Captain BW
Member
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2023
- Messages
- 9
Hi all. If all goes well I will be the new owner of a Nordic 37 Flybridge by Thanksgiving. The last week in November and the first part of December I will deliver the boat from Essex CT to NC. I was planning to go through Long Island Sound to the East River then into Sandy Hook as the first part of the trip.
My wife and I are experienced cruisers, cruising for 7 years (so far) the east coast, FL Keys and Bahamas. We took our sailboat from Lake Erie through the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River and around to Cape May, through the Chesapeake and ICW south the first year of our travels. Given that, we have never traversed Long Island and the East River, and we have never traveled north of NC this late in the year. I think we will be able to make around 90 miles per day as I am trying to avoid overnight passages and we will only have approx 9 hours of daylight so that is part of the equation. So I have some questions and need advise.
1. Are marinas still open and operating in late Nov and Dec in the Chesapeake and further north along our route?
2. Is the East River a reasonable route and if so do you have any pointers/advise?
3. I have seen comments in other threads about Hell Gate. Any advise on passing through that?
4. Does our 4'4" draft give us the option to take an inside route through NJ?
5. If we have to go outside from Sandy Hook to Cape May, I don't think we have enough daylight to do a direct shot. What is a good stop along the outside route?
6. I want to stop before we get into the East River and then in the Sandy Hook area. Can you recommend good marinas for that?
7. If the inside route through NJ is an option are there any cruising guides that you would recommend?
Thank you so much!!
My wife and I are experienced cruisers, cruising for 7 years (so far) the east coast, FL Keys and Bahamas. We took our sailboat from Lake Erie through the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River and around to Cape May, through the Chesapeake and ICW south the first year of our travels. Given that, we have never traversed Long Island and the East River, and we have never traveled north of NC this late in the year. I think we will be able to make around 90 miles per day as I am trying to avoid overnight passages and we will only have approx 9 hours of daylight so that is part of the equation. So I have some questions and need advise.
1. Are marinas still open and operating in late Nov and Dec in the Chesapeake and further north along our route?
2. Is the East River a reasonable route and if so do you have any pointers/advise?
3. I have seen comments in other threads about Hell Gate. Any advise on passing through that?
4. Does our 4'4" draft give us the option to take an inside route through NJ?
5. If we have to go outside from Sandy Hook to Cape May, I don't think we have enough daylight to do a direct shot. What is a good stop along the outside route?
6. I want to stop before we get into the East River and then in the Sandy Hook area. Can you recommend good marinas for that?
7. If the inside route through NJ is an option are there any cruising guides that you would recommend?
Thank you so much!!