Boat trip around Brooklyn

Paul B · 07-23-2009, 07:13 AM

There cones a time in a boaters life when he either dies or gets a larger boat. Last week we bought our fourth and probably last boat. It is a 27' Sea Ray. I got it at a steal and could not pass it up, and being we use the boat three or four times a week, there was no debate. I think my wife wanted it more than I did.
For the last 30 years or so there was never a discussion of what we will be doing on the weekend, we spend it on the boat tied up with our boating friends. I still have the smallest boat in the crowd though.
We bought the boat on the south shore of Long Island and our marina is on the north shore. To get there you have to go around the south shore, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens then to the north shore. The distance is 40 miles and about a third of that is in the ocean.

The day was beautiful and the boat performed flawlessly except for loseing a fan belt on one engine under the Varazzano Bridge. I managed to get the belt back on as my friend drove the boat on the other engine. Thats not the place to get stuck. The area is a mass of oil tankers, cruise ships, high speed hydrofoil ferries, The Staten Island Ferry and cruise ships.
I have made this trip a few times with my various boats or just to take a trip to Fire Island which is out east on the south shore.
I am a lisenced Captain as is my friend who made the trip with me.

Here we are preparing the boat in Seaford Long Island in one of my friends back yards.

The first thing of course was to get gas. Gas is a little cheaper here

After an hour or so you pass Coney Island. That is the famous Parachute Jump which has been closed and made into a historic site many years ago. This was taken with a zoom lenz as we were a few miles out.

An hour later you come up to the Varazzino Bridge which connects
Statin Island with Brooklyn.
I lost a fan belt under here.

This is my other boat

These guys are all over the place.
My Captains Lisence covers driving one of these also

Then of course we come to the Statue Of Liberty, she was a little foggy that day but beautiful as always. Every time I sail by her I am reminded that my Grand Parents also saw the same sight over 100 years ago.

Manhattan is always Manhattan. I worked there for 40 years as a construction electrician and worked on all of those buildings in the picture.

Going up the East River which seperates Brooklyn from Manhattan you see many bridges. There are over 20 bridges to Manhattan and many tunnels. This is approaching Hells Gate a little farther up.

We anchored to eat off of Historic Ft Totten which is not in the picture, then we continued east to my harbor and into my Marina to be greated by my family.

BigAl07 · 07-23-2009, 08:02 AM

Great pictures Paul

I LOVE the water but it's not as "common" or BIG in the mountains here.

I really like your NEW boat! It looks SWEET! Sea Ray has an excellent name and reputation for Classy and Smooth boats. Good for you and the family!!

Your "Other" boat would be a BEAR to get into your marina and turned around I'd imagine LOL!!

Is the "River" part of this trip up the "Hudson River" or am I totally off target? Remember I'm from North Carolina so don't shoot me if I just stepped into the poo LOL!

ReefLady · 07-23-2009, 08:18 AM

Awesome boat, and great great pics! Love the story behind it.

I could never be too far away from the ocean, and to me, the perfect day is spent on a boat. We've moved a little inland (about 40 min), but I could never bring myself to be more than an hour's drive from the shore.

Thanks for sharing that.....makes me want to play hooky and go to the beach for the day, LOL!

BigAl07 · 07-23-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReefLady

.....makes me want to play hooky and go to the beach for the day, LOL!

Off to work for you lil lady

fivel · 07-23-2009, 01:37 PM

No matter how many pictures I see of Manhattan - I can still not get used to just how low lying it is compared to the water around it. Beautiful pictures!

lcstorc · 07-23-2009, 02:26 PM

Sounds like a wonderful time.
Very different view from boating around here. Lots more to see.

Paul B · 07-23-2009, 04:20 PM

Thanks guys, Al the Hudson River comes from up north, I think it starts at the Great Lakes. Anyway, it dumps into New York Harbor near the Statue of Liberty. It is the water that seperates Manhattan from New Jersey.
On the northern tip of Manhattan is a tributary of the Hudson called the Harlem River, it comes off the Hudson and dumps into the east River near that picture I took with the two bridges in it. The East River is not really a river. It is an estuary that just goes from the Long Island Sound to New York Harbor, it is all salt water.
Manhattan as you know is an Island. It is an Island because to the north is the Harlem river, to the east is the East River, to the west is the Hudson River and to the south is New York Harbor.

