Sailing the East River, NYC

[JJ in New Jerse]

I've been sailing up and down the East River for over 20+ years. Got sick of Eldridge tables & rules of thumb. Especially since all the data they use is free from NOAA!

So I created an app. Not for $$ (it's free, no ads, no tricks) but to make it easier for all of us. I'd really appreciate any feedback. It costs me about $500 a year to host it and my time and energy. A labor of love for now, let's see where it all goes.

It tells you the best time enter the East River for the shortest trip, going either northeast or southwest. It also estimates how long the trip with take for boat speeds of 3, 5 and 7 kts.

But perhaps most useful, it gives you a window of opportunity, around the the "best" time when you still can catch a fair current.

Once I worked out all the math, it was easy to use the same calculations for other places were tide is important. Right now it includes predictions for East River NYC, Cape Cod Canal, Vineyard Sound and the Chesapeake Delaware Canal. If there other areas that you would like me to include please send an email thru the app.


Here is a link the help video included in the app:
https://youtu.be/U8EUEGOhhDI

And the app is available at:
http://faircurrents.glide.page


All help and feedback appreciated!!!

[Shrew]

Since you have CCC and Vineyard Sound....How about Woods Hole?

[hlev00]

Nice! I have a google sheet that I put together due to the same motivation. It does Woods Hole, WH to ACK, and the CC Canal. I was thinking of an app but never got around to it. I will definitely check it out. Thanks for sharing.

[Woody]

Thanks for your contribution, this is a great idea and nice of you to share with us.


Many years ago, I attempted to sail under the Brooklyn bridge in light air on a strong flood. A vortex from the bridge whipped the boat around and I ended up sailing backwards under the bridge, making 3 knots astern. Good times!

[JJ in New Jerse]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Since you have CCC and Vineyard Sound....How about Woods Hole?

I can do Woods Hole. I'll bang it out this week and add it to the app.

[JJ in New Jerse]

Originally Posted by hlev00

Nice! I have a google sheet that I put together due to the same motivation. It does Woods Hole, WH to ACK, and the CC Canal. I was thinking of an app but never got around to it. I will definitely check it out. Thanks for sharing.

All feedback appreciated. Let me know what you think. I'll do Woods Hole this week.

[JJ in New Jerse]

Originally Posted by Woody

Thanks for your contribution, this is a great idea and nice of you to share with us.


Many years ago, I attempted to sail under the Brooklyn bridge in light air on a strong flood. A vortex from the bridge whipped the boat around and I ended up sailing backwards under the bridge, making 3 knots astern. Good times!

It's a fun trip, but timing is everything. It's long enough that figuring it out is complicated. (or used to be) I think the fear of Hell Gate is a little overblown because of the name, which has nothing to do with hell. If your 25+ ft, you can just hop over the waves.

[Beppe123]

I asked for access, received and tried at least 4 times: it gives me an error every time. Sorry.

[JJ in New Jerse]

Originally Posted by hlev00

Nice! I have a google sheet that I put together due to the same motivation. It does Woods Hole, WH to ACK, and the CC Canal. I was thinking of an app but never got around to it. I will definitely check it out. Thanks for sharing.

Sorry, what is ACK?

[SV Confianza]

The model we use is NYHOPs from Davidson Lab at Steven’s Insititute of Technology - https://hudson.dl.stevens-tech.edu/maritimeforecast/

Has been very accurate for the east river, New York bay, raritan bay, and Long Island sound.

The date selector hasn’t worked for years, so you have to do some mental gymnastics to account for the 50 minutes per day of tides moving.

[JJ in New Jerse]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Since you have CCC and Vineyard Sound....How about Woods Hole?

Ran the model last night. Just added Woods Hole.


Keep 'em coming.


JJ

[Knotical]

Hi JJ, I played with the app and found the times to be accurate when compared to Aquamap, not that I doubted, but wanted to check against a reference I frequently use.

Also, I prefer the tables instead of the diagram.

What made you choose 3, 5, & 7 knot of boat speed? For my purpose I would likely use 5 knot.

I agree Eldridge is cumbersome to use and it costs $$ when all the info is freely available, but it is a very useful and quick reference when one knows how to use it, I also like to visualize the small maps in it, and it has lots of other information than just tides and currents. That being said, I applaud the effort you put in to create this app as it seems like a nice little tool for a quick reference - THANK YOU.

[JJ in New Jerse]

Originally Posted by Knotical

Hi JJ, I played with the app and found the times to be accurate when compared to Aquamap, not that I doubted, but wanted to check against a reference I frequently use.

Also, I prefer the tables instead of the diagram.

What made you choose 3, 5, & 7 knot of boat speed? For my purpose I would likely use 5 knot.

I agree Eldridge is cumbersome to use and it costs $$ when all the info is freely available, but it is a very useful and quick reference when one knows how to use it, I also like to visualize the small maps in it, and it has lots of other information than just tides and currents. That being said, I applaud the effort you put in to create this app as it seems like a nice little tool for a quick reference - THANK YOU.

Actually, I'm really glad you checked the calculations. The East River is easy to verify, but there aren't a lot of good benchmarks for other locations. I want people to check so I make sure the app work correctly.


Did the pop-up table view in app give you what you want?



I chose 3, 5 & 7 for a couple of reasons. I noticed that the window of time for a trip depends a lot on boat speed. Much less that 2 kts and the currents can overwhelm you no matter when you leave. Much greater than 9 kts, you overwhelm the currents and it doesn't matter when you leave. I figured 3, 5 & 7 give you good visual estimating clues if your somewhere in between.


I not wedded to including them. If folks think having less would simplify the tool, please speak up.


thanks again for the feedback.


JJ

[Danm1]

Sounds great, no pun intended. How about Plum Gut and Fisher's Island Sound?

[jcapo]

Originally Posted by Beppe123

I asked for access, received and tried at least 4 times: it gives me an error every time. Sorry.

Same here. I assumed I would receive an email response but nothing.