Anchorages
Vessels with drafts up to 13 feet may anchor in the anchorage northeast of Hyannis Breakwater. Small craft can anchor in Lewis Bay west of the channel, off Hyannis Yacht Club and north of Dunbar Point. Limited anchorage is reported available in the basin north of Harbor Bluff.
Small-craft facilities
Several small-craft facilities and launching ramps are along the northwestern arm of Lewis Bay northward of Harbor Bluff. Limited berths are also available at the town marina on the west side at the head of the arm. A dockmaster is usually in attendance at this marina and can be reached by telephone (508-790-6327) or VHF 16.
For local information on moorings and berthings, the harbormaster can be contacted by telephone (508-790-6273), through the Barnstable police department (508-775-0387), or VHF-FM channels 16 and 9.
Ferries to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard berth in the harbor at Hyannis. Barnstable Municipal Airport is just north of the town.
Navigation:
The most prominent objects when approaching the harbor are: the daybeacon on Great Rock, two red and white checkered standpipes, a light blue tank, the breakwater light, the abandoned lighthouse tower on Point Gammon, and the square gray stone church belfry on the hill overlooking Hyannis Port to the westward.
Depths of 13 to 16 feet are in the approach channel, but it is somewhat obstructed by the flats extending westward from Point Gammon and an extensive shoal with numerous rocks extending southeastward from Hyannis Point. In January 2007, depths of 7 to 15 feet were available in the protected basin northward of the breakwater light.
Routes
Vessels approaching Hyannis Harbor from the eastward should shape a course to pass about 1,000 yards south of Hallets Rock, thence about 317° to a point about 0.6 mile southwestward of Great Rock Daybeacon 4A, and thence about 012° to pass about 100 yards or more eastward of the breakwater light. Vessels may anchor inside the breakwater on the east edge of the mooring area in depths of 15 to 20 feet, soft bottom. Small craft can anchor in the northern portion of the harbor in depths of 4 to 8 feet, but care must be taken to keep clear of a charted, submerged wreck, marked by a buoy.
Approaching from the westward, from a position about midway between Horseshoe Shoal Buoy 7 and Wreck Shoal Bell Buoy 8, steer about 054° to pass about 1400 yards east of Hodges Rock Buoy 2, and thence about 012° to pass about 100 yards eastward of the breakwater light in entering the harbor.
Hyannis Port is a summer resort with many prominent homes. A privately dredged channel, with reported depths of 6 feet in September 2005, leads to the Hyannis Port Yacht Club landing on the west shore of the harbor.
Lewis Bay, with depths of 2 to 11 feet, extends northeastward from Hyannis Harbor. In the northwest corner of the bay is the channel to the summer resort of Hyannis. The town has a hospital. Hyannis Yacht Club is on the west of the bay. A channel, marked by private seasonal buoys, leads westward to Hyannis Yacht Club. The club can accommodate craft to 140 feet; dockside depth is 8 feet.
A dredged channel leads from Hyannis Harbor into Lewis Bay, thence to an anchorage basin north of Harbor Bluff, thence to the town wharf at Hyannis, at the westernmost end. In January 2007, the controlling depths were 5.8 feet (10.8 feet at midchannel) to the anchorage basin, thence 9.4 to 13 feet in the basin, thence 8.5 feet to the town wharf. The channel is well marked but is subject to shoaling, especially in the vicinity of Lewis Bay Approach Channel Buoy 9. Heavy vessel traffic should be expected during summer months. A riprap jetty extends 1,000 feet southerly from Dunbar Point.
Vessels entering Lewis Bay must be guided by the buoys marking the dredged channel and by the color of the water, deepest where it is darkest.
