The town dock at Marion, approached through a channel marked by private seasonal buoys, has reported depths of 4 to 5 feet alongside. Two boatyards at Marion provide limited guest moorings, electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, pump-out, launch ramp, marine lifts to 50 tons, boat storage and hull, engine and electronic repairs can be made. The harbormaster, who controls all mooring and anchoring in the harbor, monitors VHF-FM channel 68.
Navigation:
Click the “Map View” button above to see a chart of this harbor.
Sippican Harbor, scene of much pleasure-boat activity, makes into the north shore of Buzzards Bay about 3 miles southward of Wareham River. The harbor is the approach to Marion, a small town on the western shore. It is entered between Bird Island on the east and Converse Point on the west. Prominent features include the lighthouse on Bird Island and the conspicuous house and flagpole on Converse Point. The standpipe on Sippican Neck can also be seen for a considerable distance.
Mendells Rock and Seal Rocks are shoal, rocky areas, northward of Converse Point extending up to 0.2 mile off the west shore of the harbor. Planting Island, a peninsula extending about 0.6 mile northwesterly from Sippican Neck, is on the eastern side of the harbor. At Ram Island, off Marion, the passage between the island and the western shore is less than 275 yards wide. The currents in the narrow portion of the channel have considerable velocity at times. Little Island lies on the western side of the channel about 0.2 mile northwestward of Ram Island. The buoyed channel has a reported depth of about 12 feet from the entrance to Marion.
Blankinship Cove and Planting Island Cove, on the eastern side of Sippican Harbor, have a common entrance northward of Ram Island. They have general depths of 3 to 5 feet. Meadow Island separates the two coves. Gibbs Rock, marked by a private seasonal daybeacon, is 50 yards off the north point of Ram Island. A rock awash is charted 120 yards north of the daybeacon.
Hammett Cove in the northeastern part of Sippican Harbor is shallow and used only by small local craft. The approach to the cove is marked by private seasonal buoys. Charted obstructions are close westward of the buoys.