# Cruising from the Sound to Raritan Bay



## rcibul (Jul 23, 2006)

Just bought my first boat ( _*ADAGIO*_ 96 Catalina 28 mkII ) and I plan to sail her from Huntington, LI to her new home on Raritan Bay. I have not been that way before and I am looking for some advice on navigating through Hell Gate, the East River, etc.

Any help would be appreciated!


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Bob, pick up a copy of Eldridge and it will give you the complete routing along with all the tide and current information to make the trip easy. Basically, you've got a one to two hour "slack enough" to make a smooth trip through the Hell Gate and then ride the current down the east river. You *will* want to motor, sailing is rough in that section so make sure the engine is up to running well before you take the boat away. The worst that will happen if you hit HG at the wrong time is that you will stay in one place for three hours while motorsailing at full speed.<G>


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## rcibul (Jul 23, 2006)

Thanks, I will definitely pay close attention to Eldridge to hit the slack window at Hell Gate. I have also heard that commercial traffic can be pretty heavy and the channel is relatively narrow through HG. Would a Sunday be better that a weekday?


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Bob... the traffic is lighter on the wekends but you'll still get some good wates from the high speed ferries. The advice above is right on...from Huntington, you might want to overnight in Manhasset Bay so you are close enough to time the tidal run under the Throgs Neck etc. . The trip is sleigh ride once the tide starts pushing you south and spectacular as you pass through the city. 
Since this is a new boat AND the wakes/current can bounce you around a lot I would doubly *caution* you to take good care to insure that your fuel and fuel tanks and filters are clean. The time to discover they are not is *NOT* in the East river! Have several extra filters with you and know how to use them!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I agree with the above mentioned comments. I prefer to use the tide flow to my advantage rather than wait for slack tide. If you hit the Throgsneck bridge about 3 hours after high water at the Brooklyn Battery you will have a nice fast ride down the East River. Also, monitor Ch 13 for commercial traffic and listen for Securite calls in the river. Watch out for the construction bouys on the NYC side in the area just before the UN building.

Good luck.
Mark
S/V Merlin


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## rcibul (Jul 23, 2006)

Thanks for the excellent advice.. just what I need!

I will overnight in Manhasset Bay, and I was told if I leave Manhasset when the tide is High at the Battery the timing should be right for a nice trip down the East River. Does that sound right? What is the travel time between Manhasset and the Throgs Neck Bridge? I figure I can motor at about 6 knots.

Thanks for the reminder about fuel filters and monitoring the commercial traffic on Ch 13. It would peg the stress meter to lose power approaching Hell Gate, eh?

I am excited about the trip, and thanks to your advice I will be better prepared and a bit less stressed!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Depending on where in Manahasset Bay you are coming from, if around Brewer's Capri it is about 45 minutes to Throgsneck Bridge. Check with Eldridge you want to get into the East River about 3 hours after low water at the Battery

mark


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Sorry that is 3 hours after HIGH water at the Battery

Mark


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

"commercial traffic can be pretty heavy and the channel is relatively narrow through HG. " Sometimes, but "narrow channel" means one thing to a hundred feet of fuel barge and another thing for you. They won't be moving very quickly, so you'll all be moving remarkably close to the same speed and that means you can queue up and wait for a break in the traffic in the worst case. Just look over your shoulder on the way down the East River once in a while, and be prepared to step aside.<G>

Less weekend traffic, but honest, I've never noticed traffic in the HG to be a real problem. Often cluttered with oblivious fast-boat drivers racing to make a BBQ on the weekend, they can be worse than the professional mariners.<G>

The high speed ferries...well...a lot of them seem to think they own the water but the bottom line is, they don't. Take due care but don't let them intimidate you. I had the, ah, pleasure of hearing the Staten Island Ferry give a danger horn off the battery one day. I was flaking the sail on a J/24 facing aft when I heard it behind me (ahead of us) and I was not at all happy. Confused too, because I was sure we couldn't be the cause. Sure enough...one of the cat ferry morons had managed to cut off BOTH the USCG Governor's Island ferry AND the SI ferry...I suspect he got more than a polite note in the mail about that one.<G>

If the tides are really inconvenient, note that you CAN overnight in Little Bay, which is just east of the Throgg's Neck Bridge (or Little Neck Bay) and from there just shoot on down to the Hell Gate. Ditto if you pick up a guest mooring at City Island, where the clubs have launch service and there is shoreside food as well.

