Upper Chesapeake/Jersey Shore/Long Island

daviddri

Active member
Joined
Dec 4, 2018
Messages
34
Fluid Motion Model
C-30 CB
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2931B919
Vessel Name
Catch My Drift
MMSI Number
368093790
Hi upper east coasters- I am planning a two week cruise on my R29 and hope to take the C&D Canal over to Delaware Bay and then up to NY Harbor, followed by a loop around Long Island and back home to Annapolis. Any tips or things to watch for on this route? I understand fog can be an issue, so am prepared for radar, GPS and AIS monitoring.

Thanks all,

David
 
WEATHER WEATHER WEATHER -

The delaware can get real nasty real fast.

Cape May canal is skinny at low tide, very important to stay in the center of the channel. South Jersey Marina is a great place to stop for a night and fuel.

Same goes for exiting the canal, follow the markers and you will be fine.

The jersey coast can also be treacherous, you will want to watch wave height and period. Anything over 7 seconds is comfortable.

Depending on the speed you are going you will probably make it Barnegat Inlet or Manasquan Inlet. Barnegat requires local knowledge so I would personally skip it as weather is a major factor. Your next reasonable stop would be NY harbor, and Liberty Landing is a great place to stay.

Heading out to the sound you will have to pass through Hells gate, the current here can rip upwards of 8 knots. You will want to plan to pass through at slack current or ebb to ride it out.

Enjoy!
 
Totally agree with the Weather warning on the Delaware Bay - I've done it several times on sailboats and the biggest issue is that there is no where to hide if things get bad. Enjoy a stay in Chesapeake City (along the Canal) until a good weather window opens.

Enjoy - sounds like fun.
 
We did this exact trip last summer.

Started in Baltimore.

Up the Chesapeake, through the C&D Canal, down the Delaware, up the Atlantic, anchored behind lady liberty, circumnavigated long island, down through the sound, Hell's gate, east river, under Brooklyn Bridge and then headed back home. I have lots of information for you.

I just sent you a PM.

Best,
Bobby
 
Interesting trip!

I’m curious about what marina / anchorage options exist along the south shore of Long Island. (Ocean side)
 
We arrived in NY and Stayed at a slip on Staten Island. It is called Great Kills. The have a soft spot for trawlers and you can get a slip for $2.00 a foot. If anyone is interested, I can supply the details.

There aren't great places to duck in on the south shore of LI, so this is what we did:

We went from Great Kills and did a quick tour of NY Harbor. Breathtaking with the Lady liberty, BB, and lots of fast ferry activity. I know I secret anchorage behind lady liberty. Contact me and I'll walk you through it. It is completely protected and would make a great hurricane hole.

From there, we headed for the Far Rockaway Inlet in Rockaway, LI. About 25 miles from Great Kills. This puts you in the Great South Bay of LI. Now you are in very well-protected waters. We found nice anchorages. We took a night in Freeport, which was a fun Partying town (prior to Covid). At a bar/dock, they liked the Ranger so much that they insisted we stay there for free. We drank way to much tequila with the bar owner!

We continued in the Great South Bay. Dockwa will show you a few place you can stay, but we liked anchoring out. One of our best anchorages was on the inside of Jones Beach, near the end of Fire Island. We anchored out boat. dinged ashore, and then walked across the bluff to the ocean beach. Not a sole in site. Couldn't believe we were still on LI.

We then continued up and through the shinicock canal. I great up on long island and never new this existed. This cuts through LI, so you don't have to go all the way around the lower fork. This puts you between the Hamptons and the north fork. We then headed up and around Orient Point and into the Long Island Sound.

Use active captain to find good anchorages. Dockwa for marinas and mohring balls.

It's was an amazing trip! Even lost about $80 in Atlantic city (where there is another outstanding anchorage.

Let me know if you want more!

Best,
Bobby
 
Thanks Bobby. Bookmarking this for the future
 
We usually time the current up to Liberty Landing Marina. Not cheap, but they are really crowded at all during these Covid days. Behind the statue the anchorage is nice and not to rocky. Definitely time the currents of the East River. It's a beautiful and exciting trip. If you time it right you can add an additional 5-7 knots to your speed and push you right up to City Island. A nice place to stay is City Island, by the way, quieter on the weekdays and a bit of a party town on the weekends. The Black Whale is an excellent place to eat. Oyster Bay is beautiful place to anchor and also Oyster Bay Marine is a nice marina, with a popular bar/restaurant. Dockwa says they only do mooring balls, but call the Dock Master and you can get a transient slip. I would jump over to the CT side if you can. Norwalk, Milford, Mystic are all beautiful places. Definitely stop at Greenport, just around the northern fork of Long Island. They have an amazing merry-go-round, great restaurants, excellent clam bars, and a cool hot sauce shop. If you have time swing over to Block Island, and check out the Hamptons. Greenport will set you up to travel through the bays and the lock heading south. The last time I went through the lock it was open and we were able to just transit through it, but you have to time it right to do this. Southern LI really doesn't have a lot of great marinas available the last time we did this, so anchoring is a great option, as Bobby said.

I agree with Bobby as well. Freeport is a fun place to stay. We tied up at the town dock, but it was difficult then to get in touch with the dockmaster. Nice shops/restaurants/bars, etc.

