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Best Route from Mahattan to LI Sound

5K views 35 replies 18 participants last post by  chef2sail 
#1 ·
Hello Everyone

I apologize in advance if this post is in the wrong section.

Can someone recommend the best route from the downtown (west side) of Manhattan to Lon Island Sound?

I am considering acquiring a Catalina 27 or something similar to keep in the Hudson and do occasional weekend trips out to the sound.

I have heard the East River is very dangerous and the route around the northern end of Manhattan seems very long.

What is the best ways to get there? At what tide is it smartest to leave?

thanks

Andreas
 
#2 ·
East river is the only and quickest way to go. Several of us went from Connecticut through the east river last year. We went with the current and had no problem. Smallest boat was an Oday 22, mineis a 31 and there were larger.

Go to You Tube and look up Oday rondayvous Milford to Jersey City. There is a video of the trip.:)
 
#4 ·
Hi Andreas,

The East River is the way to go. Dangerous is a relative term. I would not take the trip up or down the East River casually, but it's very managable. You need to understand the currents and the timing and the Rules of the road and have a reliable engine. The entire transit takes about 2 hours or so from the Battery, ( to the Throgs Neck Bridge) with a favorable current, which you will need. The best time to leave the Battery is about two hours after low tide. ( at the battery). Eldridge tides and current tables, is a great book to have. But, you can obtain the information from a number of sources. The timing coming the other way is more focused on slack current at Hell Gate. If/when you do it for the first time, it might be a good idea to have an experienced hand onboard. Remember that the route takes you up the west side of Roosevelt Island past the UN. and not the opposite side. You can also pass between the Brother Islands rather than go around.

The Ocean route around long island on the other hand will take you 26 hours or more, and it's an exposed Ocean route with unfriendly inlets. So, major difference.

There's no viable route around the north end of Manhattan. The Hudson to the Harlem River to the East River, is not an option for sailboats.

When you're ready to do this trip, feel free to PM me and I can help you with the timing and give you some pointers.
 
#6 ·
There are just too many bridges over the Harlem River for a sailboat to make this route practical - unless you want to drop your mast!
Like everyone else has said, get the Eldridge Tide & Pilot Manual: Amazon.com: Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book 2012 (9781883465186): Eldridge Tide & Pilot Book: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51%2BtpX2XPnL.@@AMEPARAM@@51%2BtpX2XPnL
Study it, read the text (what little text there is) as it is very enlightening. Study the current diagrams for the East River and figure it out for yourself. That is half of the fun/challenge.
Mostly, enjoy it as it is a fun trip.
 
#9 ·
Hell's Gate is fun, then again I had 1800HP at my disposal.

Seriously though the trip is pretty cool if you've never done it before.


Brad
s/v KIVALO
 
#10 ·
I think this trip would be too dangerous for you, and any other boat you would encounter. If you cannot read a chart, consult tide tables, and do all the other things needed for safe navigation, then I think you should educate yourself first, such as most people on this forum have done.
The things your asking are basic, and should be learned first before moving to the next level.
Marc
 
#11 ·
Piece of cake...Done this trasnsit over 50 times. Listen to the advice on currents and proper timing and there will be no problem. Watch the tugs pushing barges at the turn out of the East River through Hell gate as its a blind corner.. Two memeorable trips...1- Inmates yelling out at us through the bars at Rikers Island and 2- doing 13.4 on the chartplotter with the current squeezing us like ketchup out a bottle through the "Gate" down the East River and following the outgoing tide under the Verazzano and out New York Harbor. That day we went from Port Jefferson to Barnegat Inlet in 12 hours or so a distyance of 84 miles ( averaged 7 knots) Doing 13.4 through the gate felt like driving on "black ice" didnt even want to trun the helm.

Dave
 
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#16 ·
He11, if the timing worked out I'd go with you for the price of train fare back home. I live in lower Manhattan and have transited the East River a bunch of times.
You could drop me off anywhere on LI or the CT side. LIRR or Amtrak/MetroNorth would make it easy for me to jump ship and get home.

PM me if interested.
 
#15 ·
2- doing 13.4 on the chartplotter with the current squeezing us like ketchup out a bottle through the "Gate" down the East River and following the outgoing tide under the Verazzano and out New York Harbor. That day we went from Port Jefferson to Barnegat Inlet in 12 hours or so a distyance of 84 miles ( averaged 7 knots) Doing 13.4 through the gate felt like driving on "black ice" didnt even want to trun the helm.

Dave[/QUOTE]

That's impressive time, any speeding tickets?
 
#17 ·
Hell Gate Tide Animation

Courtesy of Stevens Institute in NJ:

http://hudson.dl.stevens-tech.edu/maritimeforecast/maincontrol.shtml

Scroll through a couple of times to get a feel for how the currents work.

Also, check out ActiveCaptain.com for anchorages if you think you want to wait out the current. Good ones include Little Bay (under the Throgs Neck Bridge) before heading down the East River and between the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (watch for well-marked security zones) before heading up the Hudson River.
 
#19 ·
Here's info from one of the Tug Jockeys who regularly travels the East River that Ive been using for the past 10± years. I dont remember his name but Ive found its REAL GOOD advice:

"Use Eldrige Tide Tables to plan to cross Hell Gate at SLACK WATER.
Your best bet is to plan the trip so as to keep moving, if your ahead of scedule run slower rather than just stopping. As a tug guy I want any pleasure craft to be predictable, I am relying on it really, which means not going in circles in confined areas. If you must stop for a bit, going east through the river I would wait well north of the battery. From there south there is just too much current as well as tug, ferry, and dinner boat traffic to be tacking or motoring around with no purpose. People do, but you asked.

