My husband and I fulfilled our dream of purchasing a sailboat. We bought a Hunter 25.5 that we intend on sailing up the Hudson from Long Island to Catskill, NY. We have three days to make this happen starting early this Friday. Any suggestions, advice, recommendations, would be helpful! The boat does have a motor as well. Thanks yall! We are super excited and incredibly nervous at the same time.
Sailing LI (Huntington) to Catskill. NEED ADVICE! Zero experience.
- Thread starter martensonpassingwind
- Start date
Do you know how many miles that is? I am not familiar with the area. I would think you will motor a lot more than sail on a river. How is the current in the river? That could impact your speed if you are going against the current (which I assume you will be). The motor is probably an external motor?
I would consider making 3-4 knots (maybe 4-5 mile per hour) under your scenario. So, you can guesstimate how long to go the total miles you need to go. If you have to go 120 miles, and you can make 4 miles an hour, and you stay on the water for 10 hours a day, you can make 40 miles in a day... so you would have 3 long days to get the 120 miles. That seems like a lot, and doesn't really allow for any stops or issues. You will need to make sure you have fuel for your motor as I suspect you will motor a lot.
You can also use the 40 miles a day to look for places to stop for the night. If you plan to stay at marinas, best to figure out which ones you will stay at and get a reserved slip. If you are anchoring out, then at least know where there are fuel docks along the way.
Sounds like fun, but be prepared for bad weather, boat issues, etc.... both deliveries I made with my boats (on Lake Michigan), had some sort of delays or issues (weather, engine issue).
Greg
I would consider making 3-4 knots (maybe 4-5 mile per hour) under your scenario. So, you can guesstimate how long to go the total miles you need to go. If you have to go 120 miles, and you can make 4 miles an hour, and you stay on the water for 10 hours a day, you can make 40 miles in a day... so you would have 3 long days to get the 120 miles. That seems like a lot, and doesn't really allow for any stops or issues. You will need to make sure you have fuel for your motor as I suspect you will motor a lot.
You can also use the 40 miles a day to look for places to stop for the night. If you plan to stay at marinas, best to figure out which ones you will stay at and get a reserved slip. If you are anchoring out, then at least know where there are fuel docks along the way.
Sounds like fun, but be prepared for bad weather, boat issues, etc.... both deliveries I made with my boats (on Lake Michigan), had some sort of delays or issues (weather, engine issue).
Greg
Three days is ambitious for this trip in that size boat. You will be motoring. Bring extra gas. If the boat is new to you might want to borrow a spare outboard to carry just in case. You can make it up to the Nyack/Haverstraw area in one long day IF you time the East River and Hudson tides correctly. You will want to pass under the Throgs Neck Bridge around 5:30-6 am Friday to ride a fair current down the East River. You will fight the tide in the Hudson until mid morning and then get a boost after 10:30 or so. If you make it to Haverstraw you have two more days to get 60 nautical miles. Check the Hudson tidal currents and don't try to fight them. Don't panic if you can't make it as fast as you hope. Scope out some marinas on the east side of the Hudson if you have to bail out and take the train home for a week. Have fun. It's a beautiful trip.
Thank you both for the responses. Danm1, we plan on getting to Port Washington Thursday night and leaving from there the morning of the fourth. Will likely be motoring a lot but determined to figure out Hells Gate situation BEFORE getting there.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,114
Welcome to the SBO Forum.
An exciting trip ahead.
Not from your area. I would suggest you anticipate the unexpected. If you do not experience a delay or a need for shelter I will be shocked. If you feel you need to be somewhere by a “certain time”, Mother Nature will conspire for that not to happen. Once you have your boat for 6 months, when planning 3 days give yourself 5. At this stage, I would expect a first time trip of 3 days to take 7. If you get there sooner I consider it bonus time.
Plan to get off the water or in sheltered anchorage no later than 4PM. This may mean getting up and starting early. Much past 4PM new crew and sailors get cranky. When crew are cranky that is when accidents can happen.
An exciting trip ahead.
Not from your area. I would suggest you anticipate the unexpected. If you do not experience a delay or a need for shelter I will be shocked. If you feel you need to be somewhere by a “certain time”, Mother Nature will conspire for that not to happen. Once you have your boat for 6 months, when planning 3 days give yourself 5. At this stage, I would expect a first time trip of 3 days to take 7. If you get there sooner I consider it bonus time.
