Extended Stay in LI Sound

[carolmarie]

We are planning an extended stay in the LI Sound area en route to the Cape from lake Champlain this summer.
We would appreciate comments from those of you who are familiar with the region, on our preliminary selection of ports of call. In particular, we need at least one a good stop between Tarrytown NY and Essex Conn. Here' the plan so far, more or less in the order of visits:
- Tarrytown, NY
- Suggestions needed
- Essex, Conn.
- Mystic Seaport Museum
- Sag Harbor
- Montauk
- Block Island
(We've done the NY harbor area in past trips.)
We want to stay in a slip at all stops.
Your comments would be appreciated...........
Thanks,
Carolmarie, 28TE, 6LP-STE, Essex, NY.

[jleonard]

I recommend stopping in at Manhasset Bay. It's the first decent stop after NYC. They are plenty of marinas there, but I recommend staying on a free town mooring.

[carolmarie]

Wouldn't the "run" from there be too far to Essex, Conn. for a one day trip?
Don.

[RobS]

DougSea should be able to hook you up at his marina and it works geographically.

[Jack]

Norwalk could be a good place to stop. Try www.norwalkcove.com for the Norwalk Cove Marina. South Norwalk is known as SONO and has good restaurants, shops and bars a short walk from the marina. The islands off Norwalk are very picturesque and the main channels are well-marked. I suggest not taking shortcuts between islands unless you follow right behind a deeper draft boat. It would be a hard grounding anywhere around the islands. The city of Norwalk offers dock space at a good price but I'm not sure if they are for overnight.
If you were okay with a mooring, try Zeigler's Cove in Darien CT just before you get to Norwalk. There are quite a few "picnic" bouys which local people maintain for Saturday and Sunday afternoon entertaining and some overnights. I usually would not use someone else's mooring but it is done often at Zeigler's, especially during the week. The cove looks just like Maine with rocky ledges and evergreen trees. It is protected on most sides except the southeast and usually has very calm water. There are no facilities there.
Across the Sound on the north shore of Long Island, there are a number of clubs and marinas. Willis Marine is one where I wintered my boat for years. It's a long way into Huntington Harbor at the very end but the scenery is very pleasant with a mix of mansions and bungalows along the shore. Next to that harbor is Northport Harbor, which is well-known for being boater-friendly, including free tie-up for a couple of hours (most people tip the young person who assists with lines). Huntington is well-known for excellent restaurants and night life. Northport also has some and offers interesting shops as well.
Further along you have Port Jefferson, where there is the Bridgeport to Pt. Jeff ferry terminal and docks for coastal tankers to unload fuel oil. There is a marina and hotel there. www.danfords.com for the Danfords Hotel and Marina.
Good luck. By the way, I am in Essex at the Essex Yacht Club along the bulkhead docking.
Jack

[carolmarie]

Norwalk Cove Marina looks like a winner. We will plan on it.
Thanks to all for your timely inputs.
Regards,
Don.

[DougSea]

Looks like I'm late to the game! We homeport at Norwalk Cove so I'd be happy to give you a rundown. And the Norwalk Islands can be fun to explore. There aren't a lot of entertainment amenities at the marina, however we do have a good restaurant (The Sunset Grill), and the marina operates a shuttle that will take you down to the restaurant district in SONO. And of course you'd be welcome aboard Sonny IV for a beverage or two!

But...you might also enjoy the North Shore of Long Island as Jack mentions above. Northport is a frequent stop for us as is the "Sand Hole", Oyster Bay, Cold Spring Harbor, the list goes on.

[hetek]

Wait a minute... You mean to say you're going to be-bop all around the eastern end of Long Island and not put the 2014 AOG Northeast Rendezvous in Greenport NY on your to-do list? It would fit in nicely between Essex CT and Sag Harbor, or even Sag Harbor and Montauk.

Then again, timing is everything. Sounds like a nice trip. I'm jealous!

- Jon B.

[Serenity]

Out of curiosity, how many hours or miles do you expect to cover in one day?

[carolmarie]

Max:
We have made the trip to the Cape from lake Champlain several times usually limiting daily runs to no more than 65 miles. The trip from Kingston to Liberty Landing and the run to Falmouth Inner Harbor from Montauk are exceptions. Also, this year the distance from Tarrytown NY to Norwalk will exceed that - we have yet to plot the distances in the chart plotter so I don't have real exact numbers yet.
This year we are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary so we decided to "smell the roses" in the Sound area so to speak and will be stopping more and staying more than one night at most places. The Essex-Mystic-Sag Harbor-Block Island stops should be easy runs!
Don.

[Serenity]

God bless, fair winds and calm seas.

[Nancy]

Don, it sounds like a wonderful trip.

[JerseyNSC40]

We transit the area alot from NJ and have a number of places wwe have found that we like, you list includes alot of the high spots. We love the trip up the Mystic River to the Seaport it is a great ride and being in the Seaport is fun.
We have also stopped at Guilford the Guilford YC (which is not private) has great facilities and a short walk to town.
Clinton has a nice protected marina in a cove that is great for SUP or kayaking etc. good facilities as well.
Milford Town marina at the head of the river is reasonable and nice, you are practically on Main St for a choice of restaurants.
If you venture over to the NY side Mt Sinai Harbor is a nice surprise, just east of Pt Jefferson it is a yacht club and they give a reciprocity discount which is significant. Their restaurant is great and the harbor feels more like New England than NY.
Block to Marthas Vineyard or Cutty Hunk are also easy runs and well worth it.

We make alot of longer runs like Newport to NJ but since I retired we are stopping more often to enjoy the great spots of LI.Sound.

This was good therapy for me in the cold and snow of NJ, will probably take in the Atlantic City Boat Show next weekend.
Thinking Spring!!
Craig

[carolmarie]

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. Carol and I will look into all of them!
Just so you know, we've made the trip to the Cape from here several times, but concentrating on our ultimate destination - Falmouth Inner Harbor to spend vacations with my son, daughter-in-law and grand kids. We use Falmouth as our home base and take day or two trips to Martha's Vinyard, Nantucket and Hyannis etc. Over all, we spend four weeks or so including the trip back to our home port, the Essex, NY marina.
As mentioned earlier, we are extending the trip this year to five/six weeks to celebrate our 50ith so we are going to concentrate on the Sound en-route to Falmouth and back home.
Thanks again for the great responses.
We are locking in reservation slips now to assure the dates we want. With any luck, we will be able to maintain the overall schedule but, if not, no big deal. We're retired...............
Regards to all,
Don and Carol.

[Rybo78]

Where will you be staying in Falmouth? We'll be looking forward to seeing another 28TE in the harbor