Princess Y8083'8"
View Specs & ReviewA summer superyacht harbour built on a year-round refit yard
Yachting in Newport
A Minted Location · Newport, Rhode Island
Most harbours that can berth a 250 ft yacht cannot work on one. Newport does both, and that is the reason to take it seriously rather than the racing heritage everyone leads with.
The shipyard on the northern waterfront runs three travelifts — 500 tonnes, 200 tonnes and 150 tonnes — and calls the largest of them the biggest lift in New England, with a paint team, machine shop, electrical, metal fabrication and joinery in house. Goat Island Marina and Forty 1° North both publish berths to 250 ft, the Marina at Newport Harbor Island Resort to 240 ft, and Newport Yachting Center prints a transient rate band specifically for vessels 100 ft and over.
Two things temper it, and you should hear both before you fall for the place. The season is roughly May to October, with a real peak of about eleven weeks — nobody keeps a 150 ft yacht here in February. And the cruising grounds do not match the berthing: Newport can take a 250-footer that then has nowhere comparable to go within a day's run, because Block Island's town moorings stop at 55 ft.
Where to keep a yacht in Newport
The largest published berth belongs to Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard: 350 ft across 3,500 linear feet of dock space on its dockage pages, and 300 ft and over on its home page. Plan against 300 ft and confirm anything larger on 401-846-6002 before you sail.
Below that the harbour is unusually deep in genuine large-yacht capacity. Goat Island Marina takes 15 ft to 250 ft across 175 slips with gas and diesel and shore power to 480 volts. Forty 1° North also publishes 250 ft, with three-phase 100 and 200 amp 480-volt service and pump-out connections at every slip. The Marina at Newport Harbor Island Resort takes 240 ft across 22 slips and is refreshingly explicit about the calendar: open May 1st through October 31st.
Newport Yachting Center is the one to read closely if you want to understand the market. It publishes a full transient rate card — $5 per foot in the shoulder, $9 at peak between 19 June and 7 September, and $14 per foot for vessels 100 ft and over — across more than 2,500 ft of transient dockage, with ValvTect 89 octane gasoline and ultra-low-sulphur diesel.
Then the ladder drops. Newport Marina takes 140 ft, Bowen's Wharf 112 ft, and Newport On-Shore is a private 65-slip dockominium rather than a transient stop. The City's own transient dockage at Ann Street Pier and Perrotti Park is a different proposition entirely: 40 ft maximum, fifty cents per foot per hour, and no overnight dockage at all.
Depth alongside is settled with the marina rather than in print here, so give the dockmaster your length, beam and draft when you book.
Marinas
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goat Island MarinaTakes yachts from 15 ft to 250 ft across 175 slips, with shore power at 30, 50 and 100 amp single and three-phase plus 480 volt. Give the dockmaster your length, beam and draft when you book. | Goat Island — west side of the harbour | 250 ft | 175 | Gas and diesel |
| Forty 1° North MarinaPublishes dockage for yachts up to 250 ft with three-phase 100 and 200 amp 480-volt electric service and pump-out connections at all slips. | 351 Thames Street | 250 ft | — | — |
| The Marina at Newport Harbor Island ResortTwenty-two slips to 240 ft, with the season stated plainly: open May 1st through October 31st. | Goat Island | 240 ft | 22 | — |
| Newport Yachting CenterA full published transient rate card, across more than 2,500 ft of transient dockage. The bands also date the season: April to 19 June at $5, peak 19 June to 7 September, then $5 again through a Seafood Festival band of 16–18 October 2026. | America's Cup Avenue, downtown | 180 ft | — | Gas and diesel — ValvTect certified 89 octane gasoline and ultra-low-sulphur diesel |
| Newport MarinaA private marina on Lee's Wharf, downtown, taking yachts to 140 ft. | 26 Lee's Wharf | 140 ft | — | — |
| Bowen's Wharf MarinaTakes 112 ft, and also offers winter seasonal dockage — unusual in a harbour whose marinas mostly close for the winter. | Bowen's Wharf | 112 ft | — | — |
| Newport On-Shore MarinaA private 65-slip dockominium — an ownership model rather than a transient stop. | Newport waterfront | — | 65 | — |
| Casey's MarinaA large-yacht berth operator on the Newport waterfront, equipped in its own words to accommodate boats of various shapes and sizes. Length, rate and availability are settled on the telephone rather than published, so call before you plan around a berth here. | 128 Long Wharf and 1 Spring Wharf | — | — | — |
