Nordic 37 Delivery Passage Questions

[Captain BW]

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!!

 

[ranger58sb]

Can't speak to NJ areas, but...

"Chesapeake" marinas should generally be open from Delaware City and the C&D Canal all the way down to Portsmouth/Norfolk.

FWIW, we're heading south from Annapolis circa (no earlier than) 1 Dec, don't expect marina/fuel/water availability issues. Might even see you near Southport eventually, as we pass through...

-Chris

 

[High Wire]

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!!

4- You can do the NJ ICW with your draft. I would recommend that you only travel on the top half of the tide. Maintenance dredging has been sketchy at best. Buoys/markers will be pretty good in the fall; bad in the early spring.
5- Manasquan/Pt Pleasant and Absecon / Atlantic City are easy stops. No need to do the whole NJ coast in one hop.
7- No. Active Captain or Waterway Guide is your best shot and that is dated info.
Fwiw- pretty much any time that you have homes or docks on either side of the channel you are in a No Wake zone whether it’s marked or not.

 

[Circumnavigator]

Hell Gate at full spring tide is a swirly mass of water with four entrances. It's wide enough so that it's not a real problem unless you run into traffic, which you will see on the AIS. We've been through it in all three boats without incident without worrying about the state of the tide.

The East River is great sightseeing. The only alternative is to go outside Long Island, which would not be my choice that time of year. You might go on the east side of Roosevelt Island if you can get under a 40 foot bridge.

Keep your best radio on channel 13 and don't hesitate to call any vessel if you have any doubts about their intentions. My experience is that the pros are uniformly polite and appreciative of amateurs who ask how they would like you to pass/be passed.

There are many good anchorages in Long Island Sound all the way to the first bridge.

There are marinas on both sides of the Verrazano bridge, several in Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island, and one at the Northwest corner of Coney Island which I've been in. Sandy Hook is not very well protected unless you go five miles south of the tip, so that's never been my choice.

Can't help with New Jersey -- we've always done it in straight shots down the coast.

Jim

Sweetwater -- Swan 57 sloop on which we circumnavigated 1995-98
Fintry -- x Royal Navy Fleet Tender -- owned 2003-2022 18,000 miles including trans-Atlantic The Fleet Tender Fintry
Morning Light -- Webbers Cove 42 single screw trawler 2021- 23
Probably going back to sailing now that Morning Light is sold.

 

[TJM]

Port Washington on Long Island is an easy harbor just before Hell Gate. Safe harbor has free transients if you are a member. I have done the exact opposite route a few times on deliveries. I am in Essex. What boat are you buying, name ? What is your cruising speed?
In Long Island sound travel on either the Ct side on NY side to avoid kicked up seas.

 

[ranger58sb]

Can't speak to NJ areas, but...

"Chesapeake" marinas should generally be open from Delaware City and the C&D Canal all the way down to Portsmouth/Norfolk.

FWIW, we're heading south from Annapolis circa (no earlier than) 1 Dec, don't expect marina/fuel/water availability issues. Might even see you near Southport eventually, as we pass through...

Modifying my original statement a bit... you might find some Chesapeake marinas en route only have fresh water at their fuel dock... if they have one... starting sometime circa Nov 15th and depending on actual weather after that.

-Chris

 

[Captain BW]

Tom, We are working on the purchase of Long May You Run. 2006 Nordic 37 Flybridge.

Thank you to everyone so far for your replies.

 

[kthoennes]

Ah, Essex, my home territory. Spend lots of great summers sailing my Blue Jay on the river and LI Sound. And we ran our current boat from Newport to Albany a few years ago, with a side excursion up the river as far as Haddam, and an overnight at Essex Island Marina. You're turning south when you get to New Jersey, we turned north up the Hudson, but I found the LI run very easy. I was very apprehensive about the East River and the run around New York (they call it "Hell's Gate" after all) but it was all easy and great fun. Our boat is a pig too, despite the large 454's it's a relatively slow boat, but the East River turned out to not be a big deal. Yes, we got shoved around quite a bit but nothing the boat couldn't handle. Then we closely followed a significantly larger cruiser all the way to the south tip of Manhattan and across to Liberty Landing Marina. That was really the only tense part of the run because of the heavy traffic in the harbor. Had to dodge and weave and anticipate the ferries and other vessels, but I ran the engines up for a little more speed and we got through it relatively quickly. Felt good to reach the canal on the New Jersey side though.

