Approaches
Anyone contemplating a visit to Sandwich should also read the Cape Cod Canal pages, and be familiar with the currents expected at the time of arrival and departure. It is possible to motor the short distance between the Sandwich Boat Basin and Cape Cod Bay against a foul current, but in the wrong circumstances it can be annoyingly slow or surprisingly bumpy.
The Boat Basin is about 3/4 of a mile into the Canal from the east end, and is labelled on the chart with its old designation 'Harbor of Refuge'. A man-made harbor within the man-made Canal, there are few intuitive clues to its whereabouts, and the Basin entrance can be difficult to spot, especially at night. The small opening in the bulkhead is just east of the brightly lit power plant.
Once you're abreast of the harbor, the way in is obvious, if a little narrow. Make plenty of allowance for the crosscurrent when you finally turn into the Basin -- it runs hard right up to the edge of the Canal, then goes slack just inside the bulkhead.
Anchorages & Moorings
The old 'Harbor of Refuge' had room for maybe a dozen boats to anchor and a reputation for poor holding, dragging and bumping when the weather turned bad. So in the late 1980s the Army Corps of Engineers improved the Basin, and the Town established the marina, with the requirement from the Corps that 24 slips be set aside for transients.
Anchoring is no longer permitted in the Boat Basin, and there are no moorings.
Slips
Slips in the Boat Basin are managed by the town-owned Sandwich Marina. Tie-up is available for an hourly fee or an overnight rate.The marina is staffed 24 hours a day, and marina policy requires that you contact the office before tying up.
Reservations at the Sandwich Marina are strongly recommended. Busy weekends like 4th of July will book up before the season starts, while on most dates throughout the summer there will be space available. But it's hard to predict when a 100 foot yacht will decide to occupy four cruising sailboat berths for the week. At the least, call the office in the morning of the day you plan to arrive to establish either a slip assignment or check-in procedure.
Remember that marina personnel are juggling transient boats of all sizes, headed in both directions, at all hours, based on the Canal currents. Calling the marina ahead of time by phone or on channel 9 will make docking go more smoothly.
