Small Point Harbor

43°44'29.7"N , 69°50'42.8"W

Phippsburg

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Photo: Dan Hinckley

Often passed by, this tight, well-protected, and largely undeveloped anchorage offers boats passing east or west a convenient stopping-off point on the east side of Casco Bay without having to head farther up the New Meadows River. Inside, it’s a lovely, quiet place. This harbor is home to the Small Point One Design, designed in the late 1930s by Starling Burgess, now a fleet of 33 boats that are lovingly maintained by summer residents and actively raced every summer. Vessels up to 40 feet and 6-foot draft can lie comfortably here. It’s possible for larger boats but can be a bit cozy. If the weather is calm, it’s also possible to anchor north of Goose Rocks.

Approach & Cautions

Photo: Small Point One Design class racing - by John Chandler

The channel at the north end of the harbor can be daunting to the first-timer but, once past the mudflats, access is easy right up the center of the channel to the mooring field at the south end.  The Taft/Rindlaub guide has a good discussion and useful chartlet of the approach, and the channel can also be seen in the accompanying aerial picture. Although you can carry a 4.5-foot draft through the north end at low water, entrance is best attempted at half-tide or better, and doing so on a rising tide gives peace of mind.

small one-design sailboats under main and jib

Click the chart to open Navionics.

Not to be used for Navigation.

Docking, Anchorages, or Moorings

Once into the inner harbor, you will pass the Hermit Island lobster wharf on the west side and a lobstermen’s pier on the east side. Next on the east side is a long float for use by the summer community and then two private docks. Just past the docks are several moorings in mid-channel, one or more of which is usually available for visitors. Mooring #522 is maintained as a guest mooring, and has heavy chain and rope fastened to a 3,000+lb granite block. Others may be free but should not be taken without an invitation from the owner. Because of the recent proliferation of small motorboats moored in the harbor, anchoring can be tricky but is possible in the channel south of the mooring field.

Getting Ashore

Photo: John Chandler

There is a small store at the extreme south end of the harbor maintained by the Hermit Island Campground.  It can be reached by dinghy at the top of the tide. Otherwise, go ashore at the campground float southwest of the mooring field, and follow the road along the harbor’s west side.

Other Things To Do:

  1. The Lobster House, a seafood restaurant, is located on Route 216, 1/4-mile south of Sprague Road. Call (207) 389-1590 for reservations..
  2. Nearby off Route 216 to the north of Small Point is the Morse Mountain to Seawall Beach hiking trail.

view from hill of distant water and land

Nearby Anchorages

  • Sebasco Harbor Resort is 1.5 miles farther north up the New Meadows River. It is somewhat exposed to the SW but has good moorings.  Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (866) 389-2072. It changed hands in 2022 and we understand that there will be no launch service in 2023.
  • The Basin – a gem – is almost 4 miles farther north up the New Meadows River and a favorite of many cruisers. It is a completely landlocked pool with houses and a few docks scattered around the edges. Click on the link (at left) to see the separate listing for this anchorage.
  • Cundys Harbor is about 3.3 miles to the NNW from Small Point. It sits on the west side of the mouth of the New Meadows River — just east of Quahog Bay. Holbrooks Wharf & Store, (207) 406-4436, offers lunch and dinner. This is a wide-open harbor exposed to the east. From the west, simply round the end of East Cundy Point, leaving green can #9 to port and head up-river. Leave the flashing green buoy #1 to port, and the harbor and mooring field will appear in less than a mile. Leave green can #3 to starboard and make your way easily into the mooring field and dock. You may be able to anchor off in about 30 feet or pick up an empty mooring as long as you don’t leave the boat unattended.

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