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Beaufort - Downtown

Location: Beaufort River
Mile Marker: Mile 536.3
Lat / Lon: N 32° 25.767' / W 080° 40.700'
Depth: 10-20 Feet
Description:
A large portion of this anchorage has been converted to a mooring field, managed by the Downtown Marina Of Beaufort. There are 30 moorings.
You can anchor after the mooring field. My first try was in line with the red buoys 240 and my Anchor get stock in a red fishing net. Many boat anchor before or after the buoys without trouble. Tide can be as high as 8' and current 3kts. If you anchor around the buoys 240, you will have between 15-25' of water. After that it's will be more about 25-35'. No or little protection from south wind. If south wind, prepare for a ruff night as current will fight the wind and your boat will turn around the anchor. My rode get stock around my keel 2 times during a night. North, East and West wind won't do many waves.

3.83

(6)

3.83 out of 5 stars

Holding:

4.67

Good, Mud

Wind Protection:

2.17

Exposed to South and Wakes

Current Flow:

2.00

Wake Protection:

2.67

Exposed to South and Wakes

Scenic Beauty:

3.17

Ease of Shopping:

4.00

Shore Access:

4.67

Pet Friendly:

4.60

Cell Service:

4.00

WiFi:

1.67

Review for Beaufort - Downtown

Reviewed by: Janeen Axtell on Nov 18, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 53'
Draft: 4.5'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

3

Current Flow:

4

Wake Protection:

3

Scenic Beauty:

4

Ease of Shopping:

5

Shore Access:

5

Pet Friendly:

5

This is one of our favorite anchorages. The holding is very good in mud and the current flow is not very strong. Due to the amount of boat traffic through the ICW in that location you do get waked but the boats are not moving very fast. The attraction, of course, is the city of Beaufort with two free docks for dinghy use, restaurants, bars, gift shops, tours, history etc... Beaufort is a very pet friendly city as well. There is a mooring field, run by the marina but anchoring is just as pleasant and more economical for us cruisers on a budget! Come for a night and give it a try. You might decide to stay longer.

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Review for Beaufort - Downtown

Reviewed by: Janeen Axtell, Toes in the Water, on Aug 16, 2024
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 53'
Draft: 4.5'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

2

Current Flow:

2

Wake Protection:

2

Scenic Beauty:

3

Ease of Shopping:

5

Shore Access:

5

Pet Friendly:

5

Cell Service:

4

WiFi:

3

We tried to grab a mooring ball around 5 pm. The it was very windy and having never used a mooring before we failed and lost our boat hook in the process. Mooring field was pretty full. Many of the mooring ball leads looked worn. We gave up and anchored out behind and adjacent from the mooring field. There were a handful of other boats anchored out as well. Had to try several times to get the anchor to catch but it held tight for two nights. The trick was to increase the scope a little. We were not waked very many times by passing boats and we felt safe and secure. The area was quiet at night. Access to beautiful Beaufort was via a public free dock at the Marina which is in great shape and very nice. Beaufort is a must see with shops, restaurants, historical houses, and a rich history. The city is walkable or you can rent bikes or take a golf cart tour.

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Review for Beaufort - Downtown

Reviewed by: Chris Ensing, Pau Hana, on Mar 30, 2023
Vessel Type: Power
LOA: 31'
Draft: 3.4'

Overall Rating:

5

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

3

Current Flow:

2

Wake Protection:

3

Scenic Beauty:

4

Ease of Shopping:

5

Shore Access:

5

Great anchorage. We had no wind so can't speak for that. Good holding, plenty of water and room. Free downtown dock is a short dinghy ride & close to everything.

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Review for Beaufort - Downtown

Reviewed by: Heidi Snyder, s/v BERTIE, on May 13, 2019
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 65'
Draft: 5.2'

Overall Rating:

4

Holding:

5

Wind Protection:

2

Current Flow:

1

Wake Protection:

3

Scenic Beauty:

4

Ease of Shopping:

3

Shore Access:

5

Pet Friendly:

5

Cell Service:

5

WiFi:

1

We anchored here in Mid May 2019, and there was not much traffic as far as the wakes others had noted, so that was a plus. Holding was great, and there definitely is strong current running through the anchorage and marina.

We had to walk a good 30-40 minutes to get to the BiLo Grocery Market. We would have gone to the Sea Islands Local Outlet, which got good Yelp reviews for locally-sourced foods, but it is only open on Thursdays from 2-6 pm. The Publix is a cab or Uber ride.

Charming, lovely old homes, nice friendly locals, very touristy downtown. The location of the anchorage, right next to the marina facilities was excellent. Showers were $1.00 and laundry $1.75 per load to wash or dry. Store has small selection of charts and guides (yes Waterway Guide available), beer, wine other beverages, ice. If you take a mooring ball, you get access to the courtesy car, which is a big big plus! A great place to stop for rest, reprovision or exploring.

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Review for Beaufort - Downtown

Reviewed by: Robert Sherer on Jul 1, 2018
Vessel Type: Sail
LOA: 42'
Draft: 5.0'

Overall Rating:

3

Holding:

4

Wind Protection:

1

Current Flow:

2

Wake Protection:

1

Scenic Beauty:

2

Ease of Shopping:

4

Shore Access:

4

Pet Friendly:

4

Cell Service:

3

WiFi:

1

You can anchor south of the mooring field and use the public docks to get ashore. The anchorage is not protected and boats speed by all the time so there's lots of wakes. The holding is good, it's just bouncy.

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Review for Beaufort - Downtown

Reviewed by: Skipper Bob on Jun 1, 2016
Draft: 0.0'

Overall Rating:

3

Holding:

4

Wind Protection:

2

Current Flow:

1

Wake Protection:

4

Scenic Beauty:

2

Ease of Shopping:

2

Shore Access:

4

Pet Friendly:

4

Cell Service:

4

View location on the Waterway Guide Explorer