The Rusty Anchor

official

The Rusty Anchor is a beach bar in the Leonida Keys, and its name is official because it is painted on the sign in one of Rockstar’s Keys screenshots. Rockstar describes that image as the outside of a beach bar in the Keys: a man passed out at a picnic table among empty bottles, a couple kissing, people heading inside and a crowd on the front porch. Rob Nelson told Famitsu the story starts in the Keys (reported), so our guess is that this is one of the first bars you will pass.

What Rockstar has shown

The footage is official; the link between the shots is not, because Rockstar names the bar only on its sign. The Trailer 2 breakdown and the screenshot gallery have the shots in order.

Reading the sign

Under the big white letters runs a painted tagline, “Sink Your Troubles at The Rusty Anchor,” with a round portrait medallion at the left end. A hand-lettered banner on the porch railing advertises a Crab Festival with fresh food and music. Both are our readings of the full-size screenshot.

What you can do there

Rockstar has not listed any activity at The Rusty Anchor.

• Pool. A confirmed activity in the Extended Look. Rockstar’s pool screenshot of Jason and Cal is set in a bar it does not name; community wikis say it is this one. fan ID of the bar
• Drinking. Rockstar’s Keys blurb says the dress code is casual and “the bars are loaded.” Whether you can order a drink here has not been shown.
• Walking in. Not announced; see how interiors work. The pool screenshot suggests the bar has an interior, if the fan identification is right.

Who drinks here

The Keys are Jason’s home turf. Jason Duval lives in a stilt house Brian lets him use (Jason’s safehouse) and works around Brian’s Boat Works & Marina. Another official screenshot shows him and Cal drinking at a bar counter, Jason in a Brian’s Boat Works cap, though Rockstar does not say which bar. Cal Hampton, whose official bio has him happy at “the low tide of America,” is the regular fans put at the counter. Brian Heder’s railing shot is the one community wikis place on the back deck.

Where it is

Rockstar files the screenshot under the Leonida Keys and describes it as a Keys beach bar. Community wikis go further and put it on the northwest shore of Key Lento, the same key as Brian’s boat yard, but Key Lento is a fan name from leaked map material. rumor They also put the Keys in Mariana County. The county name is read from a Trailer 2 highway sign (reported), but which areas it covers is community mapping. rumor

Real-world inspiration

Fans match the interior and pier to the Caribbean Club in Key Largo and the exterior to the No Name Pub on Big Pine Key. rumor The Caribbean Club has its own tie to Vice City’s model: Carl Fisher, the developer behind Miami Beach, built it in 1938. It is famous as a supposed filming location for the 1948 Bogart and Bacall film Key Largo, although only the film’s opening exterior shots were filmed in the Keys and the rest was shot at the Warner Bros. studio, per Wikipedia.

Still unknown

• Whether you can walk in at any time, buy drinks or play pool outside missions.
• Whether any missions start or end here.
• Whether the Crab Festival on the banner is a real in-game event.

For the rest of the island chain, read the Leonida Keys guide.