Best cruising East Coast of North America

[Kettlewell]

I've been cruising the East Coast of North America for a long time, from Labrador down to Florida, and Mexico to Panama. I've also done the Bahamas and chunks of the Caribbean, but I'm going to leave those tropical destinations out of this post. I've spent a fair bit of time cruising in every coastal state down to Florida, and I've lived in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and South Carolina.

IMHO the best cruising ground, particularly under sail, is Southern New England from the Cape Cod Canal to Block Island. Here are my reasons why:
1. Great and reliable wind most of the time
2. Fun destinations of all sorts: deserted beach anchorages, busy New England towns, places with hiking and trails, ports for stocking up and repairs, and almost everything in between. The terrain is interesting with hills, beaches, rocks, islands, sand, marsh, shallows, etc.
3. The water is warm enough for swimming from June through September, and there are many harbors with clean water.
4. Many safe harbors with 360-degree protection suitable for riding out any ordinary gale, plus numerous hurricane holes.
5. No need to use marinas or moorings unless you want to. We anchor out every night.
6. Low on hassles: marine authorities leave you alone mostly, no crime, easy to get supplies, easy to get fuel, easy to get ashore (dinghy docks everywhere).
7. Typically great holding in anchorages, with a few exceptions for very weedy spots.
8. Variable weather that keeps things interesting during the 6-month sailing season.
9. Low incidence of major hurricane destruction, and they move by fast.
10. Interesting other boaters from all over the world to meet.

In my hierarchy Maine would be second: great beauty, tricky and fun navigation, many wonderful towns to visit, but with water too cold for swimming, unreliable wind, lots of fog, and too many lobster traps.

The Chesapeake is right up there too: thousands of interesting destinations, great for supplies, fuel, repairs, lots of other sailors, but it is too hot and humid in the summer, swimming is iffy because of stinging nettles, many anchorages feature iffy holding in stinky ooze, thunderstorms every afternoon, and lack of interesting terrain features.

How about you?

[massnspace]

Spot on. That area is great for cruising, I agree the “best of the east”.

But for me staying in one area gets boring. Sailing all the way down the coast opens up new vistas, people, challenges, weather, food, etc., etc. Things you would never consider pop up as you move up and down the coast….

[Kettlewell]

But for me staying in one area gets boring. Sailing all the way down the coast opens up new vistas, people, challenges, weather, food, etc., etc. Things you would never consider pop up as you move up and down the coast….

I'm never bored on the water, but I do agree it is fun to be able to venture further afield. On the East Coast it is great to be a snowbird and move with the changing seasons, maybe from Canada to the Caribbean and back. Throw in some offshore passages to Bermuda too...One of the cool things here is you can harbor hop all the way from Canada to Florida, then the Bahamas, with no need for anything longer than maybe one overnight.

[Reeve21]

I have not roamed as far as you, John, but I couldn't agree more.


I head to that area every chance I get, it is a day's sail from my mooring.


Maine and the Chesapeake-- I have spent a little time there and hope to return, very nice, but due to the "downsides" you mention southern New England will always be number one with me.


I would also encourage folks to check out Narraganset Bay and Eastern Long Island Sound/Gardner's Bay, just to the west. Almost as nice, although the winds are not quite as predictable.


If I can add a few more items to your list:


11. Navigation is challenging, but not overwhelming. Plenty of current, up to you how you manage it. There is some open water but plenty of protected areas to bail to when necessary.
12. Very convenient for taking on crew. Railroad and ferry access to many ports.
13. The sheer number of destinations. You can be sitting in an anchorage and have literally dozens of choices about where go next, and have the hook down in time for cocktail hour.
14. Shellfishing. There are still places you can dig your own, typically by paying a small licensing fee.
15. The water is clean in most places. Part of the reason being that many harbors have a pump out boat that will come out to you at anchor. Typically free, or close to it (but always tip them).
16. As you alluded to, the scenery is just beautiful. I don't want to disparage other areas, but that is something that always strikes me when I visit some of the other cruising grounds on the east coast.


