Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Vineyard Haven, Martha’s Vineyard, MA

The harbormaster has control of the anchoring of vessels in the inner harbor; he will usually be found at the town dock on the west side of the harbor and can be contacted on VHF-FM channel 16, or by telephone (508-693-1368). A 4 mph speed limit is enforced inside the breakwater and within 150 feet of moored craft.

A ferry terminal, several wharves, two marinas and a boatyard are in the harbor. A yacht club is on the west side of the harbor, about 0.3 mile northward of the breakwater.

Guest moorings, maintained by the town, are available off the municipal wharf, 200 yards northward of the ferry terminal; other moorings can be hired from the boatyard and marinas.

Navigation:
East Chop and West Chop are prominent points on the north side of Martha’s Vineyard and on the east and west side of the entrance to Vineyard Haven. Both points terminate in high wooded bluffs which show prominently from the sounds; each is marked by a light.
West Chop Light (41°28’51″N., 70°35’59″W.), 84 feet above the water, is shown from a white conical tower; a sound signal is at the light.

A lighted gong buoy, 0.5 mile northeastward of the light, and a buoy, 0.5 mile eastward of the light, mark shoal water and rocks awash to the eastward of West Chop. It has been reported that during strong tidal currents, the buoy may be submerged.

East Chop Light (41°28’13″N., 70°34’03″W.), 79 feet above the water, is shown from a white tower on the east side of the entrance to Vineyard Haven. East Chop Flats, covered 5 to 18 feet, extend 0.2 mile northward and 0.5 mile eastward of East Chop. A lighted bell buoy, about 0.5 mile east-northeastward, and a buoy, about 350 yards northward of the light, mark the flats.

Vineyard Haven Harbor is a funnel-shaped bight in the northern side of Martha’s Vineyard between East Chop and West Chop, about 1.4 miles long in a southwest direction and about 1.3 miles wide at the entrance. This haven, easy of access, is the most important harbor of refuge for coasters between Provincetown and Narragansett Bay. The depths range from 46 feet at the entrance to 15 feet near the head of the harbor.

Although Vineyard Haven Harbor is exposed to northeasterly winds, vessels with good ground tackle can ride out most blows. The greatest danger encountered by vessels at anchor in a northeast gale is from vessels with poor ground tackle, which are likely to drift, foul other vessels, and then go ashore.

The harbor is the approach to the village of Vineyard Haven. A detached breakwater, marked on its southeastern end by a light, is on the flats on the western side of the harbor near the head. The natural channel is clear; soundings are the best guide for finding anchorage. When well inside the entrance, the water shoals gradually toward the western shore, but the eastern shore is steep and should be given a berth of about 0.2 mile.