This is the South Street Seaport which is also on the East River. Now it is a tourist spot but when I was a kid, my Dad who had a sea food market would take me there to get the fish for the week.
The fishing vessels would dock there and dump the fish right on the sidewalk. I would love to play with the fish. They would also have giant sea turtles alive on the sidewalk up sise down to sell for turtle soup. I use to climb up on them to play. I am so glad they don't do that anymore. At the time I didn't know what they were going to do with them.

BigAl07 · 07-23-2009, 04:32 PM

Wow! Paul thanks for the info. I would LOVE to have seen all of that.

The reason I asked bout the Hudson is that I flew off of the Hudson a few years back. Was an amazing thing to go down the river like a boat then take off and fly out over the ocean and then through "Jersey".... WOW!

Paul B · 07-23-2009, 04:42 PM

The Hudson is very wide near the city and it is fairly deep. The Intripid Aircraft carrier is docked there and the cruise ships that leave from NY leave from the Hudson. As it goes north it gets shallow.
There is a guy near my marina who owns three seaplanes and he pulls them into a garage in the Sound when he lands. He sometimes scares the hell out of me while I am on my boat. You don't expect to see a pland land right in front of you in the water. But after he lands, I have the right of way.
Seaplanes have the same seniority as a row boat.

BigAl07 · 07-23-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul B

...But after he lands, I have the right of way.
Seaplanes have the same seniority as a row boat.

See I learned something today. I didn't know that. I don't have my "Sea Plane" rating but I'd like to think I would learn that if I did.

I always thought that the rowboat, sailboat etc had right of way due to less power and maneuverability! I learned a new thing

Paul B · 07-23-2009, 06:19 PM

A sailboat has the right of way when he is sailing with the engine off. A rowboat has no such rights. He is supposed to know enough to stay out of the channels.
Another interesting thing about boat laws is that unlike auto's, you are never allowed to have an accident.
One of the rules of boating is to go at a safe enough speed to avoid an accident. If you have an accident, you were not going at a speed to avoid an accident and you would be held liable.

BigAl07 · 07-23-2009, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul B

.....If you have an accident, you were not going at a speed to avoid an accident and you would be held liable.

I LIKE that idea

07-23-2009, 07:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
Paul B Elegance coral Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,000 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Boat trip around Brooklyn There cones a time in a boaters life when he either dies or gets a larger boat. Last week we bought our fourth and probably last boat. It is a 27' Sea Ray. I got it at a steal and could not pass it up, and being we use the boat three or four times a week, there was no debate. I think my wife wanted it more than I did. For the last 30 years or so there was never a discussion of what we will be doing on the weekend, we spend it on the boat tied up with our boating friends. I still have the smallest boat in the crowd though. We bought the boat on the south shore of Long Island and our marina is on the north shore. To get there you have to go around the south shore, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens then to the north shore. The distance is 40 miles and about a third of that is in the ocean. The day was beautiful and the boat performed flawlessly except for loseing a fan belt on one engine under the Varazzano Bridge. I managed to get the belt back on as my friend drove the boat on the other engine. Thats not the place to get stuck. The area is a mass of oil tankers, cruise ships, high speed hydrofoil ferries, The Staten Island Ferry and cruise ships. I have made this trip a few times with my various boats or just to take a trip to Fire Island which is out east on the south shore. I am a lisenced Captain as is my friend who made the trip with me. Here we are preparing the boat in Seaford Long Island in one of my friends back yards. The first thing of course was to get gas. Gas is a little cheaper here After an hour or so you pass Coney Island. That is the famous Parachute Jump which has been closed and made into a historic site many years ago. This was taken with a zoom lenz as we were a few miles out. An hour later you come up to the Varazzino Bridge which connects Statin Island with Brooklyn. I lost a fan belt under here. This is my other boat These guys are all over the place. My Captains Lisence covers driving one of these also Then of course we come to the Statue Of Liberty, she was a little foggy that day but beautiful as always. Every time I sail by her I am reminded that my Grand Parents also saw the same sight over 100 years ago. Manhattan is always Manhattan. I worked there for 40 years as a construction electrician and worked on all of those buildings in the picture. Going up the East River which seperates Brooklyn from Manhattan you see many bridges. There are over 20 bridges to Manhattan and many tunnels. This is approaching Hells Gate a little farther up. We anchored to eat off of Historic Ft Totten which is not in the picture, then we continued east to my harbor and into my Marina to be greated by my family.

