Closest beaches around NYC where I can anchor

[Cool Hand Luke]

Hey guys,

My sailboat is in Jersey City, NJ, right outside of New York City. I want to be able to get to a beach, anchor, and take the dinghy to the beach. What are some of the closest beaches where you can anchor and actually go swimming in semi-clean water.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Fair winds!

[pesarsten]

There is a very nice spot called horseshoe cove inside Sandy Hook about 2/3 of the way to the river. depending on what you draw, might be a possibility. you might also be able to anchor up. dinghy ashore and walk to the beach on the Atlantic

side.https://activecaptain.garmin.com/pois/19134

[Cool Hand Luke]

Originally Posted by pesarsten

There is a very nice spot called horseshoe cove inside Sandy Hook about 2/3 of the way to the river. depending on what you draw, might be a possibility. you might also be able to anchor up. dinghy ashore and walk to the beach on the Atlantic

side.https://activecaptain.garmin.com/pois/19134

Awesome!! I draw 6 feet. Just looked at it. Looks good!! Thank you!

Also, someone told me about Coney Island.



Can’t wait [emoji3]

[hugosalt]

Water still a little cold...
Coney Island ? not advisable to anchor and leave boat and come ashore thru ocean surf.
If Long Island Sound a option, water cleans up further east you go plenty of spots.
And if have the time go into Gardiners bay and the Peconics ...pick a beach.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Hey guys,

My sailboat is in Jersey City, NJ, right outside of New York City. I want to be able to get to a beach, anchor, and take the dinghy to the beach. What are some of the closest beaches where you can anchor and actually go swimming in semi-clean water.

Any input will be greatly appreciated.

Fair winds!

Probably on Long Island Sound or maybe the Atlantic Highlands. The south shore of S.I. may be clean enough today.

[hrsail920]

You can also anchor inside Jamaica Bay on the Rockaway side, dingy ashore and either beach in the bay or walk across to the ocean.

[ArmyDaveNY]

There are a number of spots on Staten Island that may work for you. You may also like the great south bay. It's thin water but since Hurricane Sandy it's been a lot cleaner due to the new inlet. The nice thing is that it's protected so you don't have to worry about surf.

[hellosailor]

Any of the NYC "south shore" beaches will be problematic. State parks, and IIRC city beaches as well, do not allow any type of watercraft in the swimming areas, so you can't dinghy ashore, at all. And you'd have the boat rolling in the waves trying to break anchor.

Other than Sandy hook (which technically is federal land in NJ, not NY) you might have to go up to LI Sound to find some of the spots where you can make land in a dinghy, and have some shelter from the rolls of the Atlantic.

Inside the Great South Bay, a lot of the water is just too thin--and again, beaching anything except your body is often not allowed.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Any of the NYC "south shore" beaches will be problematic. State parks, and IIRC city beaches as well, do not allow any type of watercraft in the swimming areas, so you can't dinghy ashore, at all. And you'd have the boat rolling in the waves trying to break anchor.

Other than Sandy hook (which technically is federal land in NJ, not NY) you might have to go up to LI Sound to find some of the spots where you can make land in a dinghy, and have some shelter from the rolls of the Atlantic.

Inside the Great South Bay, a lot of the water is just too thin--and again, beaching anything except your body is often not allowed.

Ditto on most of that. The MPs would chase us off of the back of Sandy Hook. The Great South Bay was a mud flat. Port Jefferson and Lloyd's Neck had nice protected beaches. Days of yore so take it for what it is worth.











ssuth Bay

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

... I draw 6 feet. Just looked at it. Looks good!! ... someone told me about Coney Island. ]

Horseshoe Cove behind The Hook is probably the only practical solution for you. Anchoring anywhere along the south shore of Long Island is simply not going to be pleasant, and perhaps even unsafe depending on conditions, traffic, your technique, and a host of other factors.

You could look into the Twin Rivers area (Navesink and Schrewsbury) where we spent time last summer. Very sweet. For swimmers the issue there might be nettles, but folks do indeed swim on the Navesink and there are several small beaches that get some use. Six feet is no problem all the way to Red Bank.

[odonnellryan]

Just this last weekend we anchored in/near horseshoe cove.

One thing to mind in this area ... charts are OK but not 100% accurate. You need to go slow and pay attention to your depth readings.

And of course figure for high/low tides. We anchored at about 10ft and when we left it was around 7, which is close to us running aground, but we have a swing keel.

However, I wouldn't really want to swim in the horseshoe cove water. Lots of garbage and the water doesn't look too clean

There are anchorages on the Atlantic side, all along the coast. I assume this is mostly going to be full of fishing boats but I haven't been there yet. I think that is our next destination for a calm day.

Edit: we brought the boat down from Haverstraw, NY for some adventure. Hudson is still a little cold up there, but in July, August, and September it reaches near 80 degrees!

If you're looking for some place to anchor and swim every weekend... well the bay up there is the easiest anchorage. Consistent 10-15 feet depth, mile wide, several miles long, and you can anchor close to shore - though you're not allowed within 500ft (I believe) with a motorcraft.

Not much else to do up there with regards to sailing. You can have fun but you're limited to sailing up and down the river. Only a few restaurants, and even fewer that you can get a sailboat into

[sveinung]

Great timing, we're looking for basically the same for a long weekend getaway this weekend.

We're by la Guardia so the sound is easier, but we'd love to check out a new place with either anchor or mooring balls.

Done some places along the long island side, but curious about captains islands, Norwalk area and generally the Connecticut side to explore something new.
Swimmable water would be a huge plus, but probably too early right now.

[chef2sail]

Horseshoe Cove has a lot of spots filled in after Sandy , also avoid the numerous fish traps

Port Jefferson is a neat place to anchor in the outer cover by Mt Misery. There is a beach there.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Just wanted to thank you guys again for all the info... I know it's been a while.

Last weekend was awesome weather and decided to leave Jersey City and sail down to Sandy Hook. Once past the Verrazzano Bridge, wind picked up and had a beautiful sail down to Horseshoe Cove. Soooo many boats out there last weekend. Temperature was in the 70's!!

Did a solo sail... took about 3 hours, door to door... or should I say, marina to anchor

I left Saturday afternoon... Anchored in about 12 feet... anchor held well overnight. Left the next day in the afternoon. Made myself a nice pasta dinner... had a bottle of wine... watched the sunset. All solo... loved it!!

Sunset and location photos below... will definitely go back

[kerrydeare]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Luke

Just wanted to thank you guys again for all the info... Last weekend was awesome weather and decided to leave Jersey City and sail down to Sandy Hook ... Did a solo sail... took about 3 hours, door to door... Anchored in about 12 feet... anchor held well overnight. Left the next day in the afternoon. Made myself a nice pasta dinner... had a bottle of wine... watched the sunset. All solo... loved it!! ...

I responded to you earlier about the anchorage at Horseshoe Cove. I'm not at all a regular visitor, but the anchorage is, under most conditions, a suitable and safe stop. Glad you liked it.

Please send my consulting fee via PayPal (smile).