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Long Island Sound -- Planning Possible Spring/Summer Cruise
In the process of planning a possible spring and/or summer cruise in
Long Island Sound and nearby, after shipping "Gambier," a Eastbay 43, drawing four feet, by truck from Ft. Lauderdale to probably northern NJ for offloading and pick-up, I am asking for suggestions and comments about: How early ought one to begin a cruise on the Sound? Crowdedness in general on the Sound? Crowdedness in ??? ports, marinas, anchorages? Better and best anchorages and marinas? Better and best villages, towns and cities to visit, and why? Best fuel (deisel) sources? Your best comments and advise re cruising Long Island Sound? Thanks much. Ed Wagner m/v Gambier |
wrote:
In the process of planning a possible spring and/or summer cruise in Long Island Sound and nearby, after shipping "Gambier," a Eastbay 43, drawing four feet, by truck from Ft. Lauderdale to probably northern NJ for offloading and pick-up, I am asking for suggestions and comments about: How early ought one to begin a cruise on the Sound? Crowdedness in general on the Sound? Crowdedness in ??? ports, marinas, anchorages? Better and best anchorages and marinas? Better and best villages, towns and cities to visit, and why? Best fuel (deisel) sources? Your best comments and advise re cruising Long Island Sound? Thanks much. Ed Wagner m/v Gambier Hi Ed, nice to see you back on the group after a long absence. Re LIS, I can heartily recommend that you pick up one (or more) of the 10 or 20 cruising guides available for the area (since it is one of the most heavily traveled areas in existence). Then report back after you have digested all of the easily available information that the rest of us have studied for the last 20 or so years. I hope you have had a very pleasant holiday season. Best regards, Armond -- Good luck and good sailing. s/v Kerry Deare of Barnegat http://kerrydeare.home.comcast.net/ |
For sure, see City Island, Port Washington, Oyster Bay, Northport (none are
crowded), and probably Block Island (definitely crowded weekends). Port Jefferson is okay, but it is a ways from the anchorage to town. Mattituck Inlet is nice, but not near much and rumor has it it has shoaled to under 4-1/2' at low tide. Newport has no effective anchorage, and you need to arrive early in the morning to catch a mooring (was $50, may have gone up). In NJ, Horseshoe Cove and Atlantic Highlands are decent anchorages. Plan on an overnight trip Cape May to AH. Watch currents at Hell Gate. Plan on arriving at HG 1 hour 20 minutes after high tide at The Battery for high slack water at HG and a ride with the current to HG and away from HG. Watch current through The Race (eastern end of LIS) whick can be strong. If caught in adverse current there go close to shore. Lots of anchorages along CT coast, but lots of rocks protecting the approaches. LIS can be a mite cool into early May. NY City Parks and Rec has mooring available at 79th Street boat basin. Last summer, in season, theye were I think $40 a day. You *definitely* need a motor on your dinghy as the currents can be strong. Restaurant right there, plus a two block walk to tons more of everything on Broadway, plus a subway station to take you anywhere. Buy a Metro card and go, with free transfers to MTA buses. 79th St BB is recommended if you want to see Manhattan, and a lot of tourist do. Liberty Landing Marina and Libertay State Marina (can't remember which is which, but the one on the south side of the old Deleware Canal is far better, ignore the one on the north side) each have (separate) ferries to Manhattan (which ferries -may- have run out of funding and stopped running, there was talk of that about to happen). neither is effectively close enough to a PATH train (to Manhattan) to be useful. The other marinas on the Jersey side of the Hudson don't want you there unless you have a mega-buck$$ Yotte. Forget staying at Chesea Piers in Manhattan. Enjoy. In the process of planning a possible spring and/or summer cruise in Long Island Sound and nearby, after shipping "Gambier," a Eastbay 43, drawing four feet, by truck from Ft. Lauderdale to probably northern NJ for offloading and pick-up, I am asking for suggestions and comments about: How early ought one to begin a cruise on the Sound? Crowdedness in general on the Sound? Crowdedness in ??? ports, marinas, anchorages? Better and best anchorages and marinas? Better and best villages, towns and cities to visit, and why? Best fuel (deisel) sources? Your best comments and advise re cruising Long Island Sound? Thanks much. Ed Wagner m/v Gambier |
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Long Island Sound
