Anchorage can be selected inside the west breakwater in depths of 15 to 18 feet, taking care to keep the south end of Wamphassuc Point bearing northward of 270°. Vessels drawing up to 8 feet can find anchorage in the inner harbor.
Stonington is on the east side of the harbor. Traffic is mostly fishing and recreational craft. The wharves have depths of 7 to 12 feet alongside. Following southerly weather, a surge is felt by vessels tied to the southern side of the seaward pier.
A boatyard is in the northeast part of the harbor. Berths, electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, storage, 40-ton lift, marine supplies, and hull, engine, and electronic repairs are available. In 1981, a reported depth of 7 feet could be carried to the yard.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Stonington Harbor is approached from southeastward and westward. Vessels with local knowledge sometimes cross Noyes Shoal from southwestward. Noyes Rock, 0.4 mile southward of Wamphassuc Point, has a least depth of 7 feet. Noyes Shoal, with 10 to 18 feet over it, is nearly 1.5 miles long in a west-northwesterly direction; it is marked by a gong buoy near its eastern end. From southwestward, a northeasterly course can be shaped from the lighted bell buoy south of Ram Island Reef to south of White Rock, and thence eastward past the north side of Noyes Rock to the harbor.
The southeastern approach is best, with fewer dangers, and the navigational aids serve as excellent guides to avoid them. In daytime with clear weather, no difficulty should be experienced in entering any of the approaches.
From southeastward, the course from south of Napatree Point Ledge should be west-northwestward until off the buoy at the southwest end of Middle Ground, from which a northerly course can be shaped past the breakwater lights and into the harbor.
Stonington Harbor is protected by breakwaters on each side. Each of the breakwaters is marked at its seaward end by a light. The controlling depth to the inner harbor is about 11 feet.
A rock that bares at low water is about 50 yards southward of the fishing wharf and is marked by a private buoy.
A railroad causeway, with two fixed spans each having a clearance of 4 feet, crosses Stonington Harbor 0.4 mile above Stonington. In 2009, construction was underway to replace both fixed spans. Overhead power cables at the openings have clearances of 41 feet.
