Navigating 'Hell Gate' NY

[Heron]

Hello All,

Made it through Hell Gate without a wimper. I went through on 9/11 and not much security out there either. We hit the gate at slack current at 10:40 am and had an easy ride down the East river. Made it to Sandy Hook (Atlantic Highlands), but encountered a heavy squall that lasted for 40 minutes and winds from 28-38 knots. Visibility dropped to under 20 yards.

All in all the trip from Maine to Chesapeake went without a hitch. Good weather and good crew made the difference. Our best run was 30 hours from Atlantic Highlands to the C&D and out to the Sassafras river where we dropped the hook. It was about 215 nm.

Thanks for all the advise for transiting the East River and NYC.

HERON

[btrayfors]

215 nm in 30 hours....that's better than a 7.1 knot average speed. Pretty good going for a Wetsnail 32! You got an afterburner on that thing?

:-)

Bill

[Heron]

There was some "cheating" done on the Delaware River and C&D Canal. I did do some motorsailing to take advantage of currents before the tide changed.

Saying that, the ride along the NJ coast was magnificent with a strong Westerly that was blowing from 15 to 28 knots. We had all sails up and reached at 7.75 knots with occassional bursts up to 8.6 knots.

Two 40 plus sailboats were following us but never caught up and lost ground when winds went over 20 knots.

HERON

[btrayfors]

Congratulations, again! I was just pulling your chain a bit, as we did much the same trip at much the same time, and also enjoyed some great sailing.

Had a fast and largely very enjoyable trip from Rockland, ME to Block Island. Then, we had to put in at Atlantic City to drop off my son who had to get back to work. The run from Atlantic City down past Cape May and up to the Canal was quite enjoyable also, with good NE winds allowing us to sail the whole way.

Back in DC now. Oh, well..... :-)

Bill

[Heron]

Bill,

Thanks for your response. My vessel is now on the Piankatank waiting for my return. I will be moving on her for about 6 months as we make our way south away from the cold winters of Penobscot Bay.

That was some great weather out there on the northern Atlantic during early to mid September.

HERON

[mrohr]

city isl is a long way from the exit at lower ny hbr. sandy is right there (try horseshoe cove) to wait for weather,done it many times.Problem with c.i. is if tides are wrong and traffic ia heavy,itcould add almoat a full day to get to chesapeak and you will feel you just made an alantic crossing, no way to start the next leg.

[Arclight]

I've been through Hell Gate about eight times from both directions. From City Island, where you can easily find moorings, allow about one hour to hit Hell Gate at high slack. Another option is to simply go outside along the south shore of Long Island, or go directly across to Norfolk. If you're running low on fuel while taking the outside passage, a good place to duck in is Atlantic City. The fuel dock is on the left after you enter the harbor.