07-23-2009, 08:18 AM	#3 (permalink)
ReefLady Tridacna maxima Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 4,590 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Boat trip around Brooklyn Awesome boat, and great great pics! Love the story behind it. I could never be too far away from the ocean, and to me, the perfect day is spent on a boat. We've moved a little inland (about 40 min), but I could never bring myself to be more than an hour's drive from the shore. Thanks for sharing that.....makes me want to play hooky and go to the beach for the day, LOL! __________________ ~ Teri -------- "You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice." ~(currently tankless)~ Our 180g sps tank / DIY adventure (taken down in late 2006): Our 180g DIY Reef Project ---What's next????

07-23-2009, 01:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
fivel Serpent Star Join Date: May 2009 Location: NW Ohio Posts: 234 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: Boat trip around Brooklyn No matter how many pictures I see of Manhattan - I can still not get used to just how low lying it is compared to the water around it. Beautiful pictures!

07-23-2009, 02:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
lcstorc Sunshine Reefer Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Cocoa Fl Posts: 26,736 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Boat trip around Brooklyn Sounds like a wonderful time. Very different view from boating around here. Lots more to see. __________________ Peace LYNN Lynn and Franks saltwater adventure Lynn's 20g clown tank Lynn's 90g of sunshine Lynn's frag tank experiment A reef tank is like a race car. The faster you go the harder you crash

07-23-2009, 04:20 PM	#7 (permalink)
Paul B Elegance coral Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,000 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Boat trip around Brooklyn Thanks guys, Al the Hudson River comes from up north, I think it starts at the Great Lakes. Anyway, it dumps into New York Harbor near the Statue of Liberty. It is the water that seperates Manhattan from New Jersey. On the northern tip of Manhattan is a tributary of the Hudson called the Harlem River, it comes off the Hudson and dumps into the east River near that picture I took with the two bridges in it. The East River is not really a river. It is an estuary that just goes from the Long Island Sound to New York Harbor, it is all salt water. Manhattan as you know is an Island. It is an Island because to the north is the Harlem river, to the east is the East River, to the west is the Hudson River and to the south is New York Harbor. This is the South Street Seaport which is also on the East River. Now it is a tourist spot but when I was a kid, my Dad who had a sea food market would take me there to get the fish for the week. The fishing vessels would dock there and dump the fish right on the sidewalk. I would love to play with the fish. They would also have giant sea turtles alive on the sidewalk up sise down to sell for turtle soup. I use to climb up on them to play. I am so glad they don't do that anymore. At the time I didn't know what they were going to do with them.

07-23-2009, 04:42 PM	#9 (permalink)
Paul B Elegance coral Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,000 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Boat trip around Brooklyn The Hudson is very wide near the city and it is fairly deep. The Intripid Aircraft carrier is docked there and the cruise ships that leave from NY leave from the Hudson. As it goes north it gets shallow. There is a guy near my marina who owns three seaplanes and he pulls them into a garage in the Sound when he lands. He sometimes scares the hell out of me while I am on my boat. You don't expect to see a pland land right in front of you in the water. But after he lands, I have the right of way. Seaplanes have the same seniority as a row boat.

07-23-2009, 06:19 PM	#11 (permalink)
Paul B Elegance coral Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,000 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: Boat trip around Brooklyn A sailboat has the right of way when he is sailing with the engine off. A rowboat has no such rights. He is supposed to know enough to stay out of the channels. Another interesting thing about boat laws is that unlike auto's, you are never allowed to have an accident. One of the rules of boating is to go at a safe enough speed to avoid an accident. If you have an accident, you were not going at a speed to avoid an accident and you would be held liable.

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