Around Manhattan

On our way north we went up the west side of Manhattan on the Hudson River. Just to be different, we decided to complete the loop around NYC. Manhattan is an island formed by the Hudson River on the west, the East River on the east and the Harlem River on the north. We left the Hudson and entered the Harlem River through Spuyten Duyvil. "Spuyten Duyvil" literally means "Devil's Spout" a reference to the strong and wild currents found at that location (to say the least!).

The Harlem River is not exactly the scenic route...mostly industrial warehouses and such. We did get to view both the current Yankee Stadium and the new one under construction (the Bronx is just to the north of the Harlem River. As we sound our way around the northern side of NYC we encountered numerous bridges that list no clearance heights. Many had only 25 feet (we need 24') and there was one that turned out to be 24' 6".

The Harlem River joins the East River at Hell Gate, an aptly named piece of water if there ever was one. We hit the East River at full ebb of 5 knots. We were spit through it like a watermelon seed! Basically, Long Island sound is dumping its water down the river to the ocean. Not only was it a fast current but very rough. With a strong southerly wind opposing the current we ran into some 4-5 ft waves.

Hell Gate used to be much more dangerous due to the many rocks in it. By the late 19th century, hundreds of ships had sunk in the strait.

On September 24, 1876, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used 50,000 pounds of

explosives to blast the dangerous rocks, which was followed by further blasting work. One explosion in Hell Gate was the largest planned man-made blast in history up until the Atomic Age. Photo: Chartplotter as we transit the East River at 13.9 mph. Red arrows are the current flow.

About the only thing to recommend about this route (other than the sense of accomplishment of living through it) is passing the United Nations. We also passed under the 59th Street Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge and over a few tunnels. We completed our circumnavigation of Manhatten a the Battery and continued past the Statue of Liberty and south under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. A very long day of over 70 miles ended at Sandy Hook, NJ.