"Coming the other way there is plenty of room anywhere east of the 'Brothers', but you need to be aware of the little stuff, sand scows etc. coming off moorings, coming and going from Flushing Bay, and the other little creeks. Most traffic is passing trough. Listen to channel 13!! Most tug guys dont really want to talk to you, but they probably will. Your best bet is to listen so you know what is happening around you. If you want to talk make your life easier by making your transmissions short, and knowing the difference between one whistle and two both meeting and overtaking. Plenty of recreational passes through everyday. Its really not a huge deal, but if you do decide to hit slack water in all likelyhood you will encounter a greater number of commercial vessels. Another radio hint, listen to vessel traffic, the east river is channel 12, anything moving through the East River checks in at the Throgsneck or Brooklyn Bridge, and each time somebody checks in they get a rundown of all the traffic and their locations. It would be kind of like listening in on a weather net. Channel 12 is also anchorage control and the Kills south of the AK Railroad Bridge so dont get you landmarks confused.
Todd is right most of the commercial traffic especially the big stuff tries to hit slack water or within 30 minutes to an hour either side of it. Thats not to say there wont be traffic at all stages of the tide, but it is not uncommon to have multiple units on both sides of the gates stacked up waiting on each other to get through. A week ago I was fourth in line on my side coming around N. Brother Island. You need the current tables for slack water, the tide tables wont help you here. I would agree that if your boat can manage it ride the flood through planing to be at least to Rikers Island an hour before Slack at the gate, beware of the current from pier 17 through the Williamsburgh bridge as they are very strong here and you will not want to be against them.
Going North start your trip at the Battery 2 hours after the low. Going south start your trip from Throgs Neck 2 hours after high at the Battery.
Wear PFD's, stay in the center, have a sharp lookout for barge traffic coming around corners. Have your VHF on Ch13 and an air horn handy. Know what one blast means, as distinct from 2. Have a camera ready at all times for magnificant views, and 2 days after a heavy rain,a boat hook ready, if you see any bodies or other debris that may foul your passageway.
The Coasties will not let you get in to much trouble--stay far away from the UN."
- author unknown
 
#24 ·
Initially we planned on leaving Friday around 5pm motoring to a spot past hells gate and then leaving on Saturday morning into the sound.

Alas the rain persisted into Friday evening to so we postponed to Saturday morning.

We planned on leaving Saturday morning 6:30 am but various delays meant we did not actually leave the mooring ball from Pier 25 until 730.

Traffic on the river was quiet. The only interesting moment occured when the Staten Island Ferry, the Governors Island Ferry AND the Statue of Libery boat all decided to pull out right at the same time. We got passed without any trouble though. The ride up to hell's gate was beautiful, such an amazing city view.

We hit Hell's Gate around 2 hours (sorry don't have exact time) after departure. The current was definitively strong but not unmanageable def. a little trickier to keep the boat going straight. Our top speed ended up being 11 knots which felt FAST...

Past hells gate we motored past the final bridge. There we encountered 15 knot EASTERLY winds. Most of the other sailboats where motoring toward the sound, but we where brave and spent the rest of the day beating into the sound. We had a wonderful time, our boat loves 15-20 knot winds.
We even sailed through the various narrow passages before you get into the sound proper.
Around 3 pm we pulled into a Marina in Glenn Cove. Went for a walk had dinner etc. Then we spent the night on the boat.
The next day we left around 11 am and headed toward Hell's gate. The voyage back was much shorter as there was no wind and we motored in a straight line. We hit the Gate around 14-1430. The current was slower than last time, we peaked around 8-9 knots. The crossing was otherwise uneventful.

Was a wonderful weekend.

Andreas
 
#25 ·
Andreas, Perfect!! Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the after action report.

I forget who pointed it out, maybe Rich H, if you do time it to hit the gate at slack, expect more commercial traffic in there with you. Last time I came down, I caught up to a barge that was slowly turning in the gate. The good news is at slack you can simply slow down and let them get through before proceeding.

The good thing about riding the currents is that the 15 mile trip..gets done in two hours or less @ 8- 10 kt over ground.
 
#31 ·
PJ first night, Montauk the next day, no problem. Why Montauk? It's not sailboat country. There are better places to go like Block I, Fishers I. , on to Newport, MV, Cuttyhunk, New Bedford, Woods Hole, Cape Cod...keep going!!!
 
#30 ·
Andreas,
Glad to hear that your trip to the Sound went well.
I grew up in Sea Cliff on Hempstead Harbor and I know the Brewer's yard there in Glen Cove. If you had taken a transient mooring with the Sea Cliff YC you could have used their pool. Huntington YC in Huntington Harbor also has a pool.

As for Montauk, unless you are planning on sailing through the night I'd say 5 - 6 days which includes at least 1 day for staying put in case of uncooperative weather. It is about 110 nm with Port Jefferson being roughly the half way point.
Montauk (MTK) Harbor is mostly a commercial port although there is at least one marina in there. Another member (Bene505) keeps his boat, which also has 6' of draft, at the south end of Lake MTK (aka MTK Harbor).
 
#32 ·
Next stop on the North Shore past Glen Cove is Oyster Bay which is worth exploring. Then its Northport/Huntington with lots of choices for anchoring or getting a mooring. The town of Northport is charming, and last I heard allows free transient tieup for a couple of hours. Next stop east is Port Jeff again with lots of anchoring or mooring choices. On the Connnecticut shore there's a harbor every few miles. Entrances can be bit trickier due to rocks and reefs so watch the charts. My favorite marina on the Ct shore is Brewers Pilots Point in Westbrook. For details, get a copy of the Embassy Guide to Long Island Sound. Invaluable for those exploring LIS for the first time.
 
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