# Anchorage Near Mystic CT



## SollaSollew (Mar 20, 2006)

I m looking for a mooring or a spot to anchor overnight near Mystic CT. It is incredibly busy in there but I was wondering if anyone knows any secret spots. We draw 5 1/2 feet. Want to attend the art fair this weekend so we need dinghy distances to the town dock. Done the Seaport thing before so thatnks but no thanks on that one, way too expensive.


Eric


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

Eric, first of all, welcome to Sailnet. You'll find this is a great place to get information, or just "hang out." Just don't ask any stupid questions and you'll be fine. 

Invest in the Maptech Embassy Guide for Long Island Sound for your trip out there, and even while you're in Mystic. It's $45, and it has tremendous information on all the harbors between NY and Block Island, including Mystic of course. Well worth it in my view.

As far as I know, there really aren't rental moorings far enough up the Mystic River dinghyable (word?) to town. There are several marinas south of the bascule bridge that are less expensive than the Seaport (by the way, if you join as a member of the Seaport you get a fairly deep discount on dockage, and it's actually kinda cool to be docked there, particularly after hours when the grounds are closed to everyone except boats docked there). You could try Mystic Shipyard (860-536-4882), Brewer Yacht Yard (860-536-2293), or Mystic Downtown Marina (860-572-5942). These each are nice, and each are below the bridge, which actually is a very nice thing, as holding station waiting for that bridge really sucks. There are a few other smaller marinas in the area too. Oddly enough, you will see tons of boats, but there are limited facilities for transients.

In terms of anchoring, there really isn't much up the river. I guess it depends on the type of dinghy you have and how far is acceptable to you. If your dink is an 11' Boston Whaler with a 25hp engine, you can anchor or grab a mooring at the base of the river and be able to run up to town. If you're put-putting around in an inflatable with a 4hp motor, you are going to have a hard time finding an anchorage close to town, with one possible exception. If you have a shoal draft vessel you can travel past the Seaport, and anchor to the north of it. If you can get in there and find space, it's actually a great spot. The problem is the depth, and that there isn't much swing room at all (you may want to consider two anchors). I've never anchored there, but there always are boats there when we go.

Enjoy, as Mystic is a great spot, notwithstanding some of the challenges in getting there (all of which are manageable with some planning).


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

Eric,

There is an anchorage east of Mason Island and west of Andrews Island. Stay south of latitude 41 deg 20' and along Mason Island and you should be fine.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

denby said:


> Eric,
> 
> There is an anchorage east of Mason Island and west of Andrews Island. Stay south of latitude 41 deg 20' and along Mason Island and you should be fine.


Do you think that's dinghyable to downtown Mystic? (I'm just going to call that a word, and if anyone asks questions I'll just say that it's a nautical thing.) Obviously you could choose to cross the Sound in a dink if you wanted to give it a go, but I don't think I would drop a hook in the bight east of Mason's Isle if I were needing to have access to downtown with a small dink.


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

danielgoldberg said:


> Do you think that's dinghyable to downtown Mystic? (I'm just going to call that a word, and if anyone asks questions I'll just say that it's a nautical thing.) Obviously you could choose to cross the Sound in a dink if you wanted to give it a go, but I don't think I would drop a hook in the bight east of Mason's Isle if I were needing to have access to downtown with a small dink.


Dan,

It's a haul but that is the only anchorage in the area. It will have to be dinghyable ( if any one ask I learned it from you. ) if he doesn't want to pay for a slip or mooring.


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

Eric,

What size dinghy do you have and what size outboard?


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## SollaSollewSails (Sep 22, 2006)

I don't have depths for the pond north of the Seaport handy nor a chart to show distances from the Mason's Island anchorage to the village (charts are on the boat). We draw 5.5. We're comfortable covering two miles in the dinghy if its reasonably flat water, less in a lot of chop... wait a minute, found an online viewer for the NOAA charts:

ww.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/13214.shtml

Looks like the bridge connecting Mason's Island with the mainland has 3 feet of vertical clearance. That's rather tight. Also looks like there is 9 feet of depth north of the Seaport. As I said, we've been there before and I do seem to recall noticing boats at anchor but it's been a few years. 

Eric


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

Sorry to say I've never pulled into Mystic from the sea, The only anchorage in the area is the one I stated. Might be better off at a marina.


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

Just did an overnight in Mystic and stayed at the Brewer marina. It's just below the railroad bridge so it is walkable to downtown (15 mins) and the benefit of not having to do the bridges which means you can leave early in the morning before the bridge operators start. Facilities were nice and clean and the swimming pool stays open to 11pm.

John N.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"There is an anchorage east of Mason Island and west of Andrews Island."
That's charted as a "Special Anchorage" which usually means controlled mooring field, showing 3-7 feet of water (deeper at the SE corner) but with as little as 1' of water heading north into Mystic, which could stop some dinks.
Would it be feasible to anchor 10 miles to the west in the general anchorages at New London, and then take the dink over to a local bus ride?


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

hellosailor said:


> "There is an anchorage east of Mason Island and west of Andrews Island."
> That's charted as a "Special Anchorage" which usually means controlled mooring field, showing 3-7 feet of water (deeper at the SE corner) but with as little as 1' of water heading north into Mystic, which could stop some dinks.
> Would it be feasible to anchor 10 miles to the west in the general anchorages at New London, and then take the dink over to a local bus ride?


I don't really know if there are such buses, as I've never tried doing what you suggest. If you are dead set on anchoring and "commuting" to Mystic, I probably would opt for Stongington as the anchorage; just north of the breakwater you avoid the swell from Fisher's Island Sound.

If you'd be willing to settle for a mooring and a little bit less of a trip to Mystic by land, I would consider Spicer's in Noank, which is at the base of the Mystic River.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Dan-
I wouldn't suggest the pursuit of a free anchorage is paramount, I only mentioned New london because that's the closest "general anchorage" I saw on the charts. On 12372_1 all I see in stonington are "Special Anchorage" which means someone's mooring field and fees pretty much inevitably. (Unless you've got club reciprocity.)

A lot of the coastwise towns have some sort of bus services connecting them. First time I went out of Newport RI, the only was I could get in was Amtrack to Providence RI and then, sure enough, a local 1/2 hour bus ride. The meander a bit but you can't beat the price.<G>

Maybe there are better places to just drop a hook, not in an anchorage, closer in to Mystic proper.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

HS, the spot I mentioned in Stonington still is open to anchoring (unless something's changed in the last month or so). You still have the issue of making your way from Stonington to Mystic by land, but you seem prepared to brave that voyage!


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Dan-
That's good to know, that they haven't leased it all out to parking lot operators. Yet. I know some of the "Special Anchorage"s are still useable, but it seems like most of the are mooring fields, or have no shore access.


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