# Five days Long Island Sound



## mazzy (Mar 11, 2006)

Looking for ideas on a possible itinerary, leaving Manhasset Bay early Wednesday, returning Sunday evening. Myself and my 2 boys, 13 and 15. I was thinking Mystic, by way of Mattituck, stopping off at Norwalk on the way back. I'd anchor a couple of nights, put in to a marina a couple of the nights (no shower on board  ). Boat's a shoal draft Seaward 25 that I've been sailing on Western LI Sound the past 3 years. Never been beyond Rye.

Are distances reasonable? About 60 miles to Mattituck. Another 35 to Mystic. I am concerned with the boys being bored on long legs. 

Mike


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## SaltyGirl (Sep 16, 2006)

They will love Mystic, CT. We just went there - we lucked out and it happened to be the week of the wooden boat show at Mystic Seaport, but you might want to check their website. They have lots of other things going on the whole thing is great. A whaling ship you can go on - (The Charles Morgan)

I highly recommend Mystic Shipyard Marina - It was a GREAT marina. Lots of facilities and nice people. It has a pool, nice showers, and dockmasters that love to show off their "texas-style" lassoing of pilings. (no kidding) It's just south of the drawbridge and easy walking distance to get around.


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

*a little ambitious*

Mazzy:

As SaltyGirl says Mystic is a great destination but I think that for your criteria (5 days and 2 young teens) it would be rather ambitious. As adults we look at the "getting there" as the most enjoyable part of the trip. Kids just want to "be there". (Do I here it? "Are we there yet"?) And for them "there" doesn't need to be a nautical museum. Miniature golf, video game hall or even a movie (Batman's now playing) is enough to keep them happy on your shoreside evenings. If they like swimming then an evening on the hook near a beach can be refreshing and provide some nice quiet time. When my daughter was younger we kept the legs to 6 hours max. One of the trips she remembers most was a trip from Oyster Bay to Port Jeff and it was because of the restaurant we had dinner at. They had a kids menu that actually had steak on it and she loved it (she hardly recalls the wasp sting she got 2 hours later while eating italian ice). Whatever you decide have a great trip.

John N.


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## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

Rather than doing one long leg to Mattituck, You might think of stopping at Eaton's Neck or anchor off Sheffield Island and going ashore to see the old light house there (however they do charge you a nominal fee to go ashore). We used to anchor behind Charles Island, just before New Haven, and take the kids ashore and explore the island. Port Jefferson is another possibility. Take a hard right after coming through the breakwater and either pick up a mooring (in the middle of the week) or anchor and then you can go ashore on the beach.


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hello,

I do not think Mattituck is a good destination. It's kind of far from the sound, and there is not much to see of do. I would stop at Port Jeff on the south side, or maybe Milford or Bridgport on the north side. If you stop at Port Jeff you will have a real long leg the next day. By staying on the CT side and stopping at Newhaven or so, the second leg won't be so long.

Have a great trip, I'm jealous.

Barry


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

I am quite familiar with LIS as a cruising destination. I concur that Mystic, etc. is an awfully ambitious destination for a 5 day cruise on a 25 foot boat with two kids. If it were me, and obviously this is purely personal preference and opinion, so feel quite free to ignore entirely, I would consider the following:

Day 1: Oyster Bay (about 15 miles). More particularly, West Harbor. It's basically all the way in and around, and West Harbor sits just to the west of Centre Island (the boot). It's great and easy holding, there's a nice beach, and you even can swim right there off the boat in West Harbor. To get to the beach, go to the north end of West Harbor (in that Seawind you can snug up quite close), go ashore, cross the beach that's right there (you can anchor your dink on that beach), cross the road, and you're at a very nice beach. Likewise, there's a little dive of a restaurant on the water there, very accessible by dink, called the Clam Shack. Not at all fancy, but good for kids.

Day 2: Northport (about 6 miles or so from the anchorage in OB). What people call Northport actually is several harbors and towns. If you go all the way into the harbor, that's really Northport Harbor. You can pick up a mooring very easily and get into town easy enough to find a few restaurants, ice cream parlor and a few other things. The moorings there in large part, but not exclusively, are offered by yacht clubs, and they have nice facilities, including pools, for you and the kids to use. Or, if you would prefer to anchor out you could do that too. Before you get to Northport Harbor proper, there's a spit of land called Sand City (that's an informal name known to the locals). You can anchor there and go ashore for another nice beach.

Day 3. Port Jefferson (about 20 miles). Here, particularly if you're looking to go dockside for a day, I'd go to Danford's, all the way at the head of the harbor. (You also could grab a mooring, or drop a hook in numerous places; Port Jeff is an easy harbor with many options.) Danford's is a very nice place, and has showers. You also are right in the heart of town, and Port Jeff has a lot going on, for kids, and all walking distance from the boat. There's a movie theater not too far of a walk. There's also an awesome ice cream shop in the outside mall very close to the harbor.