| City of Newport transient dockage — Ann Street Pier and Perrotti ParkThe public option, and the one that shows how tight the downtown waterfront is: 40 ft maximum, hourly pricing, and no overnight stay. | Downtown | 40 ft | — | — |
| Conanicut MarinaTakes 225 ft across over 4,500 linear feet of dockage plus 150 moorings, with day-trip dockage at $1.50 per foot per hour. Straight across the bay at Jamestown, and the easiest genuine big-boat alternative when Newport is full. | Jamestown — directly across Narragansett Bay, about 2 nm | 225 ft | — | — |
Yacht clubs
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Slips | Fuel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ida Lewis Yacht ClubHost of the Ida Lewis Distance Race and the 12 Metre North American Championship. Moorings, guest rates and reciprocal privileges are settled by telephone, so call ahead. | Lime Rock, King Park | — | — | — |
| Newport Yacht ClubHails on VHF 78. Guest berthing and reciprocal privileges are arranged by telephone. | 110 Long Wharf | — | — | — |
| Sail NewportA nonprofit public sailing centre with two boat hoists, dry storage, regatta dockage and event space, programming from May through early November. | 72 Fort Adams Drive — Brenton Cove | — | — | — |
Figures are as each facility publishes them on its own site; blank cells mean the facility doesn't state a number. Confirm slip availability and current rates directly — or ask us to make the calls.
Cruising from Newport
Moorings and anchoring are run by the City and by Oldport Marine, and the numbers are published. Oldport's rental moorings take 65 ft LOA and its launch runs at $4 to a moored boat and $5 dock-to-dock. City transient moorings across Brenton Cove, the Main Harbor, Harbor City, Point and Spindle fields cost $1 per foot per night plus $5, with a $45 minimum, first come first served on Channel 16. Anchoring is capped at fourteen consecutive days, there are two federal anchorages north and west of Goat Island, and the whole harbour is a No Discharge Zone with fines of $500 to $1,000. The speed limit is 5 mph.
Where you go from here is the part to plan carefully. Block Island lies about 25 nm southwest and is the classic run — but the Town of New Shoreham's moorings are banded for vessels up to 45 ft and 46 to 55 ft, at $65 a night between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Above 55 ft you anchor. Martha's Vineyard is 45 to 55 nm east, Cuttyhunk about 25 nm, Nantucket 75 to 85 nm — the longest and most committed leg. Those distances are rhumb-line, for orientation.
The easiest genuine big-boat alternative is two miles away: Conanicut Marina at Jamestown, straight across the bay, takes 225 ft with over 4,500 linear feet of dockage and 150 moorings, and sells day-trip dockage at $1.50 per foot per hour. Ten miles up the bay at Portsmouth is where the yard work happens rather than the social scene.
- Newport Harbor moorings and anchorage — Brenton Cove, Main Harbor, Harbor City, Point and Spindle fieldsAnchoring is capped at fourteen consecutive days, with two federal anchorages north and west of Goat Island. The harbour is a No Discharge Zone carrying fines of $500 to $1,000, and the speed limit is 5 mph.
- Oldport Marine rental moorings — Main harbour and Brenton CoveTakes vessels up to 65 ft LOA and runs the harbour launch at $4 to a moored boat and $5 dock-to-dock.
Service, refit & supplies
Shipyards & refit
| Name | Where | Max yacht | Dockage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe Harbor Newport ShipyardThree travelifts on site at 500, 200 and 150 tonnes — the yard's own news page calls the 500-tonne the largest lift in New England — with a paint team, machine shop, electrical, metal fabrication, carpentry and joinery in house, across 3,500 linear feet of dock. This is what makes Newport a yacht market rather than a pretty harbour. Dockage is published at 350 ft on the dockage pages and 300 ft and over on the home page: plan against 300 ft and confirm anything larger on 401-846-6002. | 1 Washington Street — northern waterfront | 350 ft | Stay for the weekend or the whole season; rates quoted rather than published |
| Safe Harbor New England BoatworksWet slips from 20 ft to 150 ft with travelifts at 50, 70, 80 and 200 tons, maximum hoist weight 200 tons. Together with the Newport shipyard this is a genuine refit cluster rather than a single yard, and it is the reason a large yacht comes to Rhode Island rather than simply passing through. | Portsmouth — about 10 miles up Narragansett Bay | 150 ft | — |
Chandleries & specialty suppliers
- Newport Nautical Supply — 166 JT Connell HighwayA family-run chandlery with a consignment programme carrying over 15,000 unique items, plus custom rigging orders and installations.
