New York Harbor- Urban Adventure?

M

Minnow

New member
I'm planning a trip to New York Harbor over the Halloween weekend to see the sights by boat. Putting-in and staying on the Jersey side at Liberty Landing Marina. I'm planning on circumnavigating Manhattan Island on Saturday.
Has anyone done this trip? Are the Harlem and East Rivers safe? Anyone else game?
 
I have gone from Long Island Sound down to NY Harbor a couple of times and circumnavigated Manhattan each time I was down there. It was a very cool experience.

I couple of places that you can tie up for a while are the 79th Street Boat Basin on the Upper West Side and North Cove Marina in Lower Manhattan. The Boat Basin has bar/restaurant right on the river but I think it is closed for the season this time of year. We stayed at North Cove Marina last December and were the only boat in there. I signed up for their email mailing list and just got a note that the old Nantucket Light Ship is berthed there now. It has been completely restored and would probably be cool to see.

I have heard and read that the Hell Gate area of the East River can be dangerous at times depending on the tides and currents. I did not go out of my way to transit the area at slack tide and there were some standing waves in the area when I went through but nothing too bad.

The only other advice I can offer is that there is a swing bridge where the Harlem River and Hudson Rivers meet. Sometimes it is open but sometimes you need to call the bridge master to get have it opened. I think they monitor channel 13 but I don't remember. I had to wait about 30 minutes on time to raise anyone and get it too open.
 
Thanks much Ripple. How long should I allow for the circle? Is one day too ambitious in these short daylight hours?
And as far as safety goes, I wasn't worried about the water, but on taking small arm fire from the shore.
 
We circled in a day, with lots of time to spare -- but not in the winter shortness. The Spuyten/Dyvil draw bridge at the Hudson/Harlem Rivers is the critical timing -- it is a railroad bridge, so if you have a long wait and then a long freight it could delay your passage considerably, so we would suggest a clockwise circumnavigation, since that would put the bridge near the beginning of your trip and allow you time to turn around and wait for the next day.

Hell's Gate is a good flow -- our first trip through we timed it for the slack tide, and the second time through we bucked the tide -- with no problem. A strong current, some broken water, but the power of engines easily moved us against the flow.

It is a great trip - well worth taking! Here are a few pictures:

http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/hudson2.htm
 
The shortest, theoretical route is just over 250 miles(220 nm). In reality you will need to add 10%-20% to that to get from NJ to LI, for following the shoreline instead of cutting across the LI sound, as well as stopping for fuel. Sunrise to sunset in NYC is currently 10hrs 57mns and decreasing. As a one day trip, at this time of year, it will probably require night time cruising.

The question that I want to ask is "Why?". With so many wonderful sights to see on this route, you might do better to make it a 2 day trip. That would allow you time to do a little sightseeing on the way, rather then just doing an endurance sprint followed by an exhausted person, you, reloading your trailer after dark.

Google Earth is a good, free, program that can be used to plan trips like this. It is not perfect, because the images can be up to 5 years old, but I like it and would strongly recommend it.

Anyway, best of luck.

David B.
 
I am a bit puzzled by David B's reply in that a circumnavigation of Manhattan is not 220NM but rather 28.9NM when starting at Liberty Landing State Park in NJ which is just behind the Statue of Liberty as calculated by creating a route on The Capn.

While I have not done the Harlem River myself, I have been through Hell Gate and the East River numerous times. While Hell Gate can kick up, with the speed of a C-Dory you should have minimal issues. One thing to be cautious about is that in the section of the East River between Roosevelt Island and Manhattan, wakes from tugs and barges and certain ships that pass through can rebound off the seawalls making for very confused seas.

NY Harbor is a fantastic place. It is sometimes referred to as The Sixth Borough and there is a good blog on marine activity in The Sixth Borough at http://tugster.wordpress.com/

Enjoy the trip
 
Many years ago,my wife Dotty lived for 10 years in the Harlem River aboard a 52 foot wooden boat that her dad had salvaged. When I told her about this thread, her first response was "Think Circle Line" . Upon reflection she thought a cruise from Liberty Island up the Hudson under the GW Bridge and along the Palisades would be a more satisfying day on the water. Just her opinion.
 
I'm envious. I love urban/maritime cruising, and New York will be a classic. When the cruising books say "but it's all industrial and there's nothing to see there," I start planning a trip!
 
