# Long Island Sound to Hudson River Cruise



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hello everyone...I'm planning on buying a boat on Long Island Sound; a Bristol 26 with a 15 hp outboard. Thing is I'm planning on keeping in in the Hudson River up near Poughkeepsie...60 miles or so (est.) north of nyc; which requires that I sail it from Stamford CT. Never sailed through New York City before...anything special I need to know? any place "off limits"? any places in which it is futile to attempt a passage because of tide conditions at certain times? Thanks again....cant wait to get my boat!

-Marty


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

Welcome aboard martsmth,

your best bet is to get a chart of New York City area and tide charts. Hells Gate has a 6 kn currant and I'm not sure about the Hudson River. It is 70 miles from the city to Poughkeepsie. Good luck.


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## AlanBrown (Dec 20, 2007)

Watch your tides going through Hells Gate and the East River. Try for incoming or slack tide. Let the river do the work for you.

Same holds true for the Husdon. Ride a slack-incoming tide and you're apt to reach Poughkeepsie before it turns against you.

Finally, watch out for debris in the water. New York harbor is full of old pilings floating around and the Hudson dumps lots of tree trunks, etc. into the harbor every year. For this reason I always travelled on the Hudson during the daylight hours.

You'll enjoy your trip!


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

It should be a great trip. Hell Gate is the only place to have to "negotiate", and as long as you pay attention to the tide tables you should be fine. It might mean a middle of the night trip through. The one place to really avoid around NYC is the Kill Van Kull. This leads into one of the busiest shipping centers in the region. When entering the upper bay, stay to the east side to avoid it. There is no need to call NYC VTS (Vessel Traffic Service - basically the Air Traffic Control equivalent for the marine channels), but if the weather is nasty you might want to let them know you are there and also do securite calls. New York City is a very cool place to sail through. You can get fairly close to the Statue of Liberty. The traffic down there can get pretty nasty. We went through on a Sunday which seemed to minimize the traffic. Water taxis, tugs, barges, ships, homeland security, tour boats, ferries, etc. - you have to keep a fairly sharp lookout. This page should give you all the current info you need... Current Station Locations and Ranges


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Not only Hell Gate but the entire East River must be approached to catch the tide "downstream" ...especially in an outboard powered boat. This is NOT sailing territory so with a new boat....you want to be VERY sure of the reliability of the outboard before you depart. 
Best way to do it is to anchor or take a slip in Manhasset Bay/PortWashington the nite before and then plan to be under the Throgs Neck bridge and at Hell Gate at the ebb so you have the current with you all the way past the battery. 
On the East River, use tide tables for New York. High tide at Hell Gate, Hallets Point, is 2 hours, 4 minutes later. SLACK tide only lasts for four minutes so you want to time things closely and NOT arrive early as you want the ebbing southerly current to help you. Stay OUT of the center of the channel and off to the sides where the current is weaker.
You can consider anchoring off the Statue of Liberty, taking a mooring at the 79th st. basin or perhaps going for a slip on the Jersey side at Liberty landing. You want a flooding tide to propel you up the Hudson so don't think about heading upriver against the current. Labatt's suggestion of a weekend passage is a good one. You need to pay attention to the current details but otherwise you should have a great trip and it is a thrill to go by NYC on your own hull!


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Worst part of the Hudson, from a current perspective, seems to be by the George Washington Bridge by the way... it seems like fighting your way up there is a treat when against a heavy current, and once you get past there you go a bit faster. If you are against a big ebb, though, it feels like (and actually is) hours before you pass the bridge.

Cam - Thanks for pointing out the East River. I haven't done the trip from NYC to Long Island Sound - YET - so I just know what others have said. I have done the trip up the Hudson and that's pretty cool. New York's Upper Harbor is definitely sailing territory on the weekends. I'd probably hesitate during the week with a ton of shipping traffic.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

I echo all that is said about the East River and Hells Gate. Playing the tides down the East River will rocket you down to the Battery in 3-4 hours. You can add anywhere from 3-5 kph over the ground speed to your knotmeter.

Take a camera as there are many famous snapshots along the way including the Empire State, Crysler, UN, Brooklyn and Manahhatan Bridges..etc.

My suggestion is also to stay at Liberty Marina on the Jersey side close to the Statue of Liberty and the ferry which runs to it. Running up the Hudson has lots of boat traffic till you get to the GW Bridge and the famous "Little Red Lighthouse" of childrens story tales next to the bridge. At that poisnt the current eases some.