- Team One Newport — NewportSailing and foul weather gear.
On the Newport calendar
Newport's calendar is the reason the season compresses the way it does, and almost all of it is racing.
Newport Charter Yacht Show, 22–25 June 2026, at the shipyard — a trade show for yachts from 70 ft to over 200 ft. Newport International Boat Show, 17–20 September 2026. Safe Harbor Race Weekend, 7–9 August 2026, in its sixth year and including a superyacht division.
On the racing side: the Newport Bermuda Race starts 19 June 2026, a 636-mile biennial. The New York Yacht Club runs its 172nd Annual Regatta on 12–14 June 2026 — North America's oldest annual regatta — and Race Week on 16–19 July 2026, with the Tiedemann Classics on 27–28 June. The Ida Lewis Distance Race runs 14–15 August 2026, and the 12 Metre North American Championship — the America's Cup class from 1958 to 1987 — on 18–20 September 2026. The Newport Yacht Rendezvous charity Super Yacht Hop is 26 June 2026.
Two festivals fill the harbour without being boating events at all: Newport Folk on 24–26 July and Newport Jazz on 31 July–2 August, both waterside at Fort Adams.
Two names people still ask about: the Candy Store Cup is no longer run, and SailGP does not visit Newport in 2026 or 2027. Race and regatta dates are set by the organising clubs, so confirm yours with the organiser before you plan a passage around it.
Yachts we'd shortlist for Newport
Reviewed the same way as everything on this site — specifications verified against the builder's own numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the boating season in Newport?
About six months, with a hard peak of roughly eleven weeks. The Marina at Newport Harbor Island Resort states plainly that it is open May 1st through October 31st. Newport Yachting Center's rate card dates the peak precisely: $5 per foot from April to 19 June, $9 per foot from 19 June to 7 September, then $5 again through mid-October. The City's Maritime Center runs Memorial Day to Columbus Day. Nobody keeps a large yacht in Newport through the winter.
What does it cost to take a mooring or anchor in Newport Harbor?
City transient moorings across the Brenton Cove, Main Harbor, Harbor City, Point and Spindle fields cost $1 per foot per night plus $5, with a $45 minimum, first come first served — hail the Harbormaster on Channel 16. Oldport Marine's rental moorings take up to 65 ft LOA and its launch runs $4 to a moored boat or $5 dock-to-dock. Anchoring is capped at fourteen consecutive days. The whole harbour is a No Discharge Zone with fines of $500 to $1,000, and the speed limit is 5 mph.
What is the largest yacht that can dock in Newport, Rhode Island?
Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard publishes dockage for yachts up to 350 ft across 3,500 linear feet of dock space, with 300 ft and over on the same operator's home page — plan against 300 ft and confirm anything larger on 401-846-6002. Below that, Goat Island Marina and Forty 1° North both publish 250 ft, the Marina at Newport Harbor Island Resort 240 ft, and Newport Yachting Center 180 ft, which prints a transient rate band specifically for vessels 100 ft and over.
Where can you cruise from Newport, and will a large yacht fit?
Block Island is the classic run at roughly 25 nm southwest, but the Town of New Shoreham bands its moorings for vessels up to 45 ft and 46 to 55 ft at $65 a night in season — above 55 ft you anchor. Martha's Vineyard is 45 to 55 nm east, Cuttyhunk about 25 nm, and Nantucket 75 to 85 nm. Newport's berthing capability exceeds its cruising grounds, so the easiest genuine big-boat alternative is Conanicut Marina at Jamestown, two miles across the bay, which takes 225 ft.
Can you refit a large yacht in Newport?
Yes, and it is Newport's strongest asset. Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard runs three travelifts on site at 500, 200 and 150 tonnes and calls the 500-tonne the largest lift in New England, with a paint team, machine shop, electrical, metal fabrication, carpentry and joinery in house. Ten miles up Narragansett Bay at Portsmouth, Safe Harbor New England Boatworks adds a 200-ton lift and wet slips from 20 to 150 ft. That combination is what separates Newport from harbours that can only berth a big yacht.