Sailing South Shore of Long Island in July

[Don Distante]

I would second the suggestion to get engine fixed. If you try to use it in current condition you might cause bigger problems. Find a marina that is easy to sail into or if you have a contract with Towboat or someone they can tow you in when close. I keep a boat in Noank where there are two good marinas but I would not recommend sailing into Fishers Island Sound without a motor. Maybe along the R.I. shore or find a mechanic in B.I. if you are still there. If you do decide to get engine fixed then call ahead to make arrangements.

Also if you can diagnose problem you could try to fix on your own if handy. Plenty of marine stores in the area with parts.

Best of luck


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[CarlF]

The East River used to be full of sailboats with no engine

Going west along the South Side of Long Island without an engine is no fun. The prevailing wind is against you. The swell is nasty. There are no all weather deep inlets. You can't anchor.

Long Island Sound has none of these negatives and a tide that's more reliable than any engine.

Get a copy of Eldridge

Plan your whole trip based on tide. This will mean anchoring at weird times to wait out an adverse tide. And anchor for the night in big open bights like Fisher Island - don't try to go up some channel. Because the days are so long, this will be much easier than if you were doing the trip in October.

I wouldn't try it without an engine in reserve. It sounds like your engine does work well enough to be started and get you out of a jamb. And don't try the East River with no wind. You might have to wait a day in City Island - not a bad place to wait. If you time the current, the East River is only an hour transit. You might just leave your engine on in neutral the whole way.

Be a member of TowBoat US or SeaTow. Call them before you are in bad trouble.

[Stu Jackson]

And City Island has lots of mechanics, don't they?

[Time2Go]

Originally Posted by Scrimshaw4

Get the engine fixed. It may just be a head gasket or worst case the cylinder head. It has to get fixed sometime. South shore of LI doesn't have good inlets for sail only. NY harbor is not a good place to be without an engine. Going back the way you came, without an engine, could be EXTREMLY dangerous, particularly trying to transit Hells Gate. I transit this area every year and would NEVER attempt it without a reliable working engine. JMHO

Scrimshaw is 100% correct here
Years ago I transited Hells Gate
many times on my Ericson 27
I can't imagine transiting through
Without a good engine
Another thing to be aware of is that you will be passing the UN
Security by NYC marine police and Dept Homeland Security very tight
If you flounder or smoke expect a visit

[MIRELOS]

Fort Pond Bay is nice and safe if winds are favorable, it is exposed. Montauk is easy, traffic at times (weekends), sailed in with my 60' cat. it's all about the wind without an engine.

[MIRELOS]

Uhlein's in Montauk I found to be the fairest in the area. Henry is a fair guy.

[tigerzilly]

This atomic 4 has been unreliable since I got the boat and I've put a lot of work into it. Replacing the cylinder head now will just give me another false sense of security...ready to fail again when I need it most.

Although I'm getting mixed advise now, I'm figuring on catching the ebb out of BI today and going non stop to sandy hook or gravesend. I'll be replacing the engine after this trip.

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[rossny]

Tiger, congratulations and good luck, you have received good advice. But I am in local in NYC until Friday Evening and driving up to Kingston if you need anything or a ride home for parts then pm me.

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[tigerzilly]

Thanks so much to everyone who's replied here!

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[Delancey]

I made the trip last year in July east to west. Twenty miles offshore in the middle of the night on a Friday and in low visibility conditions we encountered a number of great white hunters with the throttle down and headed south to slay tuna. Suggest if you are in the vicinity of any inlets that you keep an eye out.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by CarlF

The East River used to be full of sailboats with no engine

Going west along the South Side of Long Island without an engine is no fun. The prevailing wind is against you. The swell is nasty. There are no all weather deep inlets. You can't anchor.

Long Island Sound has none of these negatives and a tide that's more reliable than any engine.

Get a copy of Eldridge

Plan your whole trip based on tide. This will mean anchoring at weird times to wait out an adverse tide. And anchor for the night in big open bights like Fisher Island - don't try to go up some channel. Because the days are so long, this will be much easier than if you were doing the trip in October.

I wouldn't try it without an engine in reserve. It sounds like your engine does work well enough to be started and get you out of a jamb. And don't try the East River with no wind. You might have to wait a day in City Island - not a bad place to wait. If you time the current, the East River is only an hour transit. You might just leave your engine on in neutral the whole way.

Be a member of TowBoat US or SeaTow. Call them before you are in bad trouble.

Haha. We got yelled at sailing into a slip at Liberty Landing Marina once. "Hey you can't sail in here!!!" "Since when?" I replied.

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by tigerzilly

Although I'm getting mixed advise now, I'm figuring on catching the ebb out of BI today and going non stop to sandy hook or gravesend.

Might you consider holding off for another day? Light S-SW winds overnight doesn't sound like a good recipe for making much progress.... :-) Later tomorrow sounds like when the getting will start to get good...

NE-E breeze will be your friend on that ride, and also perfect for tucking up into Gravesend Bay...

ANZ350-022215- MORICHES INLET NY TO MONTAUK POINT NY OUT 20 NM- 529 AM EDT THU JUL 2 2015

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EDT TODAY

TODAY NW WINDS AROUND 5 KT...BECOMING S THIS AFTERNOON. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT.

TONIGHT SW WINDS AROUND 5 KT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT. ROUGH CONDITIONS AROUND INLETS.

FRI N WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...DIMINISHING TO AROUND 5 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT.

FRI NIGHT SE WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING E AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 2 TO 4 FT.

SAT NE WINDS 10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KT. SEAS 3 TO 5 FT.

SAT NIGHT E WINDS 10 TO 15 KT WITH GUSTS UP TO 20 KT...BECOMING N 5 TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 4 TO 5 FT.

SUN NW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SW 10 TO 15 KT IN THE AFTERNOON...THEN BECOMING W 5 TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 3 TO 4 FT.

MON NE WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING SE. SEAS 2 TO 3 FT.

[tigerzilly]

Yeah winds were light today. Only made it to montauk. Anchoring the night, then try again tomorrow.

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[tigerzilly]

Made it! Sailed from Montauk Friday and made it to gravesend early this morning. Winds were light. Resorted on the motor to get me from Rockaway beach to gravesend then motored through the narrows. Somehow the thing still runs at a steaming 200 degrees. Waiting for the tide now on the hudson river at Englewood nj. Almost home. A great sail. Thanks again for the advise! It took the guesswork out of the journey

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[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by tigerzilly

Made it! Sailed from Montauk Friday and made it to gravesend early this morning. Winds were light. Resorted on the motor to get me from Rockaway beach to gravesend then motored through the narrows. Somehow the thing still runs at a steaming 200 degrees. Waiting for the tide now on the hudson river at Englewood nj. Almost home. A great sail. Thanks again for the advise! It took the guesswork out of the journey

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Glad to hear it, that was very well done, congrats...

I'm a bit surprised the breeze you saw on Saturday remained light, it was fairly brisk down here on the Jersey shore for much of the day...

Good luck for the rest of the way, and with whatever you decide to do re the engine... Sounds like it may at least get you thru the rest of the summer, perhaps?