Poll: Anchor vs. Marinas

We're just talking about time cruising, not time at your home marina or dock. This poll is upon request.

So, simple, what percentage of your cruising nights are at anchor vs. marinas.

80% anchor, 20% marina.

away from home port mostly at anchor, never gave a thought to %. Boating has always been about getting away from it.

95 percent marina. otherwise, it is just camping, and I spent the fifty years of my life camping, and now I can appreciate being served at a sit-down restaurant, whenever this virus lets us.

Two nights out for one night in a marina on average

ON the East side it is possible to anchor out 100% from north of LI sound till about Daytona Beach .


Then till south of Miami it is difficult .

Marinas at $100+ a night vs a shittonne of cruising miles and adventure.
No contest.

Hard to know the real number without going through the logs. Often anchoring is only one night or two. Cruising to a destination likely the TF rendezvous can find me 4 or 5 nights at the same spot with friends at an event. Does the event count as one time or do you add up the days in total?

Ted

When cruising either US east coast or Caribbean <5% marina.

Anchoring out is the by far the number one reason we go cruising at all. To paraphrase Descartes: "we anchor, therefor we boat". I also include moorings as part of anchoring.
We have had the privilege of cruising both coasts, and the answer is the same for the PNW, SF Bay / Delta, and Southern Cal.

I have no idea what FF is talking about in his post, by the way, "ON the East side it is possible to anchor out 100% from north of LI sound till about Daytona Beach .


Then till south of Miami it is difficult ."

That is simply not the case in Florida at all.

Anchor well over 95% of the time.

If one thinks of the Stretch of the Indian River Lagoon to Lake Worth (around 150M)... I can see where some might think it lacks all around protected anchorages in the Summer for hurricanes and thunderstorms, yet in the Winter it is great as you can hide behind one of numerous causeways to avoid NW frontal winds.


That's what I think.... as a gross generality...but as always there is the "but....I" where one can find exceptions or have a different view of anchoring.

I'm pretty familiar with the Ft. Pierce to Palm Beach area. They may not be designated on the charts, but lots of anchorages in that area.

Just curious. Why no mention of mooring fields? Very common around here and usually open ones for transients.

Easily 90%+ anchoring(including moorings). I generally enjoy being at anchor more than staying at a marina, especially at $100-150/night!

Currently anchored at Tarpon Belly Keys.

O C Diver said:

Hard to know the real number without going through the logs. Often anchoring is only one night or two. Cruising to a destination likely the TF rendezvous can find me 4 or 5 nights at the same spot with friends at an event. Does the event count as one time or do you add up the days in total?

Ted

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Days in total.

Hippocampus said:

Just curious. Why no mention of mooring fields? Very common around here and usually open ones for transients.

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Count them as anchoring.

Wifey B: We do marinas 90% of the time, although this year, due to pandemic, are 90% anchoring.

caltexflanc said:

Anchoring out is the by far the number one reason we go cruising at all. To paraphrase Descartes: "we anchor, therefor we boat". I also include moorings as part of anchoring.
We have had the privilege of cruising both coasts, and the answer is the same for the PNW, SF Bay / Delta, and Southern Cal.

I have no idea what FF is talking about in his post, by the way, "ON the East side it is possible to anchor out 100% from north of LI sound till about Daytona Beach .


Then till south of Miami it is difficult ."

That is simply not the case in Florida at all.

Click to expand...

It depends on how big your boat is. At 70’ loa there are a lot of places that are too small and many others that even one other boat will crowd us out. Then again we can be comfortable in exposed anchorages that have smaller boats bobbing around unpleasantly.

PNW we spend about 70%+ on anchor.

We prefer being on the hook most of the time.

Thanks BandB for putting up the poll.

A reciprocal free slip at a yacht club or anchoring. Decisions, decisions.

i hope newer cruisers don't get the wrong idea that being tied up in a marina has less status than at anchor.Too many things in boating (well most hobbies) are associated with bragging rights.


Some people love adventure that involves populated exploration and some wilderness exploration.


Having spent enough of my life underway at sea, I have a balance of enjoyment between on land and at anchor/beach/island exploring.


Either one can be just as enjoyable...just depends on where you have had your fill of.

I like going to marinas every once in a while while cruising, but there is nothing like being anchored out.

I generally decide based on where we're going and why we're there. The hotter the weather and the cheaper the dockage costs, the more likely I am to go for a marina vs anchoring. And if we're somewhere interesting where we expect to be on/off the boat more often, I'll tend towards a marina. But nothing beats waking up to a beautiful morning in a quiet place at anchor.

Weekends, docking at Yacht Club outstations. Longer trips almost 100% at anchor, so 50/50.

Strong preference to anchoring as long as there is decent dinghy access. But it really depends. We were once up in the Delta (SF Bay) and, after about a week of anchor-out, we stopped at a marina to grab some quick provisions (beer, ice, I don't remember). It was a cool little place that had live music, ice cold beer, decent food, and super nice people, so the quick stop lasted for two days. Didn't help that we were on a tidal slough with a big ebb. At 3AM, we dried out enough that Weebles fell-over which was confusing as hell given our compromised state of mind.

Peter

We anchor out as much as we can. On the trip from the PNW to Florida we went one stretch where we anchored out for 11 out of 12 months. In the past, we’d anchor out for 6 months strait regularly. When we were younger and on a budget, the choice was a marina and eat on the boat or anchor out and taste the local dishes. The local dishes usually won.

Due to the limitations of our tiny vessel when on "long" cruises (we are still working stiffs) we must hit up a marina every few days for water (usually the first need) or ice or fuel (much less of an issue). There is also the matter of laundry, but we find we can go a couple of weeks without doing a load. Water is our main limiting factor.


It also gets us off the boat and moving and The Admiral does like to window shop. She is not a big shopper, in general, but loves the odd little stores/shops one finds at/near marinas.


That said the anchor does get us away from other humans...and there is a certain advantage to that sometimes.

Mooring or anchor are our preferences. I have never done transient docking. I prefer the privacy. That said I have friends who prefer the amenities of a dock.