Plan to get off the water or in sheltered anchorage no later than 4PM. This may mean getting up and starting early. Much past 4PM new crew and sailors get cranky. When crew are cranky that is when accidents can happen.
You are looking at a very long trip. In a new-to-you boat. It is exciting, but has to be planned out, especially getting around Manhattan. We have gone to Manhattan to see fireworks on the Fourth of July, and have passed through returning from Bermuda to CT on different occasions so are familiar with getting through Hell Gate. In a Hunter 25.5 this could be a major event. Currents can throw up a vicious chop around Manhattan. Not to mention ferry, tug, and ship wakes. They do not care about sailboats. Especially smaller ones. Timing the tides and currents correctly will be imperative. If you're able to time it right you can ride the current down the East River and then up the Hudson. This can add four knots to your speed in some places, making how you handle the boat quite important. We had a tug and barge pass about 50' off our starboard side at one point, him doing about 10 knots and us doing about 8 with the current. Inattention can be fatal. Going the wrong side of Roosevelt Island can be tempting to avoid the other traffic, but there is a fixed bridge there that you don't want to hit. Don't go there. Once around the tip of Manhattan the Hudson seems a lot more relaxed. It is notorious for summertime lack of wind. That is why the Hudson River Sloops (Clearwater, et al.) had huge sail areas. You will likely be motoring a lot. When the current turns against you your headway will be reduced to perhaps two or three knots. From Manhattan to Catskill is more than 100 miles. You can do the math. You can go for long days, but at 4 knots average (with and against the current) getting it done in a thee day weekend is a stretch. High tide at Ward's Island (Hell Gate) is at about 06h30 on the Fourth. To be there on time means leaving Port Washington well before that. Catching the tide right will likely put you off the Battery a bit before noon Friday. Six hours more (after starting well before 06h30!) and you might make it to Yonkers. Riverdale might be more realistic. Or maybe the 79th Street Boat Basin. (Is it open? They were working on it last I heard.) You will be hot, tired, frazzled and not having fun. We contemplate taking our boat - a 40' Sabre with a 50 horse diesel - up to Hudson NY which is just across the river from Catskill. To make it an enjoyable trip we figure it should take at least five days from Execution Rocks. You may want to rethink your destination or timeline so your voyage doesn't turn into a nightmare.
Catskill is a delightful place with a Main Street lined with shops, galleries, bookstores, cafés and restaurants. One place we went sold reproductions of major artworks in giclé prints as big as you needed to cover an entire wall. Well worth a visit
Catskill is a delightful place with a Main Street lined with shops, galleries, bookstores, cafés and restaurants. One place we went sold reproductions of major artworks in giclé prints as big as you needed to cover an entire wall. Well worth a visit
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Is this trip a delivery?
I think it's too ambitious for self described "Zero Experience." I think the above cautions about current are correct. It is pretty unlikely that you will have fair current for a large portion of the trip. You have to hit Hell Gate at slack or with the correct tide early in the AM to get good distance for the first day. When the current is against you your progress will be slow. You will be dependent on the motor. What condition is it in? Do you have spare parts?
I think a far better plan is to break the trip into parts on different weekends. Or hire a captain to go with you and continue the trip when your time window closes.
If you do this don't plan on sailing much. Deliveries are about going from point A to B as fast as possible - before something goes wrong like weather.
PaulK's admonishment about the correct side of Roosevelt Island is spot on. The point of choice will come up astonishingly fast after Hell's gate when you have the current going with you. There will be no time for indecision or consultation with charts. A chart plotter helps but any screwing around with zoom or whatever else could lead to the wrong choice.
I think it's too ambitious for self described "Zero Experience." I think the above cautions about current are correct. It is pretty unlikely that you will have fair current for a large portion of the trip. You have to hit Hell Gate at slack or with the correct tide early in the AM to get good distance for the first day. When the current is against you your progress will be slow. You will be dependent on the motor. What condition is it in? Do you have spare parts?
I think a far better plan is to break the trip into parts on different weekends. Or hire a captain to go with you and continue the trip when your time window closes.