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

You can see the water under the bridge and the little red lighthouse... this was on a fairly light wind day, except for the 20kt winds howling down this section...


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## danielgoldberg (Feb 9, 2008)

Cam nailed it. 100%. All I'll add is that like most things in life, the angst about doing it is far worse than actually doing it. Going through Hell Gate and the East River is no more difficult than traversing Plum Gut, the Race, or any number of other places where some level of vigilence is required due to tides and traffic. Time the tide, keep a lookout so you don't hit anything, and you'll have a great trip. There's plenty of water most everywhere along this trip, so going aground shouldn't be a major concern (there are some exceptions, for instance if you get too close to the wrong side of the Statue of Liberty, but those exceptions are few and far between).

Get hold of Eldridge's tide book (about $10 anywhere). It's got very good tide information for LIS generally and for Hell Gate/East River. Not just information on the timing of tides, but decent chart renderings to give you a sense of how and where the current flows.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Everyone....your replies are exactly what I wanted to hear. I believe I've been given all the information that I need to send me in the right direction....thanks again; I'll post a thread in a few weeks with pics of some landmarks. Tide info is key it seems. Thanks again members


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

We want trip reports and pix Mart! Good luck with the trip and your pretty new "girl"!!


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

Mart,

You will need to have 10 post before you can post pictures. It's an anti spam thing on Sailnet. So do some more posting.

Good luck with your trip.


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## tweitz (Apr 5, 2007)

*Hell Gate*

I have sailed Hell Gate a number of times with boats smaller than yours, and it is a very pleasant trip if you plan properly. Its important that your preparation consider not just tides, but tidal currents (not quite the same). Eldridge's is the best way to cover the area, and it is relatively easy to hit Hell Gate at slack high tide, which gives you a following current into Hell Gate and then down the East River. At slack tide there are none of the whirlpools and other problems at Hell Gate itself. In a normal tide cycle currents will exceed 5 knots along the East River, particularly alongside Roosevelt Island and near the Brooklyn Bridge. You want your engine reliable not just to fight the tide, but to give you steerage when with the tide. A couple of other areas to watch are to steer clear of the tugboats and barges in the narrow part of the East River, and to watch that you don't stray into the many security zones, like that near the United Nations. At the Battery steer well clear of the Staten Island ferry terminal, as the ferries tend to ignore all the other boats and are pretty massive and frequent, and there are strong currents at the Battery as well. It is worthwhile for you to read the up to date Coast Pilot, available for download for free from the Coast Guard, for numerous tips on your trip, and to review the charts carefully. One of the oddest parts of the trip is that as you go along Manhattan in the East River in a typical west wind, you will experience a strong gust of wind every block, followed by slack for a block. The wind gets blocked by the buildings and channeled into the streets. Enjoy the trip.


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## sgkuhner (May 5, 2002)

*East River*

Just one more heads up: After you go through Hells Gate, be sure to leave Roosevelt Island to your port and Manhattan to starboard. One friend, while coming up the East River, made the mistake of leaving Roosevelt Island to port (he was coming up and you will be going down the East River) The problem with doing that is the Bridge from Roosevelt Island to the Bronx is not very high and with the current so strong, by the time he realized that his mast was not going to make it under the bridge, he couldn't turn around and head back down the river. Instead the current carried him into the bridge and he lost his mast.


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## tweitz (Apr 5, 2007)

To clarify sgkuhner's comment, the bridge he is talking about is from Roosevelt Island to Queens, not the Bronx. The chart shows it as 40 foot vertical clearance. Of course, the best part of the trip is the view of the city, so you will want to be on the Manhattan side of Roosevelt Island in any case. By the way, although that bridge is shown as a lift bridge, like almost all of the other bridges in the city, it just about never is opened. That is why a trip up the Harlem River would never be possible if your vertical clearance requirement is more than about 24 feet.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

*roosevelt Island*

Right Scott and tweitz...here's the chartlet...follow the green arrow...avoid the red!


