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Nantucket Moorings' mooring buoys were large and well labeled. On arrival, a Nantucket Moorings dockmaster met us by boat, led us to our mooring buoy & stood by while we, awkwardly with our limited mooring experience, picked up the mooring. Call Nantucket Moorings on VHF 68 as you pass Brant Point light entering the Harbor, and they will meet you. After we were moored, the dockmaster came alongside and pointed the way to the Town Pier and gave us a couple of tips on local restaurants, etc. The mooring buoy had two pennants, one with a pick-up buoy with a mast. All components were in good shape. Each pennant was heavy (1-inch?) floating (polypropylene?) line and had a large eye (18 inches?). There being two pennants, and we were able to belay one each to our port & starboard bow cleats. (Most of our mooring experience has been in the Exuma Land and Sea Park in the Bahamas, where moorings typically have no pick-up buoy or mast and only a single pennant, through which one must feed a dock line belayed to bow cleats--sometimes a painful process.) Nantucket Moorings does not provide shore-side services, but in the Harbor there is a Town Pier with a dinghy dock (usually pretty crowded), trash receptacles, bathrooms & showers. The Town Pier also offers short-term docking for larger vessels at floating docks, for drop-offs & pick-ups. We were told that one may get free water there, but we didn't do so. Although we put our dinghy in the water, we used Nantucket Harbor Launch service for most of our trips between boat & shore ($6 per person each way). The Launch service runs 7AM to midnight in summer. We were picked every time within 10-15 minutes of calling for a pick-up (also VHF68). The ride to shore takes about 5 minutes, but the Launch may stop to pick up other people on the way. The Launch service's shore-side landing is on Straight Wharf, pretty much in the center of the waterfront area. (The Town Pier is a quarter of a mile farther south.) To return to your boat, just go to the landing; a Launch will show up in a few minutes. A sign in the Launch said that they will provide fresh-water wash-down service at one's mooring. We were told that the Launch service will also deliver ice. We didn't try either of these services & don't know their cost. There are very few slips available in Nantucket in summer. Moorings are also scarce but seem to be more available than slips. When we were there, a mooring was the only available option. We cruise in a power boat and prefer to be secured to a pier with shore power & water. Thus, the prospect of taking a mooring was daunting. Nantucket Moorings made the experience as painless as possible.

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