Cruising New York - Upper Bay
The Upper Bay of New York Harbor begins at the entrance to the Harbor at The Narrows between Brooklyn to the East and Staten Island to the West. It extends about 5 NM to the foot of Manhattan. It's about 2 NM wide. NOAA Chart 12327 covers this area. Navigation is easy with plenty of water and good markings, but currents can come from different directions depending on the tide.
After passing Staten Island, which is part of New York, in the narrows, all the land to the west is again New Jersey, mostly Bayonne in the Upper Bay. New Jersey faces New York City across the Hudson for the remainder. The land to the East is the Industrial waterfront of Brooklyn.
Cruising into the Upper Bay, the Statue of Liberty is prominent on the western side of the Bay. Located on a small island known as Liberty Island, which along with Ellis Island, immediately north, are part of New York, a matter of some dispute with New Jersey, to which they are much closer. Ellis Island was the entry point for millions of immigrants coming to America. List the Statue of Liberty, it is now a tourist attraction and national monument. Neither Liberty Island nor Ellis Island permit docking, except for tourist ferries, and both are surrounded by a security zone that does not allow approach. These zones are strictly enforced.
Opposite Liberty and Ellis Islands, on the east side of the Upper Bay is Governors Island. It was long a major Coast Guard installation, but when they left, the federal government remained the owner, but without a tenant and it sat closed and vacant for some years. Washington turned it over to New York City and plans are underway to develop it and open it to the public. A large channel passes behind Governors Island, past the Brooklyn industrial waterfront and into the East River.
Above this point lies the Island of Manhattan, the New York City borough of Manhattan, also known as New York County. To many, Manhattan is New York City, but it is actually just a part.