Anchor, dock, or buoy?
Which do you prefer and why?
It depends upon what is being done.
I prefer to anchor when traveling or visiting lovely places. There is usually no advantage of being on a buoy in this case although at times the buoy's are closer to shore so easier to get to and from shore, but both likely require using your dinghy to get to shore so little to no reason to use a buoy over anchoring. The added difficulty there is that unless it is a known buoy, I have no idea what condition the buoy is in below the waterline. Hence I'd much rather anchor. Docks when traveling can add a significant expense, especially as anchoring is usually free, sometimes you have to pay to anchor but most to the time it's free.
When I'm working on the boat or provisioning, then being at a dock is preferred. Then you can just walk on and off, much easier to load goods, materials, etc. If no dock space, then if buoy's are notably closer than anchoring, then I may get a buoy over anchoring, but that is very rare.
For long term dockage, I use a buoy as where I'm located they are significantly less expensive than dock space, if there is even any dock space available. In my case, using a buoy gives me the same "oversight" from marina staff as being on a dock hence much better than leaving her at anchor when I may be gone for weeks. No one watches the boat at anchor, that's 100% on the owner...
dj
