Taylor Creek/Beaufort Anchorage (Statute Mile 201)
The installation of private moorings on Taylor Creek has been going on for some years now. The town has chosen not to regulate this practive, at least not yet. I’m very sorry to hear the reduced swing room is one of the results of this activity. So many of us in the cruising community like to anchor on Taylor Creek and experience the delights of the Beaufort Historical District. Of course, you can always pick up a slip at the Beaufort Town Docks. Everything except a supermarket is within easy walking distance.
If you do anchor on Taylor Creek, there are free dinghy docks at both the eastern and western ends of the pricipal waterfront. The westerly pier is particuarly convenient to the downtown shopping district.
This anchorage is filling with moorings which, as far as I can tell, are not legal but remain nonetheless. While there is good depth in the part of the cut east of G’7’³, the narrower channel causes the current to run much faster than to the west of G’7’³. It’s easy to find enough water for boats drawing 7-8′.
At the moment, there are two boats riding to Bahamian moorings, many boats riding on moorings, and the rest riding on one hook (our boat included), some with excessive amounts of scope out. The different swing circles makes finding suitable swing room a challenge (we saw one boat spend over an hour to find a usable spot and it took us three passes to get the hook set in the right place). A quick check shows very few boats are showing anchor lights or even a cockpit light as a low-level anchor light – not good news for an after sunset dinghy ride.
There is some fetch from the west and somewhat less from the east, and virtually nothing to the north or south. But there’s very little wind shelter from any direction save to the north, and that from the buildings and trees on shore. While Beaufort has much to commend it, Taylor Creek is probably best rated as `advanced skills or better needed’.
Rick Emerson
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