Best approach to NY

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Foxy

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Hi all
Anyone any experience of the best approach to New York from Bermuda? ALong the Jersey coast; the Long Island route or a bit riskier, between the TSS's? Is the customs post at Govenor's Island easy enough to find? I've a few pilots of the area etc but they are all somewhat vague.
Safest approach to me seems along the NJ coast.

Any thoughts welcome!
Patrick & Sinead
SV Foxglove
 
A pitstop at Atlantic Highlands is handy to catch your breath before heading up to the city. SWMBO and I stayed at Consolidated Yachts at City Island and loved it.

Dunno about clearing in, as we did it miles away in the USVI.
 
I would also suggest heading in to Atlantic Highlands and then taking your time into NY (it's only an hour or two from AH but best done on a good clear day because it's spectacular). Keep to the south side of the entrance to Raritan Bay and round Sandy Hook quite close to shore - it's deep and you keep just out of the shipping channel. We didn't find it that busy as far as shipping went anyway, the entrance to the Bay is very wide and the big ships tend to stay to the north side.

Atlantic Highlands is easy to get in and out of and there's lots of space. You can pick up a mooring or do what many do which is free anchor at the eastern end near the entrance. Note for Crown Estates readers: there are no charges for doing this.

If you go up the NJ coast it's generally fine but watch out for the very large number of fishing boats of all sizes, particularly at night as they may or may not have adequate lights. There's also a lot of barge traffic - ocean going tugs pulling 200m oil barges on 500m tow lines. I worried about these more than anything at night because whilst the tugs are well lit the barges did not always have good lights. They show up well on radar though so my rule of thumb was keep at least 2 miles away /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Also note that the NJ coast is a notorious lee shore in easterlies so make sure the weather is good and the wind offshore or from the south at least - there's only about 3 or 4 safe harbour entrances along a 100+ mile stretch in these conditions (Cape May at the southern end, Atlantic City, Manasquan (I think) River and then Sandy Hook). The others, like into Barnegat Bay, are ok in settled weather but chew up even quite big boats in bad onshore winds.

I've done an overnight north from Cape May to Block Island crossing the shipping lanes into NY at night about 80 miles offshore and saw only 2 ships. We came back south through NY via LI Sound and the East River which I recommend unreservedly to anyone if you get the chance to do it. We then went south in one hop from AH to the Chesapeake down the NJ coast. It was certainly easier offshore, obviously far less traffic and hazards so unless you specifically want to stop in to explore the NJ shore I think I'd just head straight in to Sandy Hook.

Hope that helps

Neil
 
Thanks for that, really useful! We will certainly do the LI trip on the way back down (heading to Maine for summer) and as much as we can on the way down. Guess if its Easterly, then I'll head in along the South of Long Island and Southerly, along the coast of NJ. I'm only talking the last 30 miles or so, to avoid heading through the TSSs as a safe approach to Sandy Hook - I understand what you say about the rest of the NJ coast. I was just a bit reluctant to follow in the western-most TSS and was searching for a small ship channel... didnt find one! Much appreciated info however!
 
OK, if you're heading up to Maine at this time of year can I suggest you cut out the NY bit at the beginning and get up there as fast as possible. I'd head straight for Block Island (Note: I don't know where you'd have to go to clear in, maybe Newport RI which is not far north of Block Island). Take a week off in the Great Salt Pond and watch the anchoring antics of the motorboaters from the cities and relax on Crescent Beach. Then head up Buzzards Bay (anchor to the East of Bassett Island near Pocasset) then through the Cape Cod Canal, look out for whales and stop off in Plymouth for a friendly break. Head for Portland ready to go Down East, possibly stopping in Gloucester and the Isle of Shoals on the way up if weather is settled.

