SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!
If anyone remembers (or cares), back in the winter (I think) there was a thread about going to Block Island. Well I have made my reservations.
In case anyone else wants to go, here are my plans:
Depart Mt. Sinai Saturday July 10 around 10:30 (close to high tide) and sail to Orient Point, around 40 nm. I have made a reservation at Orient by the Sea for Saturday night ($1 / ft). Sunday morning I will leave around 10:30 AM for the 30 nm trip to Block Island. I have a 2 day reservation at the Block Island Boat Basin, and then I plan on moving to a town mooring for a long as I feel like staying at block.
My return plans are up in the air, I would like to stop at Mystic CT on the way back, otherwise we'll see what happens.
This all depends on weather, etc.
My family (wife and kids) are going too.
Let me know if anyone else wants to join in the fun.
Sounds like a great trip. We will just miss you on our 3 week pilgrimage from the Cheasapeake to LI. Our plans are to leave Baltimore area on July 23 and be at Liberty Marina (Newark) on July 26. Mount Sinai on July 27, Sag Harbor on July 28. At that point we think we are going to Cuttyhunk, Marthas Vineyard for a few days, Newport, Northport, but that part can change as we allow for weather and whatever the wind takes us.
Isn't it a long way to Mt Sinai from Jersey City in a day? Especially with the prevailing (no) wind conditions on the eastern Sound. Are you stopping on the New Jersey coast? Sounds like a good trip if you've got the time.
34 miles to Port Jefferson from Throgs Neck Bridge. We will have the last of the incomming tide from he Battery to Hell Gate if we leave about 7:30 AM. Tide up the East River will start running back into the Sound from Hell Gate around 10AM.We should be able to make it Mt Siani by 5-6 PM and yes we will porbably motor sail this section as we have in the past. Last year going home we left Port Jefferson at 7 AM flew down the East River at over 13knots gs and wound up at Manesquan by 6:30. Through here is all the luck of the tides.
We usually go from Baltimore to Reedy Point on the Delaware River in one leg...ride the tide to Cape May leg 2, go in Barnegat Inlet leg 3, Sandy Hook or Liberty Marina Leg 4
I remember chatting a few months ago when it was cold and bleek outside about your trip up to the Sound. I'm so glad sailing season is now here! Just wanted to wish you a good start to the season. Oh also what part of Maryland are you from? I'm actually typing from a hotel room in Columbia, MD, south of Baltimore right now. I had to drive down for a quick business trip. I don't know if your from this exact area but it seems like a really nice place to live around here.
Barry - Sounds like a great trip. I am most likely headed east a little later in the season, prob around August. Since we went to Block the past 3 years we're thinking of skipping it this time and heading straight up to Newport for a few days. I personally love Block but the fiance is pushing me to skip it this year and take her straight to Newport so we will see. Last year though on the trip back, we stopped in Mystic for 3 days and had a blast. I'm sure you have been there before so you know the area as well but we stayed at the Brewer yard which was real nice with great facilities, showers, pool, hot tub and the coolest part was taking the dink up the river, under the rail bridge and into town to tie up at the town dingy dock. It was much quicker that way as oppossed to walking in to town and you can also continue up under the draw bridge right into the Seaport grounds next to the CW. Morgan and other tall ships.
I'm sure we will run into each other in person before you leave so we'll catch up then but maybe we can do a mini cruise to CT with John and who ever else before you leave in July. I'll have my boat in Stony Brook/Smithtown till Memorial Day but I'll be back on my Sinai mooring after that.
I live in the Towson/ Whitemarsh area just a little north of Baltimore. Colombia is a very nice community midway between Baltimore and DC and about 20 miles from Annapolis. I work at the US capitol in DC and pass thriough Colombia on the way to work every day. Next time you are down this way give a shout, maybe we can meet up.
Yeah I'll let you know the next time I go down there. Part of my training for a new job I just took is down there so I should be making another trip sometime in the summer. This trip was just in and out and I'm already back home but you never known next time.
-Nick
Sounds interesting. I sail a Pearson 26 out of Huntington. Have day sailed her for years and would love to "cruise" her just once. I have my reservations because she is old and slow
Do it! I cruised my Pearson 26 from Western LI Sound to points east for 10 years in the 1980s. Longest cruise was 3+ weeks hitting Newport, Block Island and Marthas Vineyard.
This is my first time posting here. I'm looking for suggestions on what to bring (cruising guides, etc) and where to stay for a fairly short trip from Sea Cliff to Block. We're tentatively scheduled to leave on June 10th and return on the 15th.
I've wanted to make the trip for a few years now but never got around to it. The more info I get, the better. I'll have my laptop tethered to my Blackberry for an internet connection so good websites would be very helpful too.