If you do this don't plan on sailing much. Deliveries are about going from point A to B as fast as possible - before something goes wrong like weather.
PaulK's admonishment about the correct side of Roosevelt Island is spot on. The point of choice will come up astonishingly fast after Hell's gate when you have the current going with you. There will be no time for indecision or consultation with charts. A chart plotter helps but any screwing around with zoom or whatever else could lead to the wrong choice.
I did this trip last week from Atlantic Highlands to Catskill. This trip is too ambitious for inexperienced sailors in a small, slow boat. While not directly on your route, we went from Catskill to Troy, a 34 nm trip that took 7.5 hours because of the tide and timing. Our speed through water was consistently over 6 knots, yet our average speed was just 4.5 knots over ground.
Can it be done? Yes, but not in three days. Expect to find currents in the 2- 2.5 knot range sometimes with you, more often against you. Because this is an estuary fed by a river, the ebb currents are stronger and longer than the flood currents. On the up river trip the tides will be working against you more than helping you.
The East River can be a joy ride or a ride from hell. Even with the current with you, expect swirling eddies, 1-4 foot standing waves and lots of noise and distractions. On our last trip down the river in September, we had motorcades with flashing lights running up the FDR drive, helicopters, high speed ferries and an airplane taking off with subway trains running on the bridge, on top of the usual cacophony of NYC. I had a ball, not every body does.
Catskill is kind of a neat town trying to remake itself. On a Friday evening there were people on the street with the bars and restaurants filling up. It has a cocktail bar, Hemlock, that was recently rated as one of the top 10 cocktail bars in the country. And a great ice cream stand with homemade ice cream and an enthusiastic owner. I'd go there again.
Lest I be characterized as a Davey Downer, I do want to encourage you to cruise and explore our waterways, the joys and benefits are amazing, the people, the places, the things you can see only from the water are worth every miserable moment you have. And cruising has many miserable moments. Start out with positive experiences. Sail to Oyster Bay, Sail to City Island, there's a great little restaurant there, The Black Whale, sail to Port Jeff or across to Mystic Seaport Museum and stay at the museum. Having these kinds of experiences behind you will make you much more tolerant of those days on the water, when you wonder "Who's idea was this any way?"
Fair Winds and Safe Travels.
Can it be done? Yes, but not in three days. Expect to find currents in the 2- 2.5 knot range sometimes with you, more often against you. Because this is an estuary fed by a river, the ebb currents are stronger and longer than the flood currents. On the up river trip the tides will be working against you more than helping you.
The East River can be a joy ride or a ride from hell. Even with the current with you, expect swirling eddies, 1-4 foot standing waves and lots of noise and distractions. On our last trip down the river in September, we had motorcades with flashing lights running up the FDR drive, helicopters, high speed ferries and an airplane taking off with subway trains running on the bridge, on top of the usual cacophony of NYC. I had a ball, not every body does.
Catskill is kind of a neat town trying to remake itself. On a Friday evening there were people on the street with the bars and restaurants filling up. It has a cocktail bar, Hemlock, that was recently rated as one of the top 10 cocktail bars in the country. And a great ice cream stand with homemade ice cream and an enthusiastic owner. I'd go there again.
Lest I be characterized as a Davey Downer, I do want to encourage you to cruise and explore our waterways, the joys and benefits are amazing, the people, the places, the things you can see only from the water are worth every miserable moment you have. And cruising has many miserable moments. Start out with positive experiences. Sail to Oyster Bay, Sail to City Island, there's a great little restaurant there, The Black Whale, sail to Port Jeff or across to Mystic Seaport Museum and stay at the museum. Having these kinds of experiences behind you will make you much more tolerant of those days on the water, when you wonder "Who's idea was this any way?"
Fair Winds and Safe Travels.
Lots of really good advice above!
If you are really limited to three days, then check out several marinas going up the Hudson where you can leave the boat until you can get back to it.
Fair wind, and following tides!
If you are really limited to three days, then check out several marinas going up the Hudson where you can leave the boat until you can get back to it.
Fair wind, and following tides!
