New York Harbor and Statue of Liberty

[Pamlicotraveler]

WOW
Today was one of my best sailing days ever.

We are making our way south after sailing our boat from North arolina to Block Island, RI. Today we left City Island (Bronx) and made our way down the East River.

I never have thought of New York Harbor as a cruising ground. Boy, that though changed after today. You have to keep your eyes open and there is a lot going on - freighters and helicopters, barges and ferries, Poice boats and sirens. It's definitely a multi-tasking environment. There is a lot of garbage in the water and it pays to be on the lookout.

We went to Staten Island to see the marina and then sailed North on a long downwind jaunt. My goal was to sail by the statue of Liberty and we did it. What an incredible feeling to be in our "own home away from home right beside Lady Liberty.

Here are a couple of shots:





The New York Harbor is a beautiful place to sail!

[uspirate]

that's just too friggen awesome!

[chef2sail]

Pamlico,

We are heading up in that direction starting July 4th from the Patapsco in Baltimore. Planning on doing 40- 50 miles perday once in Cape May at the end of the long Delaware River motor which Ive done 20 or so times. Just wondering the conditions of Manesquan Inlet as we are doing the Cape May- Atlantic City- Manesquan-Liberty Landing Marina (right next to the Statue) then the East River and up the LI Sound to Mystic.

I would [prefer the straigt Cape May to Block Island run, but my wife and other boats going with us are not up to that yet. After living in Ocean City, NJ for over 18 years I know that unless you have good local knowledge that most other Jersey inlets are trecherous in outgoing tide and onshore afternoon SE wind.

Did you go in Maesquan or has anyone recently? If so what about anchorage there just to the south of the inlet

Dave

[camaraderie]

Pam...great shot. you must have been stoked after the East river run! Looks like you are snug in Staten Island tonite. Are you heading offshore again or going coastal on the return? You guys are doing great!

Chef...my recollection of Manasquan is strong currents, narrow bridge lift and no anchoring possible. It's been a few years but Labatt was through there last year. Perhaps a PM to him will get you more recent info.

[Rockter]

Cam,

Were you sailing backwards?

Show us some more pictures of that Tayana.

[Izos]

pamli great photos
never sailed aboat my self on NY harbur
but there were times I took the ferry to Staten Iland and back, just for the ride.
The area has a very impressive scenery especially at sunset

[Melrna]

Having sailed the NYC harbor for 3 years, I can attest to the beauty and fright of this wonderful sailing area. The beauty for city skyline is unmatched anywhere I know of, especially at night. Sailing by the "Lady" and Ellis Island is priceless. The "Fright" is all the barges, ferry, ocean going vessels, tour boats, and other recreational vessels that share these waters. One word of caution, "Stay away from the Staten Island" ferries. They don't follow any navigation rules. They will run you down. Combine that with 2-3 knot current, and wind less than 10 knots, any skipper with have his hands full playing dodge ball with all the traffic. The garbage you mention can be real bad after a good rain. Be on the lookout for old pier pilings with 1 foot spikes sticking out of them. Those will ruin anyone's day in a heartbeat.
There are some descent places to anchor here. I think the best one is in the little bay on the west side of the Statue of Liberty. It is shallow with some descent holding. The official anchoring area is marked on the charts on the west side of Brooklyn, between Governors Island and just north of the Verrazzano Bridge. There are yellow marker buoys that mark the area. Not my favorite area but I have seen boats there anchoring. Another good anchoring place is Rockaway Inlet, just south-east of Coney Island. A good place to tuck in if the wx gets a little nasty. Be careful here, it is very shallow in most areas.
Here is a video that was shot of the area of me during the Volvo Race a few years back. YouTube - Emee and Crew at the Volvo Ocean Race Start 2006 NYC

[camaraderie]

Originally Posted by Rockter

Cam,

Were you sailing backwards?

Show us some more pictures of that Tayana.

Rock...that must be what the second mast is for! Thanks for the tip!
Here's a pix I don't think I've posted before for your drooling pleasure! Of course Cam is up on the hard in Annapolis now but the little Columbia 22 you see in the background is what I do my day sailing on now...she was built in 1968 like an icebreaker!

[labatt]

Chef - As Cam said, Manasquan is not a great place but is about the only place to stop along the coast. We went from Annapolis, and our "coast hop" was Cape May to Atlantic City, Atlantic City to Manasquan, Manasquan to Liberty Landing. Below is a picture of the infamous Manasquan Railroad Bridge. Only the part just behind the train raises, and it doesn't rise to full vertical - maybe to about 75 degrees. It's about 30 feet wide, but since it doesn't raise to full vertical, only about 18-20 feet are usable by sailboats. The current will rush through this opening at about 3-4kts+. Just beyond it is about the only marina in Manasquan that will readily take transients and has decent docks. I remember sleeping, tied up to the gas dock, listening to the current rushing under the boat. It was incredible. Also, as Cam mentioned, we were told there was no anchoring in the inlet. Lastly, when we exited the inlet we were heading into 8-10 foot waves with a very short period. Several smaller, lighter boats headed back in when they realized how dangerous things could be. Anyway, it's a fun place, but a necessary stop unless you want to overnight into New York Harbor.