Places to visit I don't know where you are launching from but given that you are running an Eastbay you can cover a lot of distance be sure to get to the eastern end of the sound and also I assume you have a dingy but that isn't a show stopper.. Here are few of my favorites. Mystic Seaport, great maritime village recreation the equal of Williamsburg, make a reservation now, they have both slips and spaces at the bulkhead at the NYYC station. The Connecticut River -stay at Essex, two Marinas, a YC, and a river museum, eat at the Griswold Inn a must, go a little further and visit Hamburg Cove The LI Fishtail Shelter Island Peconic Bay, Try the Shelter Island YC in Deering Harbor or if you don't draw too much try Cockles Harbor (skinny water but spectacular and peaceful), if you don,t want to anchor try the marina (the Laundromat abuts the pool,) Sag Harbor (make reservations early, Further East Newport,great place Lots going on at the waterfront and if you have never seen the "Cottages" grab a cab and tour one or two (think what Gatsby might have built if he had Vanderbilt's $) Old Port Marine handles the moorings and provides Launch Service Block Island like a trip back to the 1940s, very little anchoring left. Town runs the moorings, first come first serve if you want a mooring get there first thing Sunday, Mon, Tues or Weds morning maybe Thurs. forget Fri and Sat. Alternatively try one of the marinas (but you must really want company) If you are near the sound you are near the Hudson take a up cruise north, Go up to Cornwall and stop at what to me is a really unique YC, (he trip through past West Point under the Bear Mountain Bridge is worth the whole deal) Circumnavigate Manhattan, once around the Island down, from the sound go clockwise up the Harlem River (you will clear all the bridges (27ft) except there railroad bridge, but if you follow a "Circle Line" tour boat they will arrive just as the bridge is opening. (note directly across the river on the New Jersey side is public Marina with really great fuel prices. The Marina looks seedy but is very secure and peaceful Stop at Liberty Island Marina it will give you the best view of lower Manhattan you can ever hope for, (If you are a photographer wait for a clear day near sunset) Water Taxi connects with Manhattan ,Don't miss the Ellis Island Museum and Statue of Liberty (Park service boat leaves from the LI Marina) Check the tides and go up the East River and back into the sound. (NOTE NEW YORK HARBOR HAS DANGERS BESIDE HELL GATE- be mindful of semi submerged lumber and other debris and also watch out for the high speed passenger ferries) Definitely get some good charts and one of the Marine Guidebooks. Let us know how you do. wrote in message oups.com... In the process of planning a possible spring and/or summer cruise in Long Island Sound and nearby, after shipping "Gambier," a Eastbay 43, drawing four feet, by truck from Ft. Lauderdale to probably northern NJ for offloading and pick-up, I am asking for suggestions and comments about: How early ought one to begin a cruise on the Sound? Crowdedness in general on the Sound? Crowdedness in ??? ports, marinas, anchorages? Better and best anchorages and marinas? Better and best villages, towns and cities to visit, and why? Best fuel (deisel) sources? Your best comments and advise re cruising Long Island Sound? Thanks much. Ed Wagner m/v Gambier |
Block Island like a trip back to the 1940s, very little anchoring left.
Town runs the moorings, first come first serve if you want a mooring get there first thing Sunday, Mon, Tues or Weds morning maybe Thurs. forget Fri and Sat. you, you frickin clown, have no idea what the Great Salt Pond on Block Island looks like. Please, in the future, shut the frick up. |
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On 27 Dec 2004 09:56:20 -0800, wrote:
In the process of planning a possible spring and/or summer cruise in Long Island Sound and nearby, after shipping "Gambier," a Eastbay 43, drawing four feet, by truck from Ft. Lauderdale to probably northern NJ for offloading and pick-up, I am asking for suggestions and comments about: How early ought one to begin a cruise on the Sound? Crowdedness in general on the Sound? Crowdedness in ??? ports, marinas, anchorages? Better and best anchorages and marinas? Better and best villages, towns and cities to visit, and why? Best fuel (deisel) sources? Your best comments and advise re cruising Long Island Sound? ================================================== = With a generator and heat, you can begin cruising in mid-April. Nights will be cool. We use an inverter driven electric blanket and then run the generator for a while at breakfast to recharge, cook and heat the hot water tank. The best way to avoid crowds is to avoid July and August. Early and late season can be wonderful. Oyster Bay, North Port and Port Jefferson are all big enough to cruise mid-season and have good anchorages. Best marinas are the Brewer's Yacht Yards. There are at least 12 at last count. The first you will encounter are at Manhasset Bay and Stamford Harbor. Pick up a brochure for info on the others or check out their web site. http://www.byy.com/ Best villages and towns are very subjective but here's my "don't miss" list: Larchmont, Oyster Bay, City Island (part of NYC), Manhasset, Essex (on Connecticut River), Mystic, Port Jefferson. For marine services, Stamford, CT and Westbrook, CT are hard to beat. Cheapest fuel, both gas and diesel, that we have found is at a little fishing dock in Noank, CT. It is between buoys N12 and N14 as you go upriver towards Mystic. By all means stay over night at Mystic seaport at their docks. It is a great stop. Going east from LIS, don't miss Newport, RI; Block Island, RI; Cuttyhunk Island and Marthas Vineyard. |