This is my first time posting here. I'm looking for suggestions on what to bring (cruising guides, etc) and where to stay for a fairly short trip from Sea Cliff to Block. We're tentatively scheduled to leave on June 10th and return on the 15th.
I've wanted to make the trip for a few years now but never got around to it. The more info I get, the better. I'll have my laptop tethered to my Blackberry for an internet connection so good websites would be very helpful too.
We are on the hard in Sea Cliff too, at Brewers. (Ours is the Beneteau 50 right next to the flag pole in back.)
That might be the same date that we sail to Montauk. (The blessing of the fleet there is 6/13 if I remember correctly.) We should keep in touch. I have a ton of projects left to do, so the exact date is a bit uncertain still.
Block is fun. The anchorage can be a bit deep (50') but there are places to anchor that are more like 30', if it's not too crowded. I've seen an anchor slip a boat into another boat, so the holding is something to keep an eye on. Set your anchor and test it a bit with your engine in reverse. At least that's what I do.
Block is a great - you will have a real fun time. There is nothing extremely crucial that you need other than an Eldridge Tide and pilot guide for LI Sound as well as good charts of the Sound out to Block Island. There is a good chart book I think from Map Tech that has the entire Sound including Block and I think up to Newport that is pretty affordable. The Eldridge will show you the tides and currents in the Sound and out through the Race. You will want to look at this so you time the currents right going out through the eastern end of the sound. They can get up to 4-5knts sometimes near the race and plum gut so you want to make sure you have them going with you and not against you.
Also not sure how familiar you are with the harbors and ports east of Sea Cliff but making the trip to Block Island in one straight shot is a bit of an undertaking so its best to enjoy it and break it into a few overnight stops in the Sound. That way also you can time your departures and arrivals for the day so you make the most out of the ebbing tide giving you a knot or more of extra speed and you won't be fighting it as if you made the trip in one shot.
Lastly when you get to the great salt pond in block you have your choice of staying at one of the three marinas, finding a mooring or staying on anchor. It's a pretty small island so its pretty easy to find numbers for the marinas and restaurants in the area. Also there are numerous books and online guides to read as well as tons of posts here on Sailnet about past trips there. If you do a search you can probably find tons of info. Let us know how it goes. I went for the first time 4 years ago and have been going ever since. I absolutely love it there.
Barry -- Not sure of my schedule yet for this season, but I will keep your trip in mind.
Brad -- When do you get to Montauk? I missed you last year, will make sure I get to see you this year.
I'm targeting the Blessing of the Fleet on June 13th at 5:00 PM. It's a fun time with squirt-gun battles. (IIRC, this year, they are giving out free biodegradable water balloons to replace the eco-nasty kind.) Not sure I'll make that event yet though.
When you get to Montauk, we keep our boat at the very south end of the lake, unless we are out on a trip. (Trips are planned to Nantucket, Cutty Hunk, and also out to the canyon in September. I'll also have 4 free nights at Brewers Marinas, so Greenport and CT are good possibilities.)
Thanks Nick and Brad. I'm still not sure where I'll actually wind up staying but this is very helpful information. I definitely want to break the trip up into 2 or 3 days to get there.
The first and last long trip I took in this boat was last October from Patchogue (where I bought it) to Sea Cliff. I lost the engine within the first three hours and ran aground three times (two were caused by me and one while Sea Tow was 'assisting' us.) We told the Sea Tow captain that we were following the charts and his response was, "yeah, you can't really go by the charts in here".
We got up the following morning and made our way out. This time we stayed within the channels and didn't really look at the charts. It was Sunday morning so everyone and their brother were fishing in the bay. We tacked back and forth, within the fishing boats until we eventually made it through the breakwater.
Out in the ocean, the wind was on our bow the whole time which resulted in a seemingly never-ending series of tacks. We sailed straight through and made our way under the Verrazano at around 2:00 and eventually to Ellis Island where the wind just seemed to die. It was around 4:00AM and it was time to make the trek up Hell Gate, but we had no reliable engine, no wind and the furler just seemed to fall apart. My friend said that he had to get off in the city because had to shoot a commercial that morning and couldn't miss it. The only thing I could think to do was to call Sea Tow.
To make a long story (which has nothing to do with Block Island) just a little longer, Sea Tow towed us all the way back to Sea Cliff. My friend made his appointment and I went to sleep thinking that I had just purchased a clunker for which I would have the pleasure of paying winter storage. It turned out that both problems were relatively minor and easily fixed.
The point of all that, I think, was to say that I would definitely prefer breaking up the trip rather than sailing straight through…and of course, that I love Sea Tow.
