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Georges Island

Approaches

The approaches to Georges from the north are clean. There's a large foul area extending southeast of the island which requires any boat with a keel to carefully respect the buoys.

Anchorages

Boats frequently anchor off the northwest corner of the island, where there is a shelf of 25 feet at low, out of traffic lanes, and reasonably protected except from the south and west.

There is an extensive cable area between Georges and Gallops, though, which claims more than its share of anchors every summer. I contributed one a few years ago and now rig a tripline whenever I anchor here.

Moorings

There are 3 or 4 guest moorings off the west side of Georges. They are a simple alternative to the tripline anchoring described above and to the complications of tie-up in the basin, described below. Given the relatively few moorings in relation to the island' s popularity, these moorings experience the highest demand in the outer harbor.

Island Moorings, an adjunct of Constitution Marina in Charlestown, manages all the outer harbor guest moorings. In keeping with the short-term transient nature of the moorings' use, there are rates for day, evening, overnight and 24 hour periods. You can reserve and pay for a mooring in advance, or pick up an unreserved empty mooring and the Island Moorings boat will come around to collect the fee.

Slips

There is room for about a dozen boats, depending on size, to tie up inside the basin on the west side of the island. In the north half of the basin, the guest spots are to the left, along the north bulkhead; in the south half, they are to the right, along the south bulkhead. Most aren't conventional slips. Rather, boats lie perpendicular to a float (usually bow-in) and tie off the stern to outlying pilings. There isn't much room to maneuver inside the basin, so rig lines on both sides, bow and stern before heading in.

Be certain to adjust docklines to keep the boat clear of the pilings through the tide range you expect during your visit. The pilings are rough and covered with creosote -- rubbing against them will cause significant damage to your topsides. For the same reason, this is not a place where you can get away with using jib or spinnaker sheets for docklines. If there's a sea running, or even a lot of motorboat wake, the docking basin gets surprisingly rolly.

Tie-up at Georges is available until dusk, but not overnight.

Contacts

• Island Alliance
  • Nice umbrella website for the 13 public and private island owners & managers.
  • 617.223.8666
• Island Moorings
  • 617.241.9640
  • VHF: 69

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