THROUGH HELL GATE TO LONG ISLAND SOUND

We got up early on Thursday morning on August 9th to begin our trip up the East River and into Long Island Sound. Part of the journey would include a section on the East River called Hell Gate. We had heard many different stories about the turbulence and potential problems that had earned the area it's name and were a little apprehensive. The East River has tides coming from both the New York Harbor and the Long Island Sound and they run opposite of each other. This creates a very swift current and a lot of turbulence and whirlpools where the two meet at Hell Gate. The guidebook instructed us to enter the East River from New York Harbor one or two hours after low tide at the Battery, which is at the entrance to the river. Low tide was at 8:10 AM, so we left our mooring at 79th Street at 8 AM for the 5 mile trip to the Battery. We figured we would take a little cruise around Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty before we turned into the river. The closer we got to New York Harbor and the Battery, the busier it got with ferries and tour boats coming at us from all directions. My AIS alerts me within an alarm when we get within a half mile of a commercial boat and it was going off constantly. Although it would have been annoying in most cases, I felt good that I could spot each ferry, tug and freighter as it got near us with no suprises. Even knowing they were there, it was still a little un-nerving to turn around and see a big boat come flying up behind you. I showed my intentions early and they all seemed to appreciate it as they gave us a wide berth.

This is a view of the skyline from the Hudson. The tower in the middle is the 9/11 Memorial.

The Jersey Shore

All the boat action made the harber pretty choppy as we motored past Ellis and the Statue of Liberty, but Denise got some good pictures. Ellis Island

Lady Liberty

I called the Coast Guard on the radio to make sure there were no additional security precautions I needed to know about (this was the site of 9/11) but they said there was nothing other than the standing security zones around things like the Statue, Ellis Island, the United Nations and Homeland Security, etc.,. The AIS didn't show much traffic in the river as we entered past Governors Island. The view was spectacular! We went past the Seaport, the Brooklyn Bridge, the United Nations and the entire skyline of New York, including the 9/11 monument at ground zero. The Battery, the skyline and the Memorial

The Seaport A Busy Heliport

The Brooklyn Bridge

Seaplanes

Other than a few ferries and watching some seaplanes on the river, the trip was pretty uneventful and the tide was pushing us over 8 knots. As we came up to Hell Gate, the tide at slack and there was virtually no current. The "dreaded" Hell Gate was nothing more than a pond that curved around an island and back East again to the Long Island Sound. This is a picture looking back at Hell Gate.

The tide from Long Island, however, began to pull us out with it at 8 knots again. This was the reason for picking the right time to enter East River. You ride in on the tide, hit Hell Gate at slack tide and ride out again on the receding tide the other way. Since we were getting into the Sound much earlier than we had anticipated, we dcecided we would try to go as far as we could with the promised storms closing behind us from the West. One of the first few light houses that let us know we were in Long Island Sound.

We looked at many possiblities and tried to call several marinas and yacht clubs to try and find a spot. Nobody was answering their phones and nobody was calling back. As the storms were getting closer, we finally got a call from Rex Marine in Norwalk, Conneticut. We made arrangements to have a slip waiting for us and set a course for Norwalk. The storms kept getting closer and the Coast Guard was broadcasting extreme storm warnings on the VHF radio, so we didn't have the luxury of trying to sail and kept the motor pushing us at around 7 knots. The entrance channel to Norwalk was long, narrow and surrounded by shallow water with fishing stakes all around. There were a lot of sailboats on our way in on moorings along the channel, but when we got to Rex Marine, it was all power boats. The slip we were given was about 8 to 10 feet too short for our boat and we were in a working boat yard where they constantly launched and pulled small power boats in and out of racks. Needless to say, we were a little disappointed. The Marina facilities and the Town of Norwalk was very nice and we decided to go exploring. The marina provided a free shuttle service and we were given a tour of the water side of town, which had many restaurants, museums, a West Marine Store, and other free entertainment. The really big storms seemed to dissipate before they got to us but the heavy rains came on Friday around noon. Fortunately, had breakfast, went shopping at West Marine and were in the Imax and Aquarium museum enjoying their very detailed descriptions of the Sound's wildlife both on shore and in the water. Unfortunately, there were a few hundred, or maybe a thousand young kids doing the same thing, but it was still interesting and informative. By the time the rains were done, we headed back to our boat and proceeded to do a few chores. Before we knew it, it was 7:30 and time for dinner at the local seafood restaurant on the water. We will see what the weather is going to do on Saturday before we decide to leave or not. The forecast is still calling for Thunderstorms and rain, but they have been wrong before. By the way, if you click on "Our Map" at the top of the blog, you will see the maps of where we have been and where we are.