Huntington Bay, New York
New York Rockway Inlet
Jersey City Marina
Annapolis
Norfolk
Cape Fear

3-Jan-16   US East Coast
Long Island Sound
Huntington Bay, New York
Highly recommended – crowded but all facilities are available in the various marinas + Long Island Rail Road is a 45 minute, direct and relatively cheap journey to Manhattan.
Manhasset Bay
Generally acknowledged by locals as the best value and most secure stop to visit New York City. Options vary from buoys to an expensive IGY Mari na.

New York
Rockway Inlet – The Gateway Marina
Difficult to recommend this as the staff were in my experience particularly unhelpful whilst we attempted to recommission a Catalina 30 in their overgrown uncared for ship yard, the Marina is no better and it’s a good 1.5 hour bus journey into Brooklyn – it is cheap though, very near JFK (light sleepers beware) and next to a sports complex if one is so inclined.

New Jersey
Jersey City Marina is expensive as you’d expect but still cheaper than the Marinas in Manhattan and a short 24 hour ferry service can take directly you into the heart of Manhattan.

Chesapeake Bay
Annapolis
Not much to add to the FPI. A beautiful spot that claims to be the home of sailing in the USA and fairly straightforward to get to Washington DC (there is a bus to the outskirts of the DC metro system).
Norfolk
I had an amusing week in the ‘Cutty Sark Marina’ making repairs and waiting for crew. They had water, electricity, showers, wifi and a typical Southern USA bar/restaurant. It is right opposite the military camp so you can expect to be woken by the reveille each day. It is not too expensive and all marine and provisioning services are in the area but you will probably need to rent a car or use the well covered Uber service for provisioning.

North Carolina
Cape Fear
Despite its name, offered a welcome haven during gale conditions with a well-marked entrance and well protected in the ICW. There are numerous marinas in the Wilmington – Southport area on the ICW with adequate facilities. Tough it took all of 11 miles of the ICW for us to get bored of the sound of the engine and return to the Atlantic.
Fort Lauderdale
Of course there are numerous facilities but it is not best suited for non-charter or non-super yachts. The town is sprawling and so renting a car/using Uber is a necessity.