Anchoring versus Marinas

The other day at the marina in Charleston we were talking with other Loopers, and the topic of anchoring out versus staying in marinas came up. The other couple admitted they were scared of anchoring out. Cathryn admitted that docking was scary to her.  Bob, in typical male fashion, stayed silent, unwilling to acknowledge fear of anything.

So far, we really do prefer anchoring out over being in a marina, all else being equal, including the fear factor.  We have developed a fair amount of confidence in our anchoring skills, and it is a very peaceful way to spend an evening. 

The  real benefit of marinas, as we see it, is if there are lots of shore-side activities we want to participate in, such as in Savannah or Charleston, being able to just walk off the dock is convenient rather than dealing with the dinghy between the boat and shore.

Yet in a couple of places like Marathon or St. Augustine where the anchorage or mooring fields are convenient to a well-located dinghy dock, we found we still preferred being away from the crowds at the dock. And for both cost and health, the meals we eat on the boat beat those in restaurants.

We do miss out on some of the interaction potential that exists at the dock, but so far we’ve found we use marinas often enough that we’ve been able to get plenty of that too, and we have even met other people while at anchor.

In the end it boils down to the the fact that it really isn’t a choice; we want to do both.  If you like frequent or constant interaction with others, or like to eat many of your meals at restaurants, you’ll spend more time at the dock.  If you prefer to be on your own and save some money, or meet other like-minded folks who prefer to anchor, you’ll spend more time anchoring out. We figure if we spent every night at a marina while doing the Loop, we could easily spend  $30,000 to $35,000, and since this is not in our budget, we’ll try to spend as many nights as we can on the hook.

Bob has been doing more of the docking than Cathryn, so far: remember, males express no fear! Cathryn more often pulls us out of a slip.  Cathryn almost always is at the helm during anchoring.  Bob’s longer legs and arms tend to serve us better on the foredeck with the anchor foot pedals. Having said that, Cathryn continues, very gradually, to work on overcoming her fear of docking this behemoth of a boat whenever there is wind or current making it more difficult, or more likely she’ll run into the dock. Today she parallel parked “Next To Me” in a 50-foot spot on a side-tie between two other boats in Georgetown, and while “Next To Me” is officially 41.7 feet long, with swim platform and bowsprit included, she’s actually 46 feet, so it was a tight fit, and we didn’t hit the dock!