Thanks for the reminder, we have it good

[Kettlewell]

If I can add a few more items to your list:

11. Navigation is challenging, but not overwhelming. Plenty of current, up to you how you manage it. There is some open water but plenty of protected areas to bail to when necessary.
12. Very convenient for taking on crew. Railroad and ferry access to many ports.
13. The sheer number of destinations. You can be sitting in an anchorage and have literally dozens of choices about where go next, and have the hook down in time for cocktail hour.
14. Shellfishing. There are still places you can dig your own, typically by paying a small licensing fee.
15. The water is clean in most places. Part of the reason being that many harbors have a pump out boat that will come out to you at anchor. Typically free, or close to it (but always tip them).
16. As you alluded to, the scenery is just beautiful. I don't want to disparage other areas, but that is something that always strikes me when I visit some of the other cruising grounds on the east coast.

Agree with all of them! One thing I have learned to appreciate over time is that it is a fantastic place to learn the ropes of sailing and cruising because of the variable conditions. You experience almost everything in terms of wind, weather, currents, anchoring challenges, navigation, etc.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

I've been cruising the East Coast of North America for a long time, from Labrador down to Florida, and Mexico to Panama. I've also done the Bahamas and chunks of the Caribbean, but I'm going to leave those tropical destinations out of this post. I've spent a fair bit of time cruising in every coastal state down to Florida, and I've lived in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and South Carolina.

IMHO the best cruising ground, particularly under sail, is Southern New England from the Cape Cod Canal to Block Island. Here are my reasons why:
1. Great and reliable wind most of the time
2. Fun destinations of all sorts: deserted beach anchorages, busy New England towns, places with hiking and trails, ports for stocking up and repairs, and almost everything in between. The terrain is interesting with hills, beaches, rocks, islands, sand, marsh, shallows, etc.
3. The water is warm enough for swimming from June through September, and there are many harbors with clean water.
4. Many safe harbors with 360-degree protection suitable for riding out any ordinary gale, plus numerous hurricane holes.
5. No need to use marinas or moorings unless you want to. We anchor out every night.
6. Low on hassles: marine authorities leave you alone mostly, no crime, easy to get supplies, easy to get fuel, easy to get ashore (dinghy docks everywhere).
7. Typically great holding in anchorages, with a few exceptions for very weedy spots.
8. Variable weather that keeps things interesting during the 6-month sailing season.
9. Low incidence of major hurricane destruction, and they move by fast.
10. Interesting other boaters from all over the world to meet.

In my hierarchy Maine would be second: great beauty, tricky and fun navigation, many wonderful towns to visit, but with water too cold for swimming, unreliable wind, lots of fog, and too many lobster traps.

The Chesapeake is right up there too: thousands of interesting destinations, great for supplies, fuel, repairs, lots of other sailors, but it is too hot and humid in the summer, swimming is iffy because of stinging nettles, many anchorages feature iffy holding in stinky ooze, thunderstorms every afternoon, and lack of interesting terrain features.

How about you?

Why stop at Block Island? I've heard it only gets better, the further North you go. Newfoundland is on my bucket list for cruising destinations.

[Reeve21]

Originally Posted by Kettlewell

Agree with all of them! One thing I have learned to appreciate over time is that it is a fantastic place to learn the ropes of sailing and cruising because of the variable conditions. You experience almost everything in terms of wind, weather, currents, anchoring challenges, navigation, etc.

True. I learned to sail in these waters with nothing but a chart and a compass for navigation. It got interesting when the fog socked in and the ferrys were nearby. I used to study the charts all winter and make lists of the numbers on the nav aids to check off going in and out of harbors.

[MicHughV]

Like you, I've cruised the eastern coast from north to south.
I have been up into eastern Canada, but not by boat. Place is a tad too cold for my liking.
For sure, Maine is outstanding, but for the lobsters traps. so much so, I'd be hard pressed to return there.
For sure, many place between Maine and Cape Cod worthy of a stop.
Chesapeake is tough to beat. Spent an entire season there and loved it. So many places to go too and see.
Further south, you have to go inland some to see any place of interest. The Georgia tide range can be difficult.
Florida has some interesting coastal towns, but are they worthy of a visit ???? St. Augustine probably, Daytona maybe.....
Florida's big attraction are the Fla. Keys and proximity to the B'mas.
The Keys are nice, but a bit too shallow for my tasts.
You can get to the B'mas as quick or quicker than going most anywhere else.
Off course, the B'mas need no introduction. One could spend years there and not see it all.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Why stop at Block Island? I've heard it only gets better, the further North you go. Newfoundland is on my bucket list for cruising destinations.

