Anchoring and Mooring around New York
Gypsy Dancer spent more than two weeks in and around New York in September / October 2006. For the benefit of other cruisers here's what we learned. This is not a comprehensive guide!
79th Street Yacht Basin moorings.
Very convenient for Manhattan - its on the Hudson River at the end of 79th Street West a few blocks west of Central Park. $30 US per night per boat. Subject to wash in the river which can be very bad at times.
There is no tender service (it states in some cruising guides that there is) so ideally you need an outboard to cope with the strong currents in the river. My tender didn't then have an outboard... one evening we very nearly had an involuntary sight-seeing trip down the Hudson when we missed GD by a few feet! There's a cycle way that runs right down to The Battery.
Great Kills Harbour, Staten Island. Its possible to anchor in this quiet and well protected bay in restricted room north of all the moorings. The approach channel needs careful navigation although we were fine at nearly low tide with 6' draft. Great Kills Yacht Club is the northern-most club on the east bank and has GKYC in large letters on the roof, although you can't see this from the anchorage as its obscured by trees. We parked the dinghy at Great Kills Yacht Club who kindly didn't charge us. Do talk to them as you will need the code for the gates to get in when the club is locked. Local bus and Staten Island Ferry takes you to The Battery in southern Manhattan in about an hour. $2 for the bus and the ferry is free. You can tie up at the yacht club as well at $2 per foot per night and use their showers.
Large supermarket about a mile away in a plaza. Small chandlery in the marina and the bait shop opposite has some hardware, charts and books.
City Island. (web site) Located at the western (New York) end of Long Island Sound. Anchorages east and west of the island. If west there's a small beach immediately south of City Island Yacht Club (in behind the club's pontoon, between it and the block of flats - it disappears at high tide but is clearly visible at low tide) where you can land your dinghy at the end of Pilot Street.
There are full service marinas on City Island if you need more serious work on your boat.
City Island Yacht Club offers moorings at $35 per night per boat (7th night free if you pay for 6) with a 24 hour tender service during the summer and early autumn - up to 21st October in 2006 and at more restricted hours at other times of the year. Contact them on VHF Ch. 72. Good wifi in the club house. Friendly and helpful staff. Easy to find as its just north of the block of flats 1/2 a mile north of southern end of the island. It shows Red / Green / Red fixed vertical lights from the club flagstaff at night.
Stuyvesant Yacht Club just north of City Island YC offers moorings and a similar tender service at $25 per boat per night. Contact also on Ch. 72.
New York can be reached by local bus x29 to Pelham Bay Parkway (runs every 30 mins. or so) and then subway line 6 to Manhattan - takes about an hour in total.
Supermarket and other shops along the main road. Good chandlery 'The Bridge' in the small road east of where the bridge exits the island at the north end. There is also a West Marine Express store on the main road 1/4 mile before the bridge on the east side of the main street.
There's a NYPD shooting range on the mainland near City Island which can be quite noisy but they don't shoot all night.
Atlantic Heights (Sandy Hook)
At the southern end of New York Harbour tucked down behind Sandy Hook, Atlantic Heights offers a large mooring field and limited - very limited - anchorage space. You can reach Manhattan by the Fastcat ferry service. It is apparently possible to anchor in behind Sandy Hook proper, but this looks a very exposed place to anchor.