The sailing season is very short up in Maine and you'd do best to get there as early as possible - we got there 3rd week in August and people were already drifting south. Boats were being hauled out by early Sept! If I were to do it again I'd try and get there by July at least. You can easily spend a couple of months here so give yourself plenty of time, especially around Mt Desert Island, Penobscot Bay etc. Drift back down and into LI Sound again (not forgetting another stop in Plymouth to say hello to the nice people at PYC) and save the NY bit until the end. You may be dodging easterlies and moving between weather windows by Sept/Oct so you have a lot of time to explore ashore.

And don't forget to head into the Chesapeake - a very special place. If you've never been there I strongly recommend Rock Hall (Osprey Point marina is lovely), Annapolis, Baltimore, Tangier Island, Oxford, Hampton (for the Air and Space Museum), umpteen quiet rivers and bays and Blue Crab, especially the crab balls at the Watermans in Rock Hall. Yum.

The south side of Long island has few safe entrances in bad weather so need to be careful there - no direct experience of it, we day-hopped along the north side to NY. Get some sailing guides if you haven't already, there's some good ones and Newport in particular has some very good nautical bookshops. Going through the East River needs some careful timing.

All imho. There are several other East Coast cruisers on here (Bejasus is one) who may be able to offer better information.

You may have been and done all this before and know all this of course, in which case I apologise, but I hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip - it's a fabulous area.

Neil
 
Not been there at all so all the info is very gratefully received! We are curretly in Bermuda waiting for weather etc.... yes its raining if it makes you feel better.... New York first isnt ideal but swmbo family connections etc... plus hopefully the 4th July there I hope will make it worthwhile. Soon as that is done, North it is and as much time as possible there before heading back to the sun. Any other info you come across gratefully received.
Cheers!!!!
P
 
OK, those are good reasons to go to NY first!

When you do head north through LI Sound up to the Cape Cod Canal it will take a few days and you may just day trip your way up. It's worth noting that mooring and Marina prices on the north (Connecticut) side are very high indeed, so we used Port Washington (Oyster Bay is another nice spot) Fort Jefferson and Orient Point at the eastern end (where we free anchored - there's loads of empty space up there). If you want to sight-see though there are some nice places in Connecticut, the Essex river and Mystic etc, but you could do those on the way down.

I'll dig out some guide book suggestions for you, but if you can check out the "Landfall Navigation" website they have a lot of good stuff and their cruising guide selection is useful.

Neil
 
If you can spare the time on your trip up Long Island Sound, I'd recommend a stop at Mystic Seaport Museum. Sure it's rather expensive, but fun to wander round after all the plebs have beek kicked out for the day. Apologies about the crap quality of the picture.

Image1-6_edited-1.jpg


They also give you a sign that reads "This is a private yacht, not an exhibit. Do not board."

SWMBO and I will be heading back to the eastern seaboard in 2011.
 
Newport has a lot going for it as a first port of call after leaving Bermuda.
OK, it is 14 years since I was there, but the pilotage was very straightforward, and I remember we cleared in while doing our washing in the launderette (which I think was next door to the Customs office).

The Customs / Immigration man then had a legendary reputation for being friendly, unlike some of his colleagues at the time in other US ports of entry - but he was going to retire soon..... I would like to hope that his successor emulated this fine gentleman.

And the 4th July in Newport was spectacular - altho' I can imagine that in the Big Apple it would be even more so.
Marinas were relatively expensive (especially for the 4th July!), but we anchored out, and that was free then.

We then went through the Cape Cod Canal, across to Province Town on the end of the Cape, and then an overnight sail up to Rockland and Rockport in Maine - beware of the lobster pot floats! They were even laid amongst the moorings......
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you can spare the time on your trip up Long Island Sound, I'd recommend a stop at Mystic Seaport Museum.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes Mystic well worth a visit. There is an excellent aquarium there too, but not walking distance from the Seaport Museum.

And if you are in Rhode Island, especially if you clear in at Newport, it's well worth sailing up to Bristol RI, where Mr Herreshof was based. The town is very pleasant with plenty of nice places to eat and you can easily spend an entire day at the museum there looking at all his boats.
 
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