Your Hells Gate schedule sounds wrong. Here are the tides this coming Friday:
The tide schedule for Hell Gate on Friday, June 27, 2025, is as follows:
- First High Tide: 00:53 AM
- First Low Tide: 08:23 AM
- Second High Tide: 01:39 PM
- Second Low Tide: 08:23 PM
You can't go through at slack low tide because the tide will then be coming at you trying to go down the East River and I don't think that boat has the hull speed to do that. If you are a newbe - going through Hells gate at 00:53 AM would not be advisable in my opinion, so really you only have one time slot to go through at 01:39 PM. You don't have to hit Hells Gate exactly at that time but being plus or minus 15 minutes would make your transit a whole lot easier. It is a ton of fun to go down the East River as the tide is going out! Makes you feel like your boat can almost fly! Hahaha
As others have said, you can't make that trip in three days unless you are running 24 hours a day. That would be brutal...
dj
Wow! Thanks for the advice everybody. So we are adding a day, possibly two. Thursday we are going to get to huntington bay and taking the 5.5 hrs or so to get to Port Washington. Next morning, we are going to try to be at hell gate at slack tide (12:30) to get through that and with the flood behind us hoping to get pushed up into the Hudson. Going to try to make it to Haverstraw but completely aware this may be too far, too ambitious, we are ready to pull off earlier somewhere along the way. Then saturday and Sunday the rest of the haul up the hudson to catskill. IF we get exhausted or run out of time, can't get as far as expected, we do have a contingency to park for a week and have my father in law pick us up! We have both motor boated our whole lives, so we have at least that going for us. All your posts have given me a new respect for understanding that our timeline needs to be extremely flexible.
Look closely at your route, there aren't many places to go between the Statue of Liberty and Haverstraw Bay.
On the East side of Haverstraw, is Half Moon Bay. this is a large anchorage with good holding. We've stayed there several times. Be aware this is a popular local spot and during the day can be quite hectic and crowded.
A couple of miles south of Half Moon Bay is another shallow anchorage near Ossining (aka Sing-Sing or up the river). More exposed to the south than Half Moon Bay.
Waterway Guide may be a good resource for marinas and ramps along the way. The Jersey side of the river is dominated by the Palisades with no opportunities for anchoring and no marinas that I can recall.
Along the west side of Manhattan there were some old piers with boats moored or anchored in them, looked very bouncy and unpleasant for staying. 89th St Marina is not open yet.
Edit: A few more stopping points
South of Kingston on the east side of the Hudson is Norrie State Park. There are docks there, but no facilities and it is not recommended to drink the water. Register and pay online, cheap at only ~$25 a night.
In Kingston, look to stay at the Hudson River Maritime Museum. Dockage gets you access to the museum. Nice docks, showers available. Good ice cream store a short walk from the museum.
Good Luck.
Fun fact, I was backwards with my currents. We need the ebb to go down river and around Manhattan. Will the four hour slack between ebb and flood be enough to get us out of there?
East River - Planning Your Passage for a Fair Current or Slack Water
East River - Timing your passage. Choosing the right time for your transit. Are you looking for slack water at Hell Gate or a fair current push thru the river?
This has always worked for me, and I did it once in a Hunter 25.5 with a 9.9 HP motor.
Absolutely not. Slack is maybe 30 minutes and then the current builds up to 5 to 6 knots.
Yes. Sorry I thought you had said you were going this coming Friday.
But in any case you do not want to go through at slack low tide, you go through at slack high tide.
Make sure you are looking at the tide schedule from the bouy at Hells Gate.
dj
Alright! So we 100 percent have to go in when ebb is coming in after slack. THANK YOU!
Ebb goes out, not in. Do you have a copy of Eldridge's' ? You need one. It has charts showing how the currents go and when. Your misunderstanding of tides and currents makes this already risky trip sound dangerous.
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PaulK, totally understand. This is why I'm getting as much info as possible before we do this. And if the day comes around where we are at port washington thinking, okay no way, then we are prepared to pay for mooring and find a different solution. I appreciate every single response! So I realized I was backward with my understanding of the currents on the river shortly after I posted that one about the slack/flood. We will be at port washington the 5th of july to take the route down east river. Right now, high tide is showing 4:40am. Based on all the information provided, I believe getting to Throgs Neck at 06h30 will be the best option.