I have some good/great things to say about No Name Harbor, but I also have some words of warning.

Bad news first: It’s a small anchorage, with deep water. It gets crowded. For the most part, you can’t put out enough scope to really feel comfortable. At high tide, there is close to fifteen foot depths in some spots. A 7 – 1 ratio would require just over 100 feet of chain/rode. That’s impossible to do here. There simply isn’t enough room. The picture above was taken when the harbor was almost empty. There were twice as many boats when we came in.

The bottom consists of a sand/mud mixture that is quite soft. We got a our hook stuck pretty well. When we pulled it up it held a bushel basket sized glob of bottom.

What’s crowded? Swinging on the hook in close proximity to your neighors, closer than most mooring fields. What’s really crowded? Weekends:

 

It can get crazy with all the powerboats coming in from Miami and surrounding areas.

 

Now the good news: It’s beautiful and well protected. During the week, it’s less crowded and peaceful. There’s a free pumpout station on the sea wall. It’s a do it yourself operation that works just fine. There are plenty of trash cans so you can get rid of your garbage, no problem. No Name Harbor is inside of a state park. The park is very nice. There are excellent beaches a short walk away, with nice facilities. There’s a Winn Dixie about a mile away. It’s also very nice. There are hiking/biking trails, fishing piers, lighthouse tours and picnic areas with restrooms. There’s even a washer and a dryer! It’s a $1.25 per load, which is very cheap.

There’s a restaurant directly on the sea wall called the Boater’s Grill. We haven’t tried it yet, but it looks nice, if not a bit pricey.

One last thing you should know before your visit. The park asks for twenty dollars per day to anchor and spend the night. It’s an honor system, with a few boxes on land near the wall. We haven’t noticed anyone paying it. We haven’t seen any attempts at enforcement. The “rules” say there are sporadic checks for receipts. We paid our twenty bucks just in case. There is also a limit on how many days you can stay. You can not stay overnight tied to the wall.

.We’ve heard some horror stories about anchoring here, so we were a bit apprehensive. Our Monday through Friday stay was extremely pleasant, so I’m glad we came. The weekends though, are just plain nuts. Remember that when making plans.