Cruising Guide to New York City

Disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive cruising guide to New York City, but a summary of our experience and recommendations and what we believe would be interesting to fellow travelers. If you have additional recommendations, please feel free to reach out.

Arriving in New York City by boat was definitely a highlight of our 2024 trip. Despite being a New Yorker, Josh had never been to the city. We had heard the cheapest place for us to be would be in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. We stayed there for a few nights and explored Coney Island and took the metro in to Manhattan to visit a few friends. Then we fueled up in Jersey City before anchoring behind the Statue of Liberty to get ready to go north up the East River. At 2 a.m. we weighed anchor and scooted through the river without another boat in sight. After getting through the river, we grabbed a mooring ball in Port Washington where moorings are free for the first 24 hours.

Mooring

Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club

A day before we were scheduled to arrive in New York City, I called and emailed Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club and Miramar Yacht Club. These are neighboring clubs located in Brooklyn. I was able to text Miramar Yacht Club who said they had no availability for a 50′ sailboat. I got a response through email from SBYC who said they did have availability. They texted coordinates, but when we arrived the coordinates were wrong (not the first time this was going to happen) and the closest ball that looked empty didn’t have a pennant to tie to. The shuttle boat came by to ask us what we were looking for and when we told them our dilemma, they pointed us to another ball and then drove away.
These balls only had short lines to be used to quickly go over the bow cleats. Due to our freeboard, we were too high for the lines to reach (plus we wouldn’t want to use their lines anyway). Thankfully there was zero wind. Once we were able to somewhat catch the line, I put the ladder over the side to climb near the ball and loop our lines through. All this was done while the shuttle boat was just watching us.
Cost: $50/night. Besides anchoring, this is the cheapest way to be in New York City.
Tides: With a 6.5 ft draft, we had to wait until high tide to come in and out of the Bay. The bottom is shifty and even the notes on Navionics are old as far as which marker to hug. The best way to know the most recent route is to watch the ferry go in and out.

Port Washington Town Mooring

Town moorings are free for the first 24 hours. Afterwards, they are $35/night with a shuttle.
The Town Dock is located in front on Sunset Park. The other dinghy dock is located in front of Bay Walk Park
The metro station is 1 miles from the Town Dock, east on Main Street.
- Take the Long Island Rail Road to Manhattan.

Fuel

Jersey City – Liberty Landing Marina, 80 Audrey Zapp Drive, Jersey City, NJ 07305
- $4.10/gallon

Anchorages

Statue of Liberty

The best place to stage for go up the East River is behind the Statue of Liberty. We left Sheepshead at high tide mid afternoon and made it over to the fuel dock in Jersey City before anchoring behind the Statue at sunset. At that point, we felt like we had finally made it. We weren’t to Maine just yet but we had made it north of the Chesapeake into territory we weren’t familiar with.
The boat traffic can make the area choppy but once everyone leaves for the evening, it was perfectly calm.