Anchorage· Sint Eustatius (Statia)· Leeward Islands
Oranjestad Anchorage (Orange Bay)
17° 28.9′ N · 62° 59.4′ W · approximate
Statia's only anchorage: an open roadstead off Lower Town in Oranje Baai, where you swing beneath Fort Oranje's cliff over 18th-century warehouse ruins and wrecks, with the Quill's cone behind and Saba on the horizon.
Practical
Approximate: placed about 250 m off the Lower Town waterfront, seaward of the OpenStreetMap 'Oranje Baai' label (17.48077,-62.98789); use your chart and the park's buoys. STENAPA designates Orange Bay as the anchoring/mooring area inside the marine park; fee US$10 per night, capped at US$30 per week, paid at the harbour on check-in (not at the STENAPA office). A 2019 Noonsite report found no park moorings visible but good holding. Swell is usually present (Noonsite) - expect roll. Do not anchor or fish in the Northern and Southern Marine Park Reserves, and do not anchor on dive sites. No waste discharge, no trash overboard. STENAPA monitors VHF 17/16. Land the dinghy in the harbour area at Gallows Bay. Swimming is possible at the north end of the bay where some sand remains (Wikivoyage). Keep clear of the commercial pier and tanker traffic to the oil terminal further north. Update (Noonsite, June 2025): there are no mooring balls for visiting yachts - balls near the harbour are private or dive-only - and you must anchor in the zone designated on the Marine Park map, at least 30 m from any mooring or regulatory buoy. Reasonably safe except in really disturbed weather or a strong northerly swell; in a southerly swell move behind the breakwater (see Breakwater Anchorage). Tug moorings trail 20 m+ of floating line - watch for them at night.
Best for
The only place to anchor - base for wreck dives, the Quill and Oranjestad
Season
Roadstead - rolly in northerly swell (winter) or any westerly