best spot to anchor in Castine

[Megunticook]

Thinking about making a quick jaunt up to Castine for a night. Have never been. Where's a good spot to anchor? I hear when the ebbtide and river current are running together, the water can really move. Thanks for any firsthand advice.

[Carl Thunberg]

Try Smith Cove south of Sheep Island. There is room to anchor a ton of boats in there, and there is no current. Evidently, I have been lucky with my timing. I have not found the current coming in and out to be problematic. The mosquitos can be fierce right at sunset.

[Joe CD MS 300]

If you want to be close to the town you really need to get a mooring. In addition to Smith cove you can anchor east of Holbrook I. Do you have the Maine Crusing guide? It should have all the info you need. Much better than my memory.

[Tod Mills]

When a strong norther was forecast, I holed up for a day anchored in Hatch Cove reading, listening to the radio, and munching on some mussels with cheese and crackers (mussels collected previously out away from civilization), washed down with stout. In that case, it worked out very well as I had no fetch. Otherwise, I'm sure the southern anchorages would be nicer. Much of Hatch Cove dries out with a mud bottom.

The current + ebb tide can be pretty strong; I had no problem sailing (not motoring) in or out by timing accordingly.

[bottomscraper]

We usually anchor in Holbrook. I would advise not anchoring in too close and apply plenty of mosquito repellent especially if you decide to venture ashore. Better...stronger...faster bionic mosquitos!

[Megunticook]

Thanks, there tonight. Smith's Cove sounds like the place to be.

[Carl Thunberg]

So, how did it go?

[Megunticook]

Very nice.

We actually just spent the night on one of the town floats, it was totally empty other than a monster catamaran down at one end. That allowed us to explore town in the evening and not worry about getting back to the boat after dark. If I had to anchor, though, Smith Cove seems like an excellent choice.

The current was noticeable but the tide was flooding both when we arrived and when we left, so it was working against the river current.

Very interesting place, lots of history. Will definitely go back sometime.