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

*And I thought that Cam was based in North Carolina*

Martsmith,

You really have all the advice you need with the above posts. I have done the around Manhattan traversal a number of times, most recently in a MacGregor 26S going both ways. The Eldridge is essential as it gives the tidal currents (as Ted Weitz noted) in the East River at various stages of flood and ebb tide. You will want to ponder this a bit before heading down. Advice on having some confidence in your engine is also spot on. The trip around the Battery (not Harlem River - do not even think about it) is actually quite easy even if the tidal current is ripping along at 5 kts going with you. It is pretty amazing how fast you can get to the Battery from Hell Gate with a following current and nearly impossible to imagine trying to fight it going against the tide in a sailboat. I am not certain whether you should lower all sails for the East River but I would consider keeping the main up while motoring or just lowering everything and see how the wind is. There are spots where the current slows down a bit (after the UN going down) but an awkward wind with sails up could prove to be a problem. I think that in the MacGregor with an 8 HP outboard we passed under the Throggs Neck Bridge and were in the Battery about 45 minutes later and it was mid ebb (strong currents - but nothing that scary). 
It all depends on the tides on the day of your proposed transit. If the ebb starts at 12 PM you could spend the night almost anywhere in the western sound so that you could get to the start of the East River in time to catch the helping current. If it starts at 8AM you might want to overnight at City Island in a slip so you are right there in the morning. We left Hempstead Harbor around 10AM and caught the height of the ebb and were beating against the current in the Hudson and arrived in Yonkers around 6 PM.
The point is that if there has been any consistent big blow (say a N'or Easter) for a day or more that the currents expected from the Eldridge charts are out the window. I have seen the FDR Drive flood after several days of NE steady winds. If the weather has been consistently fair then it just requires paying attention while enjoying the ride.
We sailed up the Hudson to Yonkers in the MacGregor 26S as we forgot to put the 2 stroke oil in the gas with the flooding tide when we delivered the boat. The current changes direction rapidly but the speed of the current in the Hudson is generally around 2 kts (give or take) in either direction. You could stop over at Pier 40 in Manhattan for $40/night (make sure you have insurance, registration and all papers) or 79th St Boat Basin but make sure you have a dink. Another decent transient stop over would be the Nyack Boat Club which is within striking distance of your destination and about 25 miles upriver from NYC. I have also stayed at Liberty Landing Marina (just north of Lady Liberty) on the Jersey side and it can be cheap ($0) if you get there after 8PM and leave before 6AM the next morning. It is a bit like taking candy from a baby but hey, some babies have too much candy! 
It is a fun trip and under decent weather conditions is not really a big deal (except if you have not done it before). If the wind has been consistently strong from one direction for more the 36 hours then it is a bit more of a crap shoot.
The free Coast Pilot books from the USCG are good to have and you will want to download #2 which covers the areas in question: Office of Coast Survey - United States Electronic Coast Pilot download
It is really a fun trip and it is good to be prepared for it.
Defer to all shipping in the E. River and Hudson as you would on the Sound and you are fine.
"All the best." 
CalebD
-PM me if you like.


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## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

I did this trip last year for the first time in my 25' sailboat with an 8hp Honda outboard. Left from Northport at around 9:30AM, timed the tides right and made it to Liberty Landing Marina mid afternoon. I was nervous as anything on the way into the East River as the wind started to pipe up a nice chop and my boat was basically rocking 40 degrees each way every 10 minutes as large express cruisers fly by no more than 50 feet away blasting my boat with their wake. Also too I was nervous because "Hells Gate" sounds so bad and is a topic of conversation in so many threads like this. As long as you time the tides like Cam and everyone else said you will be absolutely fine, and will have a huge grin on your face as your blasting down the East River doing more than 10knts over the ground while you stare at the Manhattan skyline towering over your Starboard side. Make sure to get Eldridge as it shows diagrams of the current for Hells Gate and the times the current shifts. 

Good Luck and enjoy the trip!


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Caleb..I am now from NC...but my transom says different!








"I haven't been around the world
But I've been around the block"
Go Mets!


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## bubb2 (Nov 9, 2002)

"I haven't been around the world
But I've been around the block"
Go Mets!

the transom of my boat reads New York

go Cubs lol


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## Catsailor07 (Nov 29, 2007)

I'm planning on picking up my new boat and leaving Kingston NY May 16th and heading up the Hudson, entering the Erie Canal to Oswego. Any advice, info and time frames would be appreciated. 

John


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## jasonr575 (Sep 12, 2006)

martsmth. i have not made the voyage there yet but hope to do so this summer also. If you need another hand on board let me know i would be happy to make the trip with you if my schedule works out right. i assume the boat and motor is in good shape.


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

camaraderie said:


> Caleb..I am now from NC...but my transom says different!
> View attachment 1339
> 
> 
> ...


Go Mets! Lets see that stands for My Entire Teem Sucks. 

My wife is a Mets fan.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

*Go Mets!







Lets see that stands for My Entire Teem Sucks.
















*Den...that is usually true...but I was there for their very first opening day and sometimes ya just gotta hang in there!