AC to Manasquan Inlet you can take the Intracoastal with no real issues. Sometimes there is pretty aggressive current near the southern inlets, so time the currents. We go from AC to LBI then further north. Will usually stay at Tice's Shoal, and Seaside Heights. The boardwalks are great, but not so enjoyable with COVID. Also, you can stay in Cape May, but if you go a little further up the Intracoastal, Wildwood has an excellent marina. You can rent bikes and take a quick trip to the boardwalk.

About 5 miles north of the Manasquan is Shark River and Shark River Inlet. You can drop in there as well, but after that, there is nothing until Sandy hook. You could do Cape May to AC to Shark River to Sandy Hook/NY Harbor on the outside if the weather is good. The best time is in the morning, so get an early start. The winds tend to pick up in the afternoon and it gets rougher. You can do the Intracoastal from Cape May to AC, but you have to be very careful to stay in the channel. There are some places you can stay on the southern Intracoastal, but we usually do it in one trip from Cape May/Wildwood to AC. It can take 5-6 hours with the no-wake zones. Outside is definitely faster, but the scenery is not as interesting. Once you get up to Sandy Hook area you can anchor in Horseshoe Cove, or go up the Navesink river a bit for some anchorages there.

We've live around Sandy Hook and have been traveling down to Cape May and as far south as Ocean City, MD, up to Lake Champlain, up and down the long island sound, including NY, CT, MA, RI as well as circumnavigating LI. It's a great area to boat. I've even done the Chesapeake, C&D Canal, Delaware River to NYC route, although on a different boat.

Also, Lewes, DE is a nice stop, if you have time.

You are in for a great adventure.
 
Also note that Liberty Landing Marina runs a ferry to lower Manhattan.
 
I did the same trip as Bobby P. Two weeks may be cutting it close if you want to account for weather and spots where you may want to stay a bit longer. Going on the inside from Cape May to New York can be slow. If seas permit you may want to stay on the outside and duck in for the evening at certain inlets.
 
Cape May to Barnegat Inlet is 6 hr +/- outside, 12 hr +/- via ICW. I would run that route outside if waves and weather permitted, Overnight at Meyers Hole just inside Barnegat Inlet, then take the ICW to the Manasquan Inlet, head back outside for the run up to Sandy Hook. The Manasquan Canal can be rough. Hitting it early on a weekday is best. Meyers Hole to Manasquan Canal 2 Hrs. Max. There's 2 bridges on this run of the ICW, both are very tall and you'll have no worries passing under them.
Hit me up if you have and questions regarding Barnegat Bay, been my haunt for 30+ years.
 
2017 Annapolis to Lake Champlain, Ranger R27, Volvo-Penta D3, 3 souls on board. First night Summit North Marina near east end of C&D Canal. Second night Atlantic City. Third night Liberty Landing Marina just north of the statue. Free advice...stow breakables securely before heading down Delaware River/Bay if current opposes wind...go thru Cape May, not around it...avoid ICW in NJ (ie., do the ocean) unless wx and/or crew worries prevent. However, having grown up on Barnegat Bay (50 years ago), I think there may be some comfort in knowing that you can always get out and push if the boat quits.
 
Awesome help, everyone! Much appreciated. Will report back based on our experience.
 
Couple more secrets... So I don't want anyone to share this stuff...

We love to anchor out, so here is how we did our trip to LI last summer.

Top of the Chesapeake - Going up the Chesapeake and heading toward C&D canal... Safe and easy anchor inside the Bohemia River, just south of C&D canal. This will allow you a great stopping point to time the C&D Canal.

Midway through C&D canal. We stop in Chesapeake City. Free dock space at town dock. Great ice cream shop near by. Pay for electric and water, if you need it. There is also a small boat basin to anchor. Weekdays are usually easy to get space.

Delaware Bay - Everyone says the same thing and they are right. Just get it over with! However, once we ran into some severe weather and found a place to duck in half way down on the eastern shore. It's the Cohesey River. We motored up a 1/4 mile and put out a bow and stern line. It is narrow, but well protected.

Cape May - Grab some outdoor dinner at the Lobster Pot. They have free tie up. Fancy eats inside buy we order from the window. Pick it up and eat at an outdoor table or back on your boat. Anchor for the night in front of the coast guard station.

On the Jersey coast -

Cape May to Absecon Inlet (Atlantic City - about 40 miles). Come in the inlet, to the right after mark R12 (Rum Point) there is a small canal, leads to a great, well protected anchorage. Atlantic city skyline at night is pretty cool.

Atlantic City to Barneget inlet. Once inside, hang a left and follow the channel south. We anchored on west side of this small pond across from Fisherman's Marina. Dink over for fresh catch (outdoor seating).

Atlantic City to Great Kills. Great Kills Yacht Marina caters to cruisers. $2. per foot! Showers, etc. CHEAP, private BAR!

Great Kills to Statue of Liberty. Fun to anchor for lunch behind the lady and watch NYC light up at sunset. Here is the next best secret. There are two ferries that run to Liberty island, one from NY and one from Jersey. Check out the inlet where the Jersey one runs. Down that canal, beyond the ferry wharf is a secluded little anchorage. Totally safe, no boat traffic, etc. This positions you perfectly to go up the east river or to head for the Rockaways on the south side of LI.

Enjoy. I've got plenty more to share if you are interested.
 
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