Day 4. Mamaroneck (on your return trip, about 25 or 30 miles). There is a town float in the West Basin that allows you to tie up to a dock that's floating in the harbor (you still need a dink to get ashore). Once ashore, you are walking distance to Mamaroneck Avenue, which has a plethora of shops, restaurants, ice cream, and stuff. Plus, the harbor is alongside a very nice park. There's also a Brewer's in the East Basin, that usually has a transient slip or two available, in case you'd rather do that.

Day 5. Back to Manhasset (about 5 miles or so), with enough time to go to Louie's for a celebratory drink for you and some chow for the swabs before going home.

That kind of itinerary, in my opinion, still is a little ambitious because it leaves no room for bad weather, or even just to have a day where you're not moving the boat (it's always nice, I think, to be able to chill out for a day or so every few days on a cruise). Likewise, because you need to make miles every day, you will be forced to motor if the wind is not cooperative, either if it's light or if it's on the nose (more likely for your trip home with the prevailing southwesterlies). If you get bad weather or don't want to motor, I would cut out Port Jeff, as that's about 20 miles past Northport, so it's about 10 hours travel time round trip for you, assuming you're making decent way. That said, assuming you want to sail every day and are willing to motor if necessary, Port Jeff is a very doable outside destination for a five-day cruise. 

Mystic, however, would be a killer, in my opinion, especially with kids. You are talking about 90 to 100 miles or so from Manhasset. Assuming you average 4 knots, that's about 24 hours of travel each way, not counting the extra time and distance for entering and exiting harbors for stops along the way. Plus, that far east you really do need to mind the tides, as the current out there is material, particularly for smaller boats, which means you may be getting up at odd hours to catch tide, which you would need to do to maintain the pace you'll need if you do a trip like that over only 5 days.

Also to put it in perspective, from an experienced LIS cruiser, we're taking about an 8 or 9 day cruise in August on a 49 foot boat, and we're leaving from Mamaroneck. We're going with two kids (younger than yours), and we're thinking that Block Island might be too much of a push, and BI is not much further than Mystic. We're figuring that we won't go farther than Sag Harbor on this trip, which is closer than Mystic. Now, that's just us, and we prefer not to push particularly long days on the kids because we don't want them to get bored. Our kids are younger than yours, and surely have less stamina for that kind of thing, so I really don't want to throw water on your plans. The above is just one knucklehead's opinion, nothing more.


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## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

One more thought. Since you will have your kids on board, you might consider stopping at Norwalk, CT. Go up the Norwalk River and you can tie up at the dock on the right side of the river next to Veteran's Park just before the bridge over the river in South Norwalk. Then it is a two or three block walk to the Norwalk Maritime Center that has a great aquarium and one of only two albino alligators in the world. It would be a wonderful and fun place to take your kids.


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## mazzy (Mar 11, 2006)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! Dan, you hit it right on the head with Mystic being too aggressive. And Mamaroneck on the return is a great idea, as I can meet up with a stinkpot buddy for the afternoon. Thanks again and I'll post how it went.
Mike


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## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

I have lived and fished on the LI Sound for my whole life (i'm only 23 though) but this is the first time I have had my boat there as last year I had one on the south shore of LI. Anyway I agree with everyone else that Mystic is kinda far and would be pushing it. I always thought the same thing that it would be a nice trip to go to for a weekend but then I actually bought my boat in Mystic just this past April and sailed it back. After the 10 hour trip (and that is only going to Mt. Sinai harbor which is the furthest east on LI) I realized how far it is. 

I have been trying to hit a different LI Sound cruising spot every weekend. So far out of Port Jeff, Smithtown, Mt. Sinai, Northport, Norwalk, Black Rock and Milford, I liked Port Jeff and Milford the best although Black Rock and Northport were also fun. Milford landing I thought had the nicest facilities with great floating side docks, showers, bathrooms and a short walk into a nice clean town with a few restaurants and bars to choose from. It was also cool to anchor behind Charles Island the next day for a swim off the boat and into the island it self. 

Port Jeff is also cool and I have been there many times as it is right next door to me. Unless money isn't an issue I would not recommend staying at Danfords Marina. You will pay a very hefty price per foot. Also the town dock is a fixed pier so if you stay there bring plenty of fenders and fender boards and leave plenty of slack in your lines for low tide. I would just anchor out in one of numerous spots or pick up a mooring. ( I think Silver Bay marine has transient moorings.) Then you can either take the dink or the launch in to town and there are plenty of great restaurants, bars, live music, shops of all kinds. 

Anyway have fun! I am so jealous as I was suppossed to have 10 days in August to do a cruise where I was planning on heading east out to Mattituck, Block, Sag Harbor, Greenport, etc. but now because of work I can't go so I am stuck to the weekend thing this summer.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

Something just occurs to me about Port Jeff. You can take a mooring at the Setauket Yacht Club in Port Jeff harbor, and that gets you launch service, AND showers! So, if you don't want to pay the price of Danford's, you still can swing on a mooring and have shower access (you mentioned that you don't have a shower, so you were hoping to be somewhere with shower facilities at least for a day or two). I also agree with NK that Milford is very nice. I just didn't mention it because you have only 5 days, and you can't go everywhere!