Brad and Nick, I will definitely stay in touch and I hope that we cross paths out there. I keep my boat (Catalina 27 "Gracie Day") at Tappen Marina in Sea Cliff and am on the water as often as possible. This year I'm making a real effort to spend as much time out there as I can. I left the boat in wet storage this winter so I've been able to get out over 20 times this season already.
I'll keep you all updated on the decisions of when and where and am always open to more suggestions.
Thanks Nick and Brad. I'm still not sure where I'll actually wind up staying but this is very helpful information. I definitely want to break the trip up into 2 or 3 days to get there.
The first and last long trip I took in this boat was last October from Patchogue (where I bought it) to Sea Cliff. I lost the engine within the first three hours and ran aground three times (two were caused by me and one while Sea Tow was 'assisting' us.) We told the Sea Tow captain that we were following the charts and his response was, "yeah, you can't really go by the charts in here".
That sounds like it was quite the trip LOL! I actually kept my first boat, a Mark 25 (25' sloop similar to a C&C) on the Great South Bay in Patchogue 4 years ago. As crazy as it sounds, that Sea Tow Captain was right about not being able to follow the charts down there. They provide a good reference point but that bay is so shallow and the sand and shoals are always shifting. You just really have to take your time, try and follow the markers (even if some are pots and pans or a stick or tree lol). The only upside is that the bottom is all sand so usually they are all just soft groundings.
I'm not sure if it is Tappan Marina or another one over near Sea Cliff but I go sailing out of there sometimes with a friend of mine. His buddy owns the 1939 yawl, "Golden Eye" which has a black hull and is about 47 ft or so long and is a beautiful wooden boat. Sometimes I crew on it on the Wednesday night beer can races. Its a real nice harbor.
I'm not 100% sure but I think I might be taking my boat over there next weekend for Memorial Day. I'll keep an eye out for you now that I know your boat's name. Mine is "Capricorn" incase you see me.
Sound like a plan. I'm still on the hard. Sanding and painting the prop next. I must say that in-water storage seems like the way to go. (A bit envious!) Perhaps you could start a new thread and post your experiences. I for one would like to know more about the down side. I'm planning for us to stay in the water next winter.
Im heading out from City Island to Martha's Vineyard June 1 for 3 weeks. Taking my 38' bene and meeting up with a friend with a 42' in Westport, then Thimbles, Watch Hill, Buzzards Bay, Cuttyhunk, and Martha's Vineyard. Return will be June 18-24, MV to Block Island, Sag Harbor and surrounding area, Mt Sinai and back to NYC. Does anyone know how the Martha's Vineyard to Block island leg is in terms of rough ocean or approximate time? It seems like a bit of long haul.
Did a similar trip last year to Block, which is a fantastic place, and you can always find a mooring there, even with 200+ extra boats last year during race week!
Hey Nick, 'Golden Eye' is in Tappen marina a few docks over from me. It's a beautiful boat but I haven't been out sailing with him yet. We both wintered there so I saw him a lot. When I see a boat like that, all I can think of is how much time and effort it takes to keep it going.
I should be around at some point over the weekend and I hope to see you there but I'm heading out to Oyster Bay for a night or two with my wife.
I was so excited for this trip; the tides were right coming and going for the 9th through the 14th, but unfortunately the two guys I was going with were each called into work unexpectedly. I might just go by myself for the adventure of it but in all likelihood, Block will just have to wait a little longer for me.
Mike,
Say when and I'm in. I'm in Port Washington but can meet you anywhere or you can come to PW and we can take my boat. CAL 27, tillerpilot, radar, chartplotter, etc... let me know if you're interested. Its definately not the boat, I'd go in a canoe with good company.
Nick, Mike, Brad...I was checking into mooring/anchoring in Mt Sinai next weekend, when I
found this thread...I used to post on sailnet Long Island
but did not realize it was still active. This is Great!
If any interest, I would be interested in cruising multiple
boats or yours/mine(30' reasonable equiped) with
reasonable/responsible sailors. I finally have the time
and my wife not into long cruises. Hugo
I forgot...anyone know if there is a good holding and room to anchor in Mt Sinai Harbor...
also, by way of introduction...we sail out of Manhasset
bay early spring and late fall and am on a mooring in
Steppingstone marina the rest of the season. Hugo
There is not a lot of room to anchor in Mt. Sinai. There are many moorings and not a lot of room to anchor. There might be some room at the east end of the harbor, near the boat ramp.
Ralph's Fishing Station has transient moorings. I think the price is $30/ day midweek and$40 / day weekend, that includes launch service. The Mt. Sinai yacht club might have moorings available too.
Good luck,
Barry
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
SailNet Community
1.7M posts
173.8K members
Since 1990
A forum community dedicated to Sailing, boating, cruising, racing & chartering. Come join the discussion about sailing, destinations, maintenance, repairs, navigation, electronics, classifieds and more