Anchorage· Saba· Leeward Islands
Ladder Bay Moorings
17° 38.0′ N · 63° 15.3′ W
Saba's signature lee-side mooring field beneath 800 hand-cut steps of The Ladder, with an abandoned 1930s customs house on the cliff above - you lie in deep blue water against a wall of volcanic rock with Saba's best dive sites under the keel.
Practical
Coordinates are Wikipedia's Ladder Bay waterbody position. Ladder Bay is an official mooring area inside the marine park; the west-side designated anchorage zone runs between Ladder Bay and Well's Bay - otherwise anchoring is restricted to protect coral, so use a yellow visitor mooring (max 20 m / 50 t, 7 days, no reservations). Run your own line through the pendant rather than hanging off it vertically (park guidance). Noonsite cruisers report the moorings hold boats up to 50 tons, but about half were missing in early 2018 - check availability. Water is very deep right to the shore. Do NOT land a dinghy here: The Ladder's bottom 2 m were wrecked by Hurricane Maria (2017) and the park advises landing only at Fort Bay (about 2 nm by dinghy, which cruisers call treacherous in swell). Rolly in northerly swell; cruisers advise against a visit with winds forecast above about 12 kn. Starlink reportedly needs you to be about a quarter mile offshore (2024 report).
Best for
Overnight base for Ladder Bay and Well's Bay dives under the cliffs
Season
Best in settled trades; untenable in northerly ground swell (mostly Nov-Apr)
Nearby
- Ladder Bay Dive Sites (Ladder Labyrinth, Babylon, Hot Springs)0.1 NM away
- The Ladder (Saba)0.3 NM away
- Saba Cares Clinic & A.M. Edwards Medical Center0.5 NM away
- Well's Bay Moorings0.5 NM away
- Bottom Bean Cafe0.6 NM away
- Mary's Point Trail0.6 NM away
- Saba Day0.6 NM away
- Saba Emporium Market (The Bottom)0.6 NM away