Need advice - trip planning

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Riverledge13

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Apr 14, 2007
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25880
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This July - August my son and I will be heading down the Hudson, through the LI Sound, and then on to Block Island.

I have been studying Doziers and I have been asking questions etc on some other boards/forums.

I was "planning" to spend 2 days on this leg of our Journey. I will most likely start this leg early morning from a Manhattan/NJ Marina location. If possible I will try to go through the East River with the tide/current with me and at a time with limited boat traffic (my wish list anyway)

My question is this:

I want to split this leg into two days. The sound appears to be some 90 - 100 nautical miles in length. I was planning to travel along the North shore. Can you folks provide some wisdom/insights as to where some "logical" places may be to stop while we make our way through the LI sound.

We want to take our time and that is why I am giving this part a couple of days.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

Joe
 
quote:
Originally posted by Riverledge13

The sound appears to be some 90 - 100 nautical miles in length. I was planning to travel along the North shore. Can you folks provide some wisdom/insights as to where some "logical" places may be to stop while we make our way through the LI sound

Click to expand...

Joe
The north shore of the sound(CT side) or the north shore of Long Island?
If you use the Throgs Neck bridge as the starting point of the sound, Port Jeff is about 40 miles on the LI side and Milford is 50 miles on the CT side
 
According to your profile, your doing this in a 24 Bayliner?
I would want to get as close to Block as possible to see the crossing conditions.
Do you have radar? FOG is common in this stretch and there is no shore to hug.
Not worth it to go up to CT. shore as block is more off North Shore of LI.
I would consider going further than Port Jeff, maybe go all the way to Greenport to get a read on the weather before
heading to Block. Be a long first day, but then you can take your time the second day and cross when the fog lifts or grab a ferry schedule and follow a ferry across.
 
You could also stop at Mattituck, which is about 1/2 between Port Jeff and Orient Point. The inlet is tough to see from the water, use your GPS to locate it. Matt-a-Mar marina is at the end of the creek. It has gas, a pool and a decent restaurant on site. The town is an easy walk if you need some provisions.

Two days will not give you a lot of time to "sight-see".
 
Sorry to be unclear up top. This is new to me.
As I study the charts I see that I could stay close to the shore with Ct to my North or I could stay close to the opposite shore with Long Island to my south. I do not have radar. I will have a GPS / Chartplotter with waypoints, charts, binoculars, VHF radio, etc.

I am quite concerned with the issue of fog now as it has been brought up many times. As a boater that spends 99.9% of my time on the upper Hudson, I am just not used to seeing it. I have asked before, but have not gotten a clear understanding of, how the fog tends to "act".

Given the above. Would you suggest that I stay close to the CT side or the LI side or.....not even consider doing this without radar.

Thanks
 
Joe,

I can’t speak for the sound part of your trip, but as for fog and Block Island sound, I suggest going back though this forum, select “all topics” and poke around back a few pages, you will see quite a few BI topics, and many discussions about FOG.

Conditions can change very rapidly on BI Sound. Radar should be a must!! When a Fog bank rolls in you could be socked in with boats traveling past you from all directions. When I go to Block, I have left from Montauk or Greenport, with a good sense of the weather.

Two years ago, we left Green Port on a hot sunny hazy day. NO fog reported on the WX channels, but we got overtaken just before Montauk Point. It came in from nowhere, just happened, well sort off. I have redundant GPS, with Radar and an auto fog horn. Even with my electronics, I was so white knuckled as it was my first major fog encounter on open water. My wife, who had a private pilots license when she was younger kept telling me to look and trust my instruments and she was my look out, but looking at nothing but fog, could not even see my LIYC burgee flag on my bow.

I would suggest leaving from the shortest point for the run across the BI sound, MTP to Block is a nice run on a good day. IMO radar is a must, but if you don’t have it, make very sure you have a good handle on the weather, and even that’s no guarantee.

P.S.

We are planning to be at BI staying at Champlins 7/13-16.
 
I made the trip to Block a number of times without radar, believe me, going WITH radar is a hell of a lot better!

I second trusting your electronics. In heavy fog, you can swear you're heading north, but the instruments say you're heading east - it can be un-nerving.

If you can find someone else to travel with, you will be much better off.

Stopping at Montauk is a good idea, on a clear day, you can see BI from there. Remember, the weather can change suddenly, you can be stuck at Block for a couple of days waiting for a good weather window.
 
I have done the BI run many times (from Glen Cove out to Block) in our 30' sailboat with no Radar - A Chartploting GPS is very helpful or a must

Fog is very tricky and so are the late afternoon T-Storms (we like to in a safe harbor by 14:00 or 15:00)

Fog is in the early AM and can burn off by noon (most of the time)

My suggestion is to purchase Embassy Cruising guide of Long Island Sound - It lists all the harbors and marines up and down the CT and LI coasts (it even has arial photos of the harbors)

Like someone said above - a shorter jumping off point to Block is your best bet - I use Stonington CT. (about 18 from Block) and go out through the Watch Hill, RI passage - once out the passage it's straight shot over to Block (offshore) but keep an eye on the weather and don't go if small craft warnings are up - the winds and sea are generally calmer in the morning and a 15-20 kn SW wind by afternoon - unless a storm is approaching - then the wind is out of the East

Long Island Sound:
As you go further east the sound gets wider (I always stay on the CT side) and the current (tide) comes into play - so you want to be heading East on an out-going tide (specially out by Stonington) the tide can run about 3-6 + knots and if it's running against the wind it can make a nasty short steep chop

Look at your fuel consumption and figure out where you need to stop -- CT has many little harbors, inlets and rivers all with marinas - I like to stay at any of the Brewers Marinas, all are full service, very professional and offer an excellent nights stay

Good Luck in planning your adventure

CoolRunnings -
 
Garmin 540s Chartplotter / Sonar
Doziers 2007 Northern Waterway Guide - Covering the entire length of the Hudson, LI Sound, Block Island, and to Cape Cod.

The Garmin unit is loaded with G2 maps. The trip (waypoints) will be programmed into the unit.

Still unclear on staying closer to CT or to LI. I see pros and cons to each.

My plan is to have a "safe" port for each 30 mins of water time in case conditions change making it difficult or impossible to navigate safely.

Many many thanks for the posts above. The info is invaluable to me and very much appreciated.

Joe
 
Joe, the shore you choose to run along may very depend on which way the wind is blowing. Keep an eye out for lobster pots, there are plenty of them out there. More rocks on the CT side, but only one place to go into between Port Jeff and Greenport on LI side (Mattituck).
 
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