Cruising Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is the large, deep body of water between Long Island and Connecticut to the North. It extends about 80 NM from the East River to Orient Point at the eastern end of Long Island's north shore. The Sound is about 16 NM wide for much of its center section. It is a tidal body with minimal tidal currents in the center but significant currents at both ends where The Sound narrows. NOAA Chart 12363, "Long Island Sound - Western Part" and 12354, "Long Island Sound - Eastern Part", present this area in large perspective. Several NOAA Charts are available with more detail of local areas.
Long Island Sound can be accessed through New York Harbor and the East River, for travel to Rhode Island, Massachusetts and points north, as well as for circumnavigation of Long Island either around Montauk Point or through The Great Peconic Bay and The Shinnecock Canal.
The Long Island coast consists of large bays and harbors accessible from The Sound. As the Long Island coast begins from the East River and Throggs Neck Bridge it includes Little Neck Bay and Manhasset Bay in which are Port Washington and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Following is Hempstead Harbor containing the Village of Glen Cove, then Oyster Bay and the village of Cold Spring Harbor. Next the larger Huntington Bay with the towns of Huntington and Northport. A little further out is Port Jefferson Harbor (40°58' N, 73°05' W) and the town of Port Jefferson. This covers about half the Long Island coast.
Mattituck Inlet (41°01' N, 73°33' W) is a run of about 25 NM from Port Jefferson. From Mattituck Inlet it's about 18 NM to Orient Point Light (41°10' N, 72°13' W). Rounding Orient Point through "Plum Gut" can include strong tidal currents. Behind is Gardiners Bay, Gardinars Island, Shelter Island, and the town of Greenport. Further in are the Little and Great Peconic Bays, where the Shinnecock Canal enters from the Long Island South Shore.
Along the northern shore of Long Island Sound, just east of the Throggs Neck Bridge is City Island, actually part of The Bronx, then the New York waterfront villages of New Rochelle, Larchmont and Mamaroneck. The rest of the coast belongs to Connecticut. The Villages of Greenwich, Stamford, Darien, Norwalk and Westport.
A marked deep channel enters Bridgeport Harbor, where an auto ferry may be seen crossing Long Island Sound to Port Jefferson. Just beyond Bridgeport Harbor is Stratford Point, marked by Stratford Point Light. Around the point is the Housatonic River which contains numerous marinas. Milford Harbor, leading to the town of Milford, is also packed with marinas. Further on a large channel leads to New Haven Harbor at New Haven, Ct.
The Connecticut River (41°15' N, 72°20' W) enters Long Island Sound just 8 NM across The Sound from Orient Point. New London Harbor (41°18' N, 72°04' W), about 12 NM east, leads to New London and Groton Connecticut, where Electric Boat Company has built submarines for so long. Montauk Point and the deep Atlantic is only about 18 NM out of New London Harbor.