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

I guess you're right. I hung in there for the Red Sox for many years.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Denby-

Yeah, then they went and ruined it all by winning the World Series...twice... 


denby said:


> I guess you're right. I hung in there for the Red Sox for many years.


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## denby (Feb 21, 2007)

sailingdog said:


> Denby-
> 
> Yeah, then they went and ruined it all by winning the World Series...twice...


I wouldn't say they ruined it.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Only thing they ruined was the Babe's curse.


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## Catsailor07 (Nov 29, 2007)

Man I got on the wrong list again. I thought this was the sailing list.


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## jimmalkin (Jun 1, 2004)

The only advice I'd add to the original (pre-baseball) post is Ch 13 bridge to bridge is constantly used by the tugs/ferries and can give you insight into their directions/intentions - helpful when they are out of sight and coming in your direction. They also appreciate hearing from you in an overtaking situation. And - from personal experience - being under the Whitestone Bridge when it gets hit by lightening is a buzz! A tip - if you wind up on the wrong side of the current or need to shelter for any reason, there's a little cove call Hallet's Cove at the NE end of the E'rn channel (between Roosevelt Island and Queens) that has a sandy bottom and is out of the current, just watch for old pilings.


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## merttan (Oct 14, 2007)

Try to get a copy of Maptech's embassy cruising guides... Really helpful about common currents and known dangers along the way...


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*update...leaving this weekend*

Letting you all know...boat is almost ours; my friend and co-captain will be leaving early saturday morning for our maiden voyage. Thanks for all your advice, we've got our eldridge, charts, and a gps; I think we'll be fine. Can't wait I only hope that the weather holds, even though I'm sure we'll probably go anyway! We'll let you all know how it goes.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

A little bit of rain in the forecast from Saturday evening on. Shouldn't be a problem as long as you have good foul weather gear.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

*Have a blast.*

Bring foulies just in case.
You are going to want to come up with a loose itinerary but if it were me:
Rough calculation: 18 nm Stamford CT to Throgg's Neck Bridge at 5 knots/hour should take about 3 1/2 hours.

High tide at the Battery: 04/26/2008 Sat 01:22PM, which means that by 2 hours after this time (Eldridge current charts) the current in the East River will start flowing SW, so by around 3:20PM you will want to be in the East River.

Working this backward to Stamford you will want to get underway on Sat 4/26 around 10:00 AM to leave a margin of safety and if you want to sail for a bit, here and there, wind permitting. Leave even earlier if you want to try and sail all the way (I once sailed all the way to Hell Gate before firing up the motor). It is a bit like a flume ride by Roosevelt Island so you will want to power up before this so you can have some steerage way.

Spend the night at Liberty Landing or wherever.

On Sunday 4/27, the current in the Hudson starts flowing north 4 hours after low water at the Battery (Eldridge) which is predicted at 08:04AM, which means that the current will start going your way (north) at 12:00PM. So, leave before noon using the engine to fight the current and by noon or so you will be pushed up the river. You will want this following current when passing the Palisades which mostly block the usual SW wind. Nyack is about 25 miles upriver while Haverstraw is another 10 miles farther up, both decent places to stop for the night or just push on all the way to Poughkeepsie and pray you get there before dark. This could be a pretty long day but not impossible.
Watch out for barge/tug traffic on the Hudson.

It is a good idea to monitor ch. 13 in the East and Hudson rivers as mentioned.

Sounds like fun. Let us know how you make out.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Trip Update!*

So the trip was made....almost all the way. My friend Alan and I (co-captains of the as yet unnamed bristol 26 ended up stopping in Haverstraw Marina this afternoon because our last weather report we recieved called for heavy rain and thunderstorms later tonight and all day tommorrow. So we decided to leave the boat in Haverstraw until Thursday or Friday when we can finish bringing it the rest of the way up and make another weekend out of it!

The trip itself was great although we got some (what seemed to us) pretty good sized waves in the sound...maybe 5-10 feet; we did sail for a fair bit in the sound and hit Hells Gate right at the perfect time and it was a cakewalk, seriously; almost a "what was the big deal" kinda thing but I guess that's what we're supposed to pay attention to the tides. Going down Manhattan was fun/interesting while rounding the Battery was real interesting with the Staten Island Ferry leaving as well as several other sizable ships, water taxis, etc all over the place. Spent the night at Liberty no problem, refueled and r/r'd for the night. Cruised/crawled up the hudson this morning; basically stared at the George Washington Bridge all morning...lol.