I really haven't experienced much, so hesitant to offer a "best" selection. However, if you value wilderness, grand vistas and mostly wide-open anchorages, then yes indeed, head to Newfoundland.

If you're drawn to exploring communities, ranging from the Big* City, to the small village, to the tiny remote (water-access only) outports, then head to Newfoundland.

If you want to experience icebergs, loads of sea and bird life, deep fjords, abandoned whaling depots, and even the original European "discoverers" of North America, then head to Newfoundland.

The province has it all.

Although... as I'm writing this, I am a little hesitant. I love my current cruising ground, so want to share. But I don't actually want ALL of you to come up -- at least not all at once .


* "Big" is relative. St. John's has about 110,000 people, with another 100k or so in the immediate region.

[David Mathis]

It's hard to beat Lake Champlain for the summer if you don't mind dropping your mast to clear the bridges on the Hudson River. From June to October the swimming is great, humidity is tolerable as is the temperature, the lake has many anchorages and beaches, most communities have plenty of places to go and things to do, and the marina prices are reasonable. If the need to travel becomes uncontrollable, head to the Finger Lakes for the wine tours. An added plus is a freshwater summer without barnacles or other marine growth.

[Kettlewell]

Why stop at Block Island? I've heard it only gets better, the further North you go. Newfoundland is on my bucket list for cruising destinations.

I've been all the way up to Labrador, but I still vote for the best segment being between Cape Cod and Block Island. Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia have spectacular scenery, interesting (to say the least) navigation, raw nature and isolation, and few other boats. But, as I stated earlier, the water is too cold for daily swimming, which is at the top of my wife's must-have list. It is usually a good idea to go where you wife wants to go!

[dlj]

I have to agree, Newfoundland is extraordinary. I also very much enjoyed Nova Scotia.

I'll have to explore the lower regions of the East Coast mentioned.

And Mike O'Rilley - it should kept a secret before it gets overrun.... LOL

dj

[malbert73]

Kettlewell-
We leave the Chesapeake every summer for NE. Interesting you mention lack of needing moorings. We have found the opposite- where that area often requires advanced mooring reservations (eg MV, Nantucket) or arriving early (Cuttyhunk) or now restricted to anchoring (Meneshma). Block is an exception and also can get crowded to find a good anchoring spot.
What are some of your favores anchorages?

Re holding on the chesapeake- if you have a Spade or Rocna indeed the gooey mud can challenge them.
With my anchor (Mantus) I never sleep so well as anchored in a snug Chesapeake harbor.

[Kettlewell]

There's great anchoring in Vineyard Haven inside Lagoon Pond, or between the bridge and the town east of the channel, or over toward the yacht club outside the breakwater, or just north of the breakwater to Lagoon Pond. I also anchor just north of Chappy beach at Edgartown. The best anchoring at Menemsha is anywhere along the beach southwest of the channel into Menemsha basin. We almost always find room to anchor inside Cuttyhunk up in the northeast corner right on the edge of deep water, but in nice weather we also anchor between the breakwater and the moorings on the outside, or over toward the Canapitsit Channel. Love anchoring in Tarpaulin Cove on Naushon--looks like the Caribbean, and many times we have been one of only a few boats to spend the night. There's also good anchoring spots in various coves around the Elizabeth Islands. It is popular to anchor in Hadley Harbor behind the island, but there is more room north of the island. Narragansett Bay is full of anchorages. Third Beach just inside the Sakonnet is a good one. I really like Fogland up the Sakonnet River--tons of room and perfect holding. Busy in the summer, but in the off season we visit Potters Cove on Prudence Island. Nice walks ashore. I currently have a Mantus, but haven't yet used it in the Cheapeake--good to hear!

[Mike OReilly]

I know this is outside the designated region, but I often think of Lake Superior as a truly wonderful, and largely undiscovered cruising ground. Most especially the north and east shores offer some of the most spectacular vistas and stunning anchorages that I've visited. Best of all, it's fresh water, and once again, few boats are out there.

It can be challenging waters, not dissimilar to Newfoundland, but if you love real wilderness, without any crowded anchorages, I highly recommend it.