop would be the snug anchorage inside Barnegat Inlet. Barnegat Inlet is well-marked both outside and inside. The approach and channel depths are generous, but it does have the reputation of being difficult. We’ve never seen this.

Once inside, the anchorage is to the southwest, past the town, adjacent to the lighthouse and harbor area. We have comfortably sat out weather events here. Marinas nearby sell fuel and sundries, and a small dinghy dock is next to the public boat ramp. One can also go ashore for a walk, along the beach adjacent to the anchorage.

From Barnegat Inlet: We usually stop in Atlantic City, while others make the longer trek from Barnegat all the way to Cape May. The entrance to Atlantic City is through Absecon Inlet and is straightforward. Once inside, there are a couple of anchorage choices. Our preferred anchorage is in Rum Point basin, a protected cove accessed by a narrow channel running northeast off the inlet channel. This channel appears too small and shallow for larger boats, but it succeeds in both areas.

Inside, there is ample room to anchor, and you’re surrounded by pristine marsh with many shorebirds. Casinos dominate the skyline to the south, and highway traffic sounds can be heard, but, all in all, a beautiful spot. AC has several marinas in Clam Creek Basin, with requisite fuels and supplies.

At the southern tip of New Jersey is Cape May, a popular stop-off for cruisers headed both north and south. The harbor entrance is well marked and protected by rock jetties; the harbor itself is quite large. The anchorage just off the Coast Guard station is a great spot to wait for a weather window to transit the Jersey coast or to tackle Delaware Bay. Quite a few marinas are in the harbor; several are full-service.

From Cape May: The Cape May Canal exits west into Delaware Bay and saves the time and effort of going back outside, south around the Cape, and then up Delaware Bay. If your mast height is less than 55 feet tall, then this canal could serve you well. The leg up to the eastern terminus of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal can be one of the longest and most challenging of the entire journey.

Many cruisers think that Delaware Bay is inhospitable, and there is some truth to this, since there are precious few stopover points. One place we have stopped, though, is inside the Cohansey River, 30 miles or so up from Cape May on the northeast shore of the Bay. The Cohansey is amazing: serpentine and deep, but not wide – and chock-full of birds, from bald eagles to great blue herons and other species in between.

There are some 10- to 15-foot deep spots behind a couple of the oxbows that work well as anchorages. A little farther up, near the small town of Greenwich, there is a full-service boatyard and marina with a great little restaurant. A word of caution: The Cohansey drains a large wetland, and at certain times of the year, the green-head flies are ubiquitous. Insect screens and repellant are musts.

Delaware Bay is indeed notorious for sudden weather changes, working up a nasty chop on the water in the process. There is an anchorage behind Reedy Island, near the east end of the canal; many cruisers take the Delaware Bay flood tide to Reedy and anchor until they can catch the ebb in the canal. If you time it right, though, you can ride the Delaware Bay flood up to the C&D and take full advantage of the ebb in the canal. We’ve always gone from Cape May to Chesapeake City in one long day, so we’ve never used Reedy Island. And because we stop in Chesapeake City, we’ve never used the well-known pre-C&D anchorages at the top of the Chesapeake.

Since the distance from Cape May to Chesapeake City is 60-plus miles, we’ve done several night passages in the C&D and feel comfortable doing so. The canal is wide, has sodium vapor lighting along both sides its entire length, and large vessel traffic is typically minimal. There is one railroad lift bridge, which is normally up. All of the other bridges are fixed and above 125 feet in clearance. The little harbor in Chesapeake City can handle at most a dozen anchored boats, but we’ve never failed to find a spot.

Chesapeake Bay is a cruiser’s paradise, with wonderful anchorages and marinas up and down its shores and tributaries. For some, these are their home waters, and the journey south is nearly complete. For others, the glass is half full and the winter destination lies farther south. Orion is an East Coast vagabond, usually wintering in southwest Florida, where sailing year-round is a given, the water looks stunning, and gunkholing is a favorite pastime.

The last three winters, though, have found her much farther north: two in Hampton, Va., still floating and, last winter – for the first time in the 12 years we’ve owned Orion – in New Jersey’s Toms River, on the hard in a parking lot. It seems that the farther Downeast we go, the harder it is to retrace all of those many steps south.

This year, at this writing, we are undecided as to Orion’s winter home. This summer’s cruise was cut short by events at home, so we have returned Orion to New Jersey and will sort it all out at a future time. We’ve been to the Bahamas twice, and that still has its allure. We would love to spend a winter with Orion in the British Virgin Islands, but the challenge is getting there.

I often muse on an offshore passage from the bottom of the Chesapeake, out to a point near Bermuda, where a right turn puts you in position to reach into the islands via the trade winds. My wife Kris, though, is not comfortable sailing offshore round the clock. She does enjoy cruising and sailing, but wants to be stationary and sleeping all night every night, not just in three- or four-hour increments for days on end. And her happiness onboard Orion is the driving reason why this list involves day legs only.

Relationships are ultimately what truly define us, and even though they can be like mother ocean, often mysterious and unfathomable, they are eminently more precious than just about anything in life, even sailing.

David Popken is a retired homebuilder, living at the edge of Galveston Bay in Texas with his wife Kris. His sailing career, spanning nearly four decades, is still going strong. He has previously written for several Texas sailing magazines and nationally for “Sail” magazine and “Good Old Boat.” He and Kris cruise the Eastern Seaboard on their 1987 Sabre 38MKI, Orion.

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