Montauk, New York · Fishers Island Sound & the East End · 41°04.2′N 71°55.9′W · VHF Ch 09
Holding at Lake Montauk is rated good, over a mud bottom. Set well and check your swing before you trust it.
Lake Montauk is well sheltered from northeast, east, southeast, south, southwest, west, northwest winds. Check the wind-protection rose above for every direction.
Yes — anchoring at Lake Montauk is free; a guest mooring runs Safe Harbor Montauk YC — Ch 09 / Dockwa.
Hail on VHF Ch 09 (Montauk YC Ch 09).
Reserve or hail — Safe Harbor Montauk YC and marinas on Ch 09 / Dockwa. It full daily in season.
Lake Montauk is the East End's great sheltered harbor and its sportfishing capital — a big, nearly landlocked bay entered through one jettied cut, ringed by marinas, fish docks and the Montauk Yacht Club.
Once you're through the inlet the harbor opens up with ample room to anchor in good mud, or take a marina mooring (hail Safe Harbor Montauk on Ch 09). Protection is good from every direction but the north, where the entrance faces Block Island Sound. Fuel, provisions and the village are all close; the whole harbor is a No-Discharge Zone with a free town pump-out boat on Ch 73.
Hazards & cautions. The only way in is a single jettied channel on the north shore that shoals and carries a strong tidal set, with heavy commercial and sportfishing traffic — time the entrance and hold the marked channel. Inside, the harbor is large and nearly landlocked with negligible current.
NOAA Coast Pilot notes Montauk Harbor lies in the northern part of Lake Montauk, entered via a dredged, jettied north-shore channel; currents decrease rapidly inside and are practically negligible near the yacht club.
No cruiser reports yet. If you've anchored here, be the first — your note helps the next boat in.
Augusto ratings and editorial are our own synthesis of public-domain sources and cruiser reports. Always verify against current charts and local knowledge before you rely on them.