In good conditions, from the Throgg's Neck to Rariton Bay should be a nice day trip. I'm assuming you have the charts because there is some shoal water in and below NY harbor. The current maps in Eldridge can help make a big difference in the time it takes you to get out past the harbor, too.

And, of course, during the week you've got more freighter traffic coming in the harbor from Ambrose Channel. Treat them like locomotives--they can't stop or turn and they come at you much faster than you think. (Fortunately, like alligators, they can't turn as fast as you can.<G>)


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## rcibul (Jul 23, 2006)

Thanks hellosailor and rads for the info on my upcoming Manhasset to Raritan Bay trip.

We sailed from Huntington Bay to the Knickerbocker YC in Manhasset Bay this Sunday, and am planning to complete the trip this coming Sunday. Unfortunately the tides will have me making a pretty early depature from from Manhasset ( 0630 ), but it should be nice riding the current down the East River mid-morning!

I am much better informed and prepared thanks to your advice, and I am really looking forward to the trip.

-Bob C.


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## christinero (Sep 28, 2004)

*timing*

Hey Bob.......your everywhere!!! George R


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## rcibul (Jul 23, 2006)

*LI Sound to Raritan Bay Update*

~ UPDATE ~

Thanks to all for the excellent advice I received from SailNet'ers. We had a most excellent trip from Long Island Sound through NYC to Raritan Bay!

We took the ride down the East River this past Tuesday in spectacular weather ( clear, calm, 80's ). Motoring out of Manhasset Bay to the Throgs Neck Bridge took about 1 hour @ 6knts. We continued down under the Whitestone, past LaGuardia Airport, and on to Riker's Island. Just before Riker's we noticed some roiled water as we were picked up by the current and jumped to 7.4 knots SOG. The ebb started at Hell Gate at 10:53 AM, and we came under the Triboro bridge at 11:00. Hell Gate was pretty tame, but the current took us to 9.5 knots! The ride continued down past Roosevelt Island at an average of 9 knots. Very little traffic... We slid past the UN, under the rest of the bridges, and out past the Battery into the Upper New York Harbor. Some ferry dodging was required here, but the wind picked up and we set sail off the Battery. Beautiful... killed the engine and close hauled in light wind to the foot of Lady Liberty. Tacked across the harbor and winds picked up considerably... A Staten Island ferry dodge, a tanker and container ship course change, and we shot under the Verazano close hauled making nearly 7 knots. Wow! Brisk wind all the way to Raritan Bay!

Can't wait to make the reverse trip up to the Sound!!

If you are interested in a slideshow of pix from the trip, browse to:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AZNGTlwzctWKt

Thanks again to all who offered advice!


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## morganmike (Oct 31, 2006)

Link doesn't work.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Bob-

I took a look at the slide show... how'd you get the photos of Adagio under sail... some else obviously took them...since they're from a distance. At first I was a bit worried, since it looked like all you did was power...but the last ten photos or show show the boat under sail. 

Very nice...


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*hell gate/ east river passage*

hello sailor

i have just purchased my first boat other than a dinghy. she's an islander 24 with a 10 horse outboard i am sailing her from lindenhurst to new london throught new york harbor. what should i expect in the east river. how should i play the tides for hell gate. i have charted my course and have planning the trip for a couple of weeks and the weather next week looks favorable. any suggestions would be helpful.
thanks........robert c


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## jimmalkin (Jun 1, 2004)

Suggest you read this thread from the top and just turn the north to south advice around to match your trip. Buy Eldridge and use the current to take you Northeast from the Battery. Be prepared to bounce around in the rips and the wakes, so wear your pfd's. Monitor channel 13 for commercial traffic and if you have ANY questions or concerns about oncoming or overtaking tugs/tows hail them and get a clear idea as to what they're doing so you can determine what you should do - rule of the road are good rule but from Governor's Island to Execution Rocks, my mo is pretty much "tonnage wins."


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

already picked up eldridge, thanks i'll let you know how it goes


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