Catching the Tides up

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Tom

Paul with an Oday 23 asked the best times to Catch the East River. Below I listed some of my Log Entries after I figured out the best times using "Eldridge Book" ......Realize you have about a 2-3 hour window where you can go up or down and get the advantage of the tides *really pushing* you along. The window to go up and down, where you don't fight the Tides obviously can be a little bigger (6 hours), but you will not get the benefit of *rocketing* up and down the East River I will give you the times and locations that I had for making the trip ( with the listed High/low tide at the battery to give you some ideas) Realize that I pretty much motorsailed the whole time (with emphasize on Motoring) Winds are *very* fluky around Manhattan North Bound Trips ---- Try and reach the Battery between 1Hour 45 minutes
 
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Steve

getting through hell's gate

Thanks Tom for posting that. Can you shed any light on getting through hells gate? I heard it can be a bit of a challange. Is it just a matter of timing the tides?
 
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Steve

getting through hell's gate

Thanks Tom for posting that. Can you shed any light on getting through hells gate? I heard it can be a bit of a challange. Is it just a matter of timing the tides?
 
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Gary Wyngarden

Washbourne's?

In the Pacific Northwest, tidal ranges typically run 6-10 feet and sometimes as much as 12 feet twice a day. The consequent currents are well worth paying attention to and in some narrows can run up to 16 knots and more. Up here we have a publication called Washbourne's that is very handy. One book is a compilation of I think 48 simplified charts that show the direction and strength of tidal currents for various phases of the tide. The other book is an annual publication that gives you a chart reference page for every day and every hour of the year. The set is very inexpensive and very handy for trip planning, calulating the set and drift off your course etc. I don't know if they have them for the East Coast, but it would be well worth checking. Gary Wyngarden S/V Shibumi H335
 
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Tom

Nothing Magical about going through Hell Gate

(Sorry no revelations or visions of God ;-) If you time it correctly it's just a really good tide pushing you through. Yes the water will "boil" around you a little but it is nothing a boat can't handle..... Also you might see some standing waves created by the heavy current just around Randals Island but I thought they were no big deal (actually a little fun)..... FYI -I went up and down the East River about a dozen times and the boat was a fairly heavy (8500 lbs) 27' boat with a shoal/Modified Full keel. I think Hells Gate got its name from the Old Days before Engines and the skippers would have to actually SAIL up the river and back then there was an Underwater Rock obstruction right at Hells Gate (subsequently dynamited by The Army Corp of Engineers) BTW the explosive to blow out Hells Gate was the Largest Man-Made explosion before the Atomic Bomb!
 
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Chris McLoughlin

Other than tides. . .

I would keep a sharp eye for flotsam and debris. everything gets channeled down thru this narrow channel (wheels, tires, utility poles , large dead animals). Iwould also monitor channel 13. There is lots of large commercial traffic at all hours of the day 7 days a week. ( I passed thru east bound once at 3 am and had the company of 3 tugs with large barges). Chris s/v Tidesong
 
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