Capt. Grahame Shorrocks of the 214-foot (65m) Amels M/Y Imagine was named Fraser Yachts’ Charter Captain of the Year at its 14th annual awards gala…
You’re the only yacht in a clandestine anchorage… until another yacht motors in.
It’s hard to keep a secret.
“I curse GPS for inspiring anybody and everybody to find places that previously only the brave would venture to,” said Capt. Chris Harris. “Pre-GPS, there were very few boats in the Bahamas, now it’s crazy. There aren’t any secrets, they’re all on the books or charts unless it’s very remote.”
Even inexperienced mariners fill formerly remote spots as exploration eases. Yachts no longer risk reefs or rocks to roll into an unknown harbor. Crew send in a drone, seaplane, or tender with a depth finder, sonar, and echosounder. Any harbor is safer with a Google Earth overview.
For a safe anchorage, a yacht needs:
Even as more boaters take to the seas, refuge can still be found in Croatia, St. Lucia, the Bahamas, Greece, the South Pacific, or just about anywhere. It’s just the solitude that’s not guaranteed. There are thousands of anchorages in the Bahamas’ 700 islands, but many of the anchorages that are well-known now, were secrets years ago, said Capt. Rupert Lean.
Secluded spots can also be found along the 3,500 miles of coastline in Maine. Because, as Harris said, it takes a real effort to get there, it’s off the beaten path.
So when privacy is elusive, it helps to change the focus — like with Capt. Devon Tull’s not-so-secret Potts Harbor Anchorage in South Harpswell, Maine. While there are usually other boaters, the special features make for a memorable time. Well-marked, aside from the lobster pots, there is a reversing waterfall driven by a strong incoming tide racing through narrows and surging over a rock ledge.
“What makes this anchorage so dear is the Dolphin Marina and Restaurant,” Tull said. For 60 years, this family-owned spot offers the owners fresh-caught fish and homemade chowder.
“For breakfast, they will zip around in a down east style tender and knock on your hull offering visitors coffee and hot fresh blueberry muffins from berries they’ve picked on the property,” she said.
Sometimes, a yacht can create privacy.
“When you do find a spot, to keep it secret, take a cove that you fill up,” said Capt. Jay Kimmal. Find someplace just big enough for your boat, or get your jet skis, tenders, and toys to take up space to where you just fit inside the cove.
Another way to ensure privacy is to watch for bays and coves that are not designed to be anchorages until a unique weather pattern, Lean said. In the Exumas the east winds prevail. If there is a short-lived west wind, you can access beautiful, secluded beaches that you normally can’t get to, he said. You may have to pick through the reef to get to it. Look for flat seas or the tradewinds to reverse.
“Then you have just a moment in time,” Lean said.
Charter yachts don’t always have the luxury of exploration like live-aboard cruisers, he said. “On a yacht charter, on a schedule to be to the next location, there’s not necessarily time to scout and try a new spot. We have to rely on proven locations.”
Seeking refuge in storms, Capt. Norm Treu has been fortunate to find a few accidental secret anchorages in bad weather.
“We had a sea that sent us to Cat Cay,” Treu said. “It was dicey getting in, scraping along, with nothing under our keel.”
But that night’s adventures left everyone with positive memories and full bellies.
“We were the only ones there until a little boat came in,” he said. “It was lobster guys from Bimini and they could not get back home with the seas. We traded beer for 20 lobsters, and we had lobster every way we could.”
But, sometimes that divine spot just won’t work. Back in the 1990s, when Harris ran singer Jimmy Buffet’s yacht, they would usually head to the sunshine. Harris recalled a story when Buffet pointed to a picturesque cove with palm trees, white beaches, and gentle waves, and said to anchor in that perfect spot.
Capt. Harris checked the chart and realized the entire cove would dry up at low tide.
“I told him all the secret anchorages have been discovered by now,” Harris said. “The perfect secret anchorage doesn’t exist. It would have a hillside to block the wind, a waterfall, swaying palm trees, naked girls on the beach, and a pizza joint on the corner.”
Harris said it is always greener on the other side, so don’t be surprised when yacht owners keep asking, “Why don’t we go there?”
Images courtesy of Capt. Rupert Lean.
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