I can only comment on the Essex to Manhattan piece, but we had a ball. The first day out of Essex we left early, had lunch at Captain's Cove (Bridgeport, on the CT side) and then did the long diagonal run to Northport for a night at Seymour's Boatyard. Great town, we had a blast, although the landing didn't go well and I'm not sure I'd recommend Seymour's, but that's just me. Very tight entry, lots of traffic, severe winds and we got blown into a tight mooring field trying to find the assigned slip ("Next to the Bayliner!") And then the next day we did the run from Northport to Liberty Landing and watched the fireworks over the Statue of Liberty. Boy that was fun, wish we were going with you.

 

[Osprey69]

To make the passage easier (what marina is open, what is not, and on what basis it is open) we went straight down NJ. But we had 4 crew aboard. 3 very experienced and 1 who could stand watch comfortably. That time of year we wanted to make tracks. Was on a boat offshore once when it snowed under way. Never want to do that again!

 

[thataway]

One warning, We had salt water ice on the boat and skim ice on the surface in Norfolk. VA in early Dec. Unusual, but temp got down to 14* F. Coast guard boats had to use live steam to get lines off bollards. Radar on one cutter froze up. This was in 1983, with Gobal Warming this may not be a concern.

 

[jimfrens]

Been to Bruce & Johnson in Branford CT, and Safe Harbor Capri in Manhasset Bay NY at that time of year. Hit Hell Gate at high slack tide and you’ll have no problem. NJ ICW is ok from Barnegat or Manasquan to Atlantic City but no further south than that. Golden Nugget aka Farley State Marina is good at Atlantic City, 24 hour fuel (when it’s working). At Cape May I like South Jersey Marina.

 

[Trent]

1. Not sure about marinas being open but suggest you call some along your route and check. I imagine the ones in the Chesapeake will still be open.
2. Plenty of options on LI Sound. Prefer LI side. get close to start of Est River so you can hit it early in AM.
3. Hell Gate-East River. Start at slack water or for a more exciting run, hit it at about 2 hours before max. Fun ride as you pass under 7 bridges and the UN Building. You can easily go from Manhasset to Sandy Hook in one day, and it puts you in better position for the jump off to Atlantic City and Cape May.
4. From Sandy Hook, if weather is nice, take the short route to Atlantic City. Good marinas to stay at.
5. Don't delay. We left RI mid-October and had rotten, cold, rainy weather in the Chesapeake and ice on the deck in the Carolinas.

Lee
Encore, NT-37, FB

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Point #4 ??

Are you sure a 37 foot Nordic tug draws 4 feet, 4 inches? Hard to believe, better check.

pete

 

[RCook]

Mine says 4.5 feet.

 

[firehoser75]

Mine says 4.5 feet.

Yup, that is what Pilitak is.

 

[Captain BW]

According to the USCG documentation the boat we are trying to purchase is 4' 4" draft which is also what is listed on this spec sheet:
https://sentoa.org/Nordic Tug Physical Specification Diagrams.pdf

I suppose they could be incorrect.

 

[Osprey69]

Nordic Tugs are great boats and given the detail of that spec sheet and it is a an skeg protected prop, I think you can depend on that draft.

 

[Comodave]

I would have Mustang suits onboard for everyone with PLBs attached to each suit. Have the crew practice putting them on so it will be familiar in an emergency. One thing to make it easier is to put 2 plastic trash bags in each suit. When you go to put the suits on put the trash bags on your shoes and they will slide into the suit much more easily. Hopefully you will not end up in the water but at that time of the year it is good to be prepared.

 

[firehoser75]

Everyone does realize that 4.5 feet is the same as 4 foot 6 inches, meaning a difference of 2 inches? Is it possible that NT slightly changed the draft in a certain model year??? Dreamcatcher and Pilitak are both "older" boats (early 2000's).

I would suggest that if that 2 inches becomes "critical" then maybe you are not navigating in the best passages? And in this case, the 2 inches is in your favour (shallower listed draft not deeper).
For me personally, I tried to ensure a minimum depth of approx. 8+ feet, and would get "excited" (meaning would carefully look for deeper water) if I ever saw 6 feet deep. Around here many places have rocky bottoms and to "find one" (rock) on it's own sticking up would not be unheard of. For the most part, in these waters (BC coast) this (operating in deeper water) was never a challenge.
I would say you can rest at ease that the listed draft is correct (enough (within 2 inches)).

Good luck and enjoy your new (to you) Nordic Tug 37. We loved ours!!

 

[Captain BW]

I certainly appreciate the replies I have gotten so far. Thank you everyone!

 

[Captain BW]

Well, unfortunately we had to pass on the Nordic we were looking to buy...more because of the timing than the boat. I appreciate all who contributed their knowledge and comments. Thank you.