Can I anchor by Brighton Beach in New York?

[Cool Hand Luke]

I’ve anchored many times north of Brighton Beach… see photo below where the check mark is and the anchor symbols. I usually have a couple motor boats next to me and sometimes a sailboat or two.

BUT… can I anchor for lunch/swim to the South of Brighton Beach where the question mark is? Am I allowed to? I don’t see any anchoring symbols in Navionics (see below). Any help will be appreciated. Thank you!!

[Chotu]

Looks fine to me. As long as you are away from the channel and it’s very clear that you are not in the channel, you are good to go.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Looks fine to me. As long as you are away from the channel and it’s very clear that you are not in the channel, you are good to go.

Thank you! That's what I'm thinking, too.

Now... the question is: can I take my dinghy to shore and relax on the beach? Or is that a big no-no on public beaches in New York?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Thank you! That's what I'm thinking, too.

Now... the question is: can I take my dinghy to shore and relax on the beach? Or is that a big no-no on public beaches in New York?

Find somewhere to land your dinghy (maybe the old anchorage) and take an Uber. You can’t land on the beach.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Find somewhere to land your dinghy (maybe the old anchorage) and take an Uber. You can’t land on the beach.

Geez... they're stricter than... well... I can't think of anything. But they're very, very strict

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Geez... they're stricter than... well... I can't think of anything. But they're very, very strict

It’s a tourist trap…

[Kd9truck]

That is Cooney island beach, it is where many many New Yorkers from all over the city ride the subway to the beach. Unless you really like people and are used to being in close proximity you may find it overwhelming. That is if you get to the beach without life guards flagging you off. It’s a safety issue, people in the water and outboards are the area or concern.
Have you ever anchored off of Breezey point?(labeled Rockaway Point) There is a small anchorage with several 20 something boats on the bay side of the barrier beach on the east side of the NYC inlet to the horbor there is a supermarket a couple of blocks in and a restaurant (Kennedy’s) right on the bay. There is also a free ferry to NYC east down the beach toward the bridge. You can land your dingy/rib many places without hassle as people approach there vessels this way at all hours.

[DanielI]

Originally Posted by Kd9truck

Have you ever anchored off of Breezey point?(labeled Rockaway Point) There is a small anchorage with several 20 something boats on the bay side of the barrier beach on the east side of the NYC inlet to the horbor there is a supermarket a couple of blocks in and a restaurant (Kennedy’s) right on the bay. There is also a free ferry to NYC east down the beach toward the bridge. You can land your dingy/rib many places without hassle as people approach there vessels this way at all hours.

All the rules on NYC beaches are because they are CROWDED. The impact of a unsupervised dog, or dropped trash, goes up with the density of people.

Depending on your plans, a detour into Jamaica Bay could be pleasant. I haven’t been there in a long time, and never sailing, but there are several small marinas, and a little farther in there is a restaurant (The Wharf) which, at least, used to have a pier you could tie up at if you were eating there. You might consider calling Gateway National Recreation Area and asking about where you can land a dinghy, their map identifies several kayak launching areas.

Interestingly, Google show a pier marked Riis Landing at the spot where I remember a Coast Guard station. Don’t know what it is now. But it is right next to what looks like a small public beach.

[zstine]

Also keep in mind that there's no protection from the prevailing summer southwesterly winds there. The weather would have to be out of the North to be protected.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Looks fine to me. As long as you are away from the channel and it’s very clear that you are not in the channel, you are good to go.

Um. There are underwater utility crossings there. Looks like quite a few. You can't anchor on those. I don't know whether they're power, communications, or something else. Your million-dollar liability umbrella will hit the limit before you're done paying for the repairs and loss of use if your anchor cuts one.


If you're away from those and away from the channel, well, maybe.



You could swim to shore if you're a strong swimmer. Whether the lifeguards will let you swim back to the boat, I doubt.

[Jamme]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Um. There are underwater utility crossings there.

Agreed. Expressly marked on the Navionics chart, if OP zooms in further:

[pesarsten]

If memory serves me, I think the current runs with a vengeance there.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by pesarsten

If memory serves me, I think the current runs with a vengeance there.

Was thinking the same thing. Based on the depths and the curve of the underwater shoaling (and the big arrow notation on the chart), the tide must rip around that point!

Hm. Not such a great spot after all... Maybe that's why there are no anchor notations on the chart...

Other suggestions sound really super, though. Wish I was there to enjoy them myself!

LittleWing77

[Chotu]

Wait, what?

I was looking at the 9-10ft flat. The rest is the channel. Was the OP thinking of anchoring in the circle area? Not the question mark area??

Certainly they weren’t looking at anchoring in the cable area...

I’m lost here.

OP: what were your intentions?

PS: looking at his chart again, one thing I would be a little put off by is the fact that there is a huge channel running north and south. The main channel. You can see a red marker for it in his screenshot. So everyone using that channel will be cutting through the 9-10ft flat is they are coming from the East. By “everyone “ I mean 80ft sport fishers throwing a wake the size of a tidal wave and drunken people not paying attention our for the day. My personal strategy is to definitely anchor wherever I want, like the OP is looking at, but ALWAYS hidden behind a natural structure (like rocks or a reef) that prevents anyone not paying attention from hitting me. If there are no rocks to the east of the 9-10ft flat area, this is too dangerous a spot to anchor in my opinion. We need multiple views of the chart at different zooms to actually make a real judgement. In my first post, I assumed the OP had already looked at all the other details and wanted to anchor where the question mark is.