Where to stay in Martha’s Vineyard for 3-5 days?

[Cool Hand Luke]

I’d like to sail my Jeanneau SO409 to Martha’s Vineyard next month. She has a 6 foot draft so I’m sure I’ll be somewhat limited. I don’t mind spending some $$$ for marinas or mooring balls if it’s worth it.

I did a little research but would love to hear the opinion of others. I’ve never been there by sailboat so I’m very excited to visit. I was there once by ferry about 20 years ago, so I don’t remember much anyways.

Places to see? Places to visit? Rent a bicycle?

Thanks!!

[jkleins]

We always love Martha’s Vineyard. We stayed at Edgertown last summer and really enjoyed it. The moorings do need to be reserved a pretty good time in advance though. We usually pick up a mooring at Vineyard Haven and that is nice as well. If you can get one in the harbor it is a lot quieter. Winds from the north and west make it a little rocky outside. You can anchor there if you want.
Go walk around Oak Bluffs. It is a cool little town and a great walk.

Jim

[mikeod]

Anchor in Vinyard haven and go into lagoon pond if you get a NE wind. You have good dingy dock and grocery right there. And you can bus to the rest of the island.

[dfelsent]

Or if you up for a raft up go into Oak Bluffs and grab a mooring. The harbor is very tight. You will be rafted. You may make new friends.
Lagoon pond is awesome.
Watch your rig on the bridge as you enter. The bridge tenders can be super helpful.
We are thinking about sneaking into Lake Tashmoo this summer. It’s just been dredged and should be ok for our 5.75’ draft.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Awesome! Thanks for the info!! [emoji3]

[hlev00]

Edgartown or Vineyard Haven are both great bases. If you find you want a change Lake Tashmoo always looks nice to us but our 6’ Draft has kept us out. We also love Menemsha. Outside can be rolly with the wrong winds. Inside moorings are 1st come. There are some slips. It isn’t convenient for the rest of the island. You can anchor At Edgartown but Call the harbormaster. They keep restricting more and more of the anchorages IIRC.

[hugosalt]

Have anchored in Edgartown anchorage number of times, good holding but not good with winds with north component. Harbormaster should open up anchorage in Katama bay when strong winds from north.
For getting around entire island they offer an all day bus pass.

[bauer965]

So you have also asked where to go and what to do.
I like Edgartown for lunch, and Oak Bluffs for dinner. Oak Bluffs after about 9 turns into a strange party scene, a bunch of non-islander hipsters, and a little "gangster-ish". But I retreat to Lagoon Pond by then, where I've anchored several times...bang a left after the green barrel. I dinghy to the beach to the east of the bridge, and can walk to Oak Bluffs, or to the beach west of the bridge and walk to Vineyard Haven.
I've had "rock star parking" a couple of times by anchoring in the Haven between the mooring field and the jetty, which is allowed, and within spitting distance of the dignhy dock. Ideally this is done during a southerly, with assurance that the wind won't shift from the N at night, or else you might swing close to the jetty.

If you want, take a scooter around Tashmoo and then you can see what that is all about.
Then scooter to Edgartown for lunch. If you like convenience, and the activity of a mooring field (but not the mayhem of Oak Bluffs), a mooring in Edgartown is the way to go, where you'll get the quintessential Vineyard experience.

[Scrimshaw4]

If you have kids then I'd reccomend Oak Bluffs, but get there during the week for the best chance of getting a mooring / shared (Mon -Thur). Otherwise I'd reccomend Edgartwown. Both locations are served by a great bus service that will give you access to the entire island.

[Emouchet]

The Lagoon is a great place, very well protected and good holding. Only drawback is that the dinghy ride to shore is longer. You can only stay 4 days in the lagoon if I recall correctly.
The bridge open at fixed hours, check with harbor master.

There is not much place to leave the dinghy around the lagoon, with the exception of the beach north and south of the opening bridge. This is a 15 minutes walk to town. or dinghy back under the bridge then to town.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Thanks again guys!

Looking at both Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs.







Soooo excited!

[Cool Hand Luke]

What about BLOCK ISLAND? Any recommendations? We will be coming from NYC, so maybe some stops along the LIS, Long Island, or CT?

Thanks again!!

[Jeanneau 45.2]

Done both the Vineyard and BI several times over the last few years. BI is unspoiled and a true "old fashioned island". Great Salt Pond has mooring balls to rent and there is lots of space to anchor with good holding (on a holiday weekend there might be 100 boats at anchor). Water boat for tank refills and free pumpout boat service. Not nearly as overrun by ferry day tourists as the Vineyard. If with kids, Vineyard Haven might be better choice for entertainment. You can easily anchor on the south side of the ferry boat fairway. You'll have a 1/2 mile dinghy ride to the beach and dock adjacent to the "town square". Day sail over to Menemsha, which is really just a tiny harbor with lots of fish shack restaurants. Both Islands are great places, take your choice depending on which vibe you seek.

Lots of stops in LIS on the NY side. Port Washington, Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay, Greenport, and Sag Harbor in that order between the exit of the East River and exiting the sound to go east to BI. That is what I am doing (not every stop) starting Wednesday to arrive BI for the holiday weekend.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by Jeanneau 45.2

Done both the Vineyard and BI several times over the last few years. BI is unspoiled and a true "old fashioned island". Great Salt Pond has mooring balls to rent and there is lots of space to anchor with good holding (on a holiday weekend there might be 100 boats at anchor). Water boat for tank refills and free pumpout boat service. Not nearly as overrun by ferry day tourists as the Vineyard. If with kids, Vineyard Haven might be better choice for entertainment. You can easily anchor on the south side of the ferry boat fairway. You'll have a 1/2 mile dinghy ride to the beach and dock adjacent to the "town square". Day sail over to Menemsha, which is really just a tiny harbor with lots of fish shack restaurants. Both Islands are great places, take your choice depending on which vibe you seek.

Lots of stops in LIS on the NY side. Port Washington, Port Jefferson, Oyster Bay, Greenport, and Sag Harbor in that order between the exit of the East River and exiting the sound to go east to BI. That is what I am doing (not every stop) starting Wednesday to arrive BI for the holiday weekend.

We like Block Island but it will be extremely crowded next month. The anchorage is notorious for dragging, but I don’t know if it’s due to poor holding or poor anchoring skills. Regardless, we choose to take a mooring there.

If there aren’t any moorings available when you arrive (which is likely to be the case in August), call the harbormaster and he’ll assign a private mooring after 3:00. You can keep that for one night, and then look for someone leaving a town mooring in the morning.

All of the above is why we go to Block after Labor Day.