Traveling from Nantucket to North Shore, MA. Plan is to transit the canal and avoid the crowds by dropping the hook off Scussett Beach. Any suggestions?
Anchoring off Scussett Beach
- Thread starter Sowwanin II
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I suspect most of us never heard of it. If you are looking for local knowledge, it might be best to use the radio. A wild guess is that maybe 1% of participants here are familiar with the area.
With a little Google Earth and geogarage, I found the beach. Answer: not in a northerly or eastern wind, I wouldn't. There's a mooring basin just before you exit the canal. It also appears that there is at least a 10 foot drop off from the beach to deeper water, so with a south or west wind you'd be anchoring essentially off a shelf. Be careful.
Remember that you can have up to 5 knots of current in the canal going one way or the other depending on the tide. I have done the canal at least 20 times and sometimes I drop anchor or tie to a piling at the inset in the Buzzard bay side that is across from the Mass maritime Academy. Also there is good holding ground protected from traffic by turning in at Onset. Never on the Cape Cod bay side, There is no protection in Scussett Beach from a Nor'easter. If you travel the canal at the right time thenyou can get up to Plymouth/Duxbury bay and enjoy that harbor.
there are loads of good places to anchor on the Buzzards Bay side of the canal. Marion is a great sailboat center with a designated anchorage or Basset island in Pocasset is also a great spot. Either of these harbors will have rental moorings if the weather is iffy for anchoring. Scusset is an open roadsted and in the right situation the waves come in from Spain. On the Cape Cod Bay side of the canal there is commercial shipping and lobster fishing, not a good place to be while sleeping in your boat. Pay attention to the canal current as you probably cannot go through unless it is slack or flooding. Oh by the way, be careful transitting Woods Hole which is another place you'll nedd to consult the current tables. Good luck
Dave
Dave
I second not anchoring on the Cape Cod Bay side. I would either plan to go to Plymouth, about 3-4 hours away or stay at Sandwich Town Marina. It's actually just inside the canal and is reasonable for a slip (no moorings). We stayed there last week and for a 31' boat it was $70.
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