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Mazzy,
You have gotten good advice from other sailnutters on LIS. I will only add a few of my own observations.
1) They are your kids ages 13 and 15 so how many days (and nights) do you really want to spend bonding with them on your boat (not all kids are created equal)? Have you done other overnighters with them? Do they actually like sailing or do they prefer the game-boy or the computer or television as so many do? You may want to bond with them in this way but it is difficult for me to ascertain if THEY want to do it or YOU do. If no previous overnights on the boat than do one, if several then try some of the places others have mentioned like Oyster Bay, or nearly anywhere in Huntington, Pt. Jeff., or Mt. Sinai areas.
2) Remember that the farther you go the farther you have to come back. Mystic CT. is a great idea but could take 2 days to get to and 4 coming back. Prevailing winds are from the SW so on your nose most of the time if there are winds.
3) Weather and wind on the LIS in 'high summer' can be either non-existent or way too much if sub tropical weather is around. Plan on using your motor a lot and always have a plan B like your buddy in Mamoroneck.
4) I hope you have a great time and enjoy it.


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## cranki (Jun 11, 2006)

+1 on Port Jeff. 

Perfect for your boys. Took my son (14) and Nephew (15) there last July. We anchored in the cove where the big dunes are and swam. The boys kayaked ashore and explored the dunes while I enjoyed a cold beer on the boat. Then we motored on down the channel to town and picked up a ball at the Setauket and went out to dinner. It was wicked hot the next AM so we motored out to Port Jeff's nicest anchorage on the western side of the harbor and went for another swim and paddle before sailing on. 

The Connecticut River is a worthy destination as well. I used to anchor in Hamburg Cove. I hear it's very crowded these days though.

Oh, Almost forgot, Norwalk is having the SONO Arts Festival this weekend. Really good stuff, plenty of live music and food... Trust me, Norwalk knows how to party. So , yeah, stop there Saturday on your way home. Pull up to the dock mentioned in an earlier post, check out the festival and the aquarium if the kids are into it. Then go and anchor out near the islands or over at Ziegler's Cove just west of Norwalk Harbor.


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## mazzy (Mar 11, 2006)

Points taken, Caleb. I'm lucky that we don't need to work on bonding, we're pretty tight knit. The boys want to journey, I think they feel that they've got to unplug from the 'net and games before they burn themselves out(tough life). Now we're thinking we may do a shorter trip for the first outing and see how it goes. Oyster Bay, Norwalk, Mamaroneck.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

Maz, not exactly sure when you'll be there or if we'll be around when you are, but if you choose to stop in Mamaroneck, feel free to give a shout and we'd be happy to help you get settled (or help you help resolve the town's problem with an oversupply of libations). Shoot me an email if you're coming our way.


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

Okay Mazzy - now you've done it - my daughter was looking over my shoulder the other day and now she wants me to take her and her b/f out for a week - so i get to figure out an itinerary for myself  

John N.


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

Daughter just woke up and came in saying they want Mystic - oh well - looks like I get the long sail

John N.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

You're complaining about being forced to go on a long sail... Hmm... not a great attitude for a sailor IMHO. 



jnsailing said:


> Daughter just woke up and came in saying they want Mystic - oh well - looks like I get the long sail
> 
> John N.


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

Dog - it's not the sail itself - it's being on the boat with two teenagers 

John N.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Look at it this way... would you rather have your daughter off with her boyfriend for the duration or have her someplace you can keep an eye on her??? Small price to pay IMHO.  You could always dose their food with valium. 


jnsailing said:


> Dog - it's not the sail itself - it's being on the boat with two teenagers
> 
> John N.


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## mazzy (Mar 11, 2006)

John,
Finding time's always the issue, so if you can find it, do it!
Mike


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

Dog - being older teens I don't have much control over them whether I'm there or not - since they are only home for a couple of months they get to do whatever they want the rest of the year while they are away in college - daysails with them in tow have been alright but I'm not sure I can survive that teenage mentality for the long term but I'll give it a try

John N.


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

Mazzy - I have the time (I'm on terminal leave waiting for my retirement to start) - that's not the problem - the admiral isn't going cause she doesn't really like the boyfriend which has it's own set of problems - I'm just going along for the sail 

John N.


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## jnsailing (Jul 4, 2008)

*Quick update*

Well the trip has been completed without any mutinies or anyone jumping ship. Took a couple of extra days due to foul weather but all in all a nice jaunt. Daughter's bf got his first taste of the sailing life and he didn't run away. Final itinerary which got changed on the fly due to wx was:

depart: Port Washington NY
1st night: Port Jefferson NY
2nd night: Old Saybrook CT
3/4 nights: Mystick CT
5th night: Westbrook CT
6th night: Huntington harbor NY
return: Port Washington

Daughter is already asking for one more trip before she returns to college at the end of the month. Wonder where she'll want to go next?

John N.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

thanks for the update.


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

That's an impressive trip for that many days. Just curious, how was your wind and were you motoring a lot?


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