Orient, New York · Fishers Island Sound & the East End · 41°08.2′N 72°18.5′W · VHF Ch 71
Holding at Orient Harbor is rated good, over a mud bottom. Set well and check your swing before you trust it.
Orient Harbor is well sheltered from north, northeast, east, northwest winds. Check the wind-protection rose above for every direction.
Yes — anchoring at Orient Harbor is free; a guest mooring runs Orient YC guest mooring — call (631) 323-9767 / Ch 71.
Hail on VHF Ch 71 (Orient YC Ch 71).
Reserve or hail — Orient YC guest mooring — call (631) 323-9767 or hail on Ch 71. It fills on summer weekends.
Orient is the quiet end of the North Fork — a rural village of farm fields and old houses wrapped around a big, open, genuinely lovely anchorage that the Coast Pilot flatly calls excellent.
Anchor almost anywhere in 8–18 ft of good mud, or take an Orient Yacht Club guest mooring (call ahead, or hail on Ch 71 for the launch). Protection is good from the north through east, but the harbor opens south and southwest to Gardiners Bay, so pick settled or northerly weather. Services are minimal — this is a spot for a peaceful night under the stars, with the bustle of Greenport a short sail west.
Hazards & cautions. The harbor is wide open to the south and southwest across Gardiners Bay, so a sea builds fast in any southerly. Fish traps sit on the shoals within the harbor and rocks lie south of the Cleaves Point basin entrance — stand off the edges and read the chart.
NOAA Coast Pilot describes Orient Harbor as an excellent anchorage with depths from over 20 feet in its southern part to 16 feet at its northern end; fish traps lie on the shoals.
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.