I think David B's response is about the loop around Long Island. I'm just shooting for Manhattan.

As for Dotty's suggestion about staying on the Hudson, we're planning on spending Friday in the harbor checking out Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and other stuff on the lower river. We'll see how far north we get depending on how soon we can launch. We live about an hour-plus from Jersey City, so if we get an early start, we should have most of the day.

I've never been on the Circle Line, but the views must not be all that bad if they're still in business, but still, I'd much rather do it on my own boat at my own pace.

Called the marina today, and they have plenty of space, no surprise there, but the rate is $4/ft oal, plus $.30/ft for electric (YOW!) changing to $2.50 on Nov.1. I hope they'll cut me a break.
 
Actually, the distance for a circumnavigation of Long Island is a lot more than that as Long Island is indeed long! I am in the midst of planning a LI Circumnavigation for next year. It is 315NM using reasonable harbors and resisting the impulse to cruise any of the area between The Forks. If you add Between The Forks in (as you really should given how beautiful the cruising grounds are), you would easily be over 350NM.

Enjoy your Manhattan Circumnavigation. Also, if you go clockwise as El & Bill suggest, you will come down the East River. There is a sight to watch out for as it is one of the most awe inspiring boating sights one will find in an urban setting. There is a spot towards lower Manhattan where you make a significant turn to starboard and line up to pass underneath first the Manhattan Bridge and then the Brooklyn Bridge. That is the point that you will see it. All of a sudden, there 3NM dead ahead of you and perfectly framed by the 4 towers of the two bridges and their two decks is the Statue of Liberty. If your trip is on a sunny day and in the morning, the sun being in the east, makes the Statue just shine. It is truely an amazing sight. I have tried to get a photograph that does it justice but so far, the picture has eluded but the memory is vivid!

Have fun.

Jim
 
This is taken from Bill and El's Halcyon site. I hope they don't mind
hudbrkln.jpg


MartyP
 
Your trip around NY harbor and Manhattan sounds interesting. I have a Cruiser 25
docked in the Hudson river up in Rockland county about forty miles north of
downtown Manhattan. If you are interested in sailing around the harbor with
another C Dory drop me a line. The only problem is I'm getting a little work done
but hope to have the boat back in the water on Wed 10-29. My repair guy says Wed should not be a problem but I've heard that before.
I've done the harbor before and it is the greatest way to see the Statue of Liberty
and Manhattan. The water around the battery can be a little tricky. A lot of big
boat and ferry traffic making some very confused seas. But nothing a C dory
can't handle. Besides the weekend should be a little quieter.
Let me know your itinerary and maybe we can hook up and wave the C dory flag
around the harbor.

Steve[/code]
 
If you want to specd a day touring NYC, I think that the 79th Street Boat Basin is a great place to leave your boat for a day or so. You can walk to the American Natural History Museum, Central Park and the subway to downtown NYC.

If you take the subway, visit the 9/11 site. It's very touching for both the tributes left there (at least in 2003) and the determination to rebuild. Terrorists can only tear down, but we're rebuilding.

The American Natural History Museum is great for dinosaur and early human displays. They illustrate evolution beautifully. And they were the first in the USA to start digging. They had great digging wars with Harvard.

The marina mostly has moorings, but for a C-Dory, you can find a slip. Spent a week on a mooring touring NYC with Dorthy (daughter.) Loved it.

Boris
 
Dot and Marty - Of course we don't mind you posting a picture from our website -- brings back marvelous memories for us, and illustrates the beauty of a circum-Manhattan cruise.

We would also heartily encourage folks to circum-navigate Long Island. What a great trip we had, with a good friend aboard who a year later died of cancer -- we are full of wonderful memories of our last shared and wonderfully joyous time together.

http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/longisland.htm
http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/tide.htm (one of a few posts about cruising the Maine coast - we enjoyed rereading this and so might you)

Last Wednesday we had a lobster stew at lunch at Cook's restaurant on Bailey Island on the coast of Maine -- shared with El's brother who is sinking with deteriorating Parkinson's -- and we three reminisced about the great time we had aboard Halcyon cruising that bit of coast together, and sharing a lobster at Cooks - perhaps this was the last time that will be possible, with his continual loss of memory.

Advice for all -- don't put off your dreams - life is indeed uncertain.
 
Back
Top