GREAT TRIP! Thanks for all the advice and encouragement, I'll post some pics in a day or two.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*LI Tides*

Ride the incoming tide from Stamford to Kings Point. The Eldridge gives the High tide times for Kings Point. If you arrive at Kings Pont at the high tide time, then you can continue on down the East River and Hell Gate will be going your way. It's a piece of cake. Monitor Channel 16 and 13 (for Commercial Water traffic) . Ypu can hil the captains to let them know what you are doing if yoou like. If they need to they will contact you as well on 16 or 13. 
Then wait at Liberty Landing for the incoming tide to ride to Poughkeepsie. 
Good Luck

Gene Kinney
S/V Kin-Ship
C380


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hello,

Congratulations on your delivery trip. You had a good weekend for traveling west. With a good easterly wind, you can get some big waves in the sound. As long as the waves are going the same way as you are they aren't too bad.

Enjoy your new boat.

Barry


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Good for you Mart...Perfect planning makes for safe trips! 
Funny...you are in the marina where I bought Camaraderie and I had to sail DOWN the Hudson to get her home...and give her her first taste of salt water!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Marty and I had a great trip! A little rough out in the sound, but things became much more calm as we approached the throgs neck! Thanks for all the advice!


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Great you made it safe. How was Liberty marina. We are stopping there this summer on our trip from Naltimore, MD to Mystic Conn


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

*I was thinking about you this past weekend*

The forecast was for some rain and hence easterly winds over the weekend so I got in a day sail on my boat on Friday afternoon. The weather was not nearly as crappy as the forecast and there was plenty of easterly wind, which can cause some bigger waves on the Sound (long fetch). I doubt you had 10' waves though but I was not there. I have seen the Sound kicking up 6' waves during hurricane Gloria back when.
Liberty Landing is convenient (if expensive) since it is right near the mouth of the East River. During the warmer months it can be kind of noisy at night (there used to be a bar/restaurant across the creek that boomed loud music until 2 AM) but you can't beat it for convenience. I did not say this but if you arrive after 1800 and leave before 0600 you might not have to pay IF there is a vacant slip (and you are comfortable doing so), otherwise you pay for the convenience. Last time I was at LLM there was a restaurant (sushi and other stuff) that was good but also expensive. The fuel dock is open almost 24/7 with a credit card if you can figure out how to use the things.
Haverstraw marina was an absolute contrast to Liberty Landing in that it was as quiet as could be; I was afraid to turn my boom box up when we overnighted there.
I would also have to agree with MartSmith that my few times around NYC were seemingly painless if you mind the currents and commercial traffic. It is a blast of a trip. The worst I saw on a boat was a few standing waves and some whirlpools around Hell Gate when the tide was at full flow. The worst I have seen from land was during a so-called N'or Easter when the East River flooded the FDR drive and the city transit system was basically shut down by several days wind and rain. I was glad to be on land during that event back in '97 or so.
Glad you made it with no problems. The next leg should be a piece of cake if your motor is willing to back you up.


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## lyre (Aug 23, 2006)

*Go west!*

Check those tide tables and charts. Stay west of Roosevelt Island, there is an unforgiving bridge. It is a working waterway so the traffic can be intense from a novice perspective. (I am a novice sailor)
On the tide it is an incredible journey like none other in the world. As with all in sailing, be prepared, relax and enjoy the view.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*liberty marina*

liberty marina was pretty nice, I think their rates were $2.5 a foot if I recall correctly for a transient slip. There is a water taxi (1 dollar) to the other side of the creek that runs to a few deli's, a liquor store and a few other little stores...nothing other than a pretty pricey (i'm not that well off, so most things are "pricey" to me) resturaunt on the marina side of the creek. Also, the marina does have showers and bathrooms that I believe are open all night. The woman who took our information was real nice and helpful; Margaret I believe her name was. Like someone else said, 24 hour gas if you can work the credit card machine.

On the New ersey side of the river, Liberty Marina is the inlet immediately to the south of the clock, gas dock is on the left as you come in.

-marty


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## psymansez (Jul 7, 2010)

*LI Sound and Hudson*

these are so helpful!! I leave eastern Long Island Sat. Aug.28 for NYC, pick up boat owner, head up Hudson to Albany and beyond. Hope Chambly Canal is really 6 1/ ft. deep....because my keel is. 
Fred Cooley


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## helenwiley (Jan 1, 2006)

We went from Bridgeport, Ct. up the Hudson and through the Champlain Canal. That was a fabulous trip. You will love it We have more detailed info on our trip on our blog 

voyagesofthecornucopia.blogspot.com or you can check my blog here for a link.


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