Circumnavigation of Long Island

[doke01]

Hi everyone,

We are taking a vacation for almost three weeks starting July 3 and have decided to circumnavigate Long Island. Our first choice was to head up to Lake Champlain (we live in New Jersey) but there has been a lot of flooding up there this year and a lot of marinas have been damaged.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Whitehall-endures-fifth-week-of-flood-stage-1389486.php
http://www.westportonlakechamplain.com/2011/05/-flooding-in-westport-ny-essex-ny-part-2.html

I'd be interested in hearing about any gems where we could spend a night or even a day. Anchorages or marinas are fine since we usually do a combination of both. We already know about places like City Island, Mystic, and Block Island so I am hoping for some places that only a local would know about. Good restaurants, entertainment (especially that a 6 yr. old would enjoy), and all around fun things to do would also be appreciated.

Thanks!

Doug

 

[Bruce Moore]

Wow, sounds like a great cruise. I don't know the waters at all, having only crossed a few bridges in taxis. But I would refer you to Active Captain, if you aren't already familiar, for a wealth of boater sourced local information - anchorages, marinas, hazards, services, etc.

It contains a wealth of information, even for out here in the Pacific Northwest, but especially for the Eastern Seaboard. The entire database is also embedded within the Navionics Charts & Tides application for iPhone and iPad - a real "location aware" cruising guide.


Cheers,

Bruce

 

[knotflying]

Circummnavigating Long Island is a grat adventure. I did it a couple of years ago in my C-Dory. We launched in Old Saybrook CT and went across to Shelter island. There is a great anchorage there and you can dingy to a small dock to the resturant and do some walking. We then went through the schinicock canal and followed the inner route all the way down and exiting at Rockaway inlet. This is not far from the Verrazanno Bridge and the NY harbor. We circled around the Statue of Liberty and then up the East River through Hell's Gate. The waters can be turbulent here, but if you time it at slack tide it is no problem. Then back up the Long Island Sound. Besides Anchoring in Shelter Island we stayed at West Hampton, Freeport, City Island, Huntington and then back to Old Saybrook. A nice spot for lunch is the Thimble Islands in CT. It reminded me a lot of the Maine coast. We kind of pushed our trip a little because we were always staying ahead of weather and there are a lot more things to see and do. I would suggest getting a guide book and pick and choose were you want to go. If you do stay on the inside on the south shore of Long Island stay in the channels and work with the tides. There are some tight and shallow spots. If you go to Freeport there is an area called the miracle mile that has a ton of seafood restaurants.
Hope this helps!
Mike

 

[doke01]

Thanks for the great information Mike and Bruce! I am going to start planning the details this week so the timing couldn't be better!

 

[Bay Ranger]

Doug -

If it's not too late for your planning purposes, there's an article in the Summer 2011 issue of Marina Life Magazine at www.marinalife.com on cruising Long Island Sound. The article details half a dozen towns in NY and CT describing what to do, where to eat, and where to stay.

If you're already underway, hope you're having (or had) a great cruise!

Ed