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On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 16:37:29 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote: Liberty Landing Marina and Libertay State Marina (can't remember which is which, but the one on the south side of the old Deleware Canal is far better, ignore the one on the north side) each have (separate) ferries to Manhattan (which ferries -may- have run out of funding and stopped running, there was talk of that about to happen). neither is effectively close enough to a PATH train (to Manhattan) to be useful. The other marinas on the Jersey side of the Hudson don't want you there unless you have a mega-buck$$ Yotte. Actually Newport Marina just north of those two is not outrageous, and is right on a PATH station. It is not well protected from wakes however. Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a "Wanting to meet a writer because you like his work is like wanting to meet a duck because you like pate." Margaret Atwood |
Definitely get one of the Long Island Sound Guide Books, also a copy of
Eldridge would be a good idea. There are a number of fine ports on both sides of the sound and at both ends. While the sound is not very big, less than a 20 hour run from on end to the other for even a slow boat, I suggest you carry a cell phone as well as the usual VHF and call ahead for marina reservations regardless of were you are. There are few good anchorages anywhere in LIS. If you are secure in your navigation consider a run through the Thimbles. Essex, a few miles up the Connecticut River, is a must. If you have the time, you might want to spend a night anchored in Hamburg Cove. After Essex, you can consider crossing over into the "forks" of Long Island. A trip from Greenport around Shelter Island with stops at 3 mile, Sag Harbor, and maybe one or another would be a great way to spend a few days. You might want to end up at Montauk. By the way, most of this area is called Gardner's Bay, not LIS. You need to time your passage from Essex to Greenport to hit slack at Plum Gut, and you should have reasonable favorable weather. After this "circumnavigation" I would leave Montauk and cross over to Block Island. You will definitely note that you are not in the sound now, but in the ocean, with ocean swells, etc. So wait for good weather. Go for the inlet at Great Salt Pond. Moorings there are first come first serve. Dock space is by reservation, and anchoring is limited. If you anchor, have good heavy gear, and make sure it is well "stuck." If you want dockside, call now for a reservation! After Block, I would take a run across Block Island Sound, through Watch Hill Passage into Fisher Island Sound. ( If I had the time, I might consider east and spending a few days in Newport, etc., but you said LIS.) Once in Fisher Island Sound go up the Mystic River. If you have reservations, or can get dockside at Mystic Seaport Museum, fine; otherwise, there are two or three fine marinas NORTH of the RR bridge right in downtown Mystic. Not a bad walk to the museum or the restaurants. Heading back west from Mystic, you can go back into LIS from Fisher Sound and stop at all the places you missed on the way east. LIS is always crowed, usually cold early in the season, then hot and muggy with possible afternoon thunderstorms in July and August. It can get foggy as you go east. To me the best cruising is just after Labor Day until early October. Navigation is easy: East & West go up and down sound, North and South bump into land! :-) |
In article ,
Dave wrote: On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 03:12:25 GMT, "Wry Vaio" said: Further East Newport,great place Lots going on at the waterfront and if you have never seen the "Cottages" grab a cab and tour one or two (think what Gatsby might have built if he had Vanderbilt's $ We stopped there a year ago and were rather disappointed with Newport itself. 20 years ago it was a great stop. Today the downtown is a tourist trap with one chain store after another and masses of tourists walking up and down peering into the souvenir shops. I'd stay elsewhere. Take a cab into town and take the tour of the "Cottages," though. Dave Newport has some great highlights. First of all there are all the tour boats. Where else can you go sailing on a former America's cup boat or sail alongside them? Newport is home to one of the better AKA sites (for those kite flyers who can take a cab) -- those great winds are good for more than sailing. erica zapp has one of the more intriguing jewlery shops I've seen. And, yes, the mansions are definitely worth the visit. harlan -- To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"? |
On 28 Dec 2004 14:07:25 -0600, Dave wrote:
On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 00:27:32 -0500, Wayne.B said: Best marinas are the Brewer's Yacht Yards. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. You'll always pay top dollar at Brewer's. ================================================== ==== I tend to agree but I think it's mostly a matter of getting what you pay for. I've always found their facilities to be professionally operated with knowledgable, courteous people for the most part, and with clean, well maintained facilities. There's no question it costs money to run a boatyard that way, but many times money is secondary if you're on vacation. |
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