L.I. Sound & Sandhole Question???
 

I am looking to make day trips down the Hudson from Peekskill area into the Sound. I'm looking for a good spot to beach it or anchor with sandy beaches to bring my kids and spend the day.I have heard of some suggestion such as Port Jeff or the "sand hole" but I'm not to familiar about accessability and locations of these or possible others spots .Any help would be appreciated. Kevin

After looking up Port Jeff on Mapquest, it might be a little far of a ride to make with little kids . I guess I'm looking for something on the Western side of the sound within an hour from Hell's Gate (east river).Thanks again

what's out on the jersey side?...or LI's south side...i know there is a nice public beach with bbq and potties next to rye playland....but it's only ok...don't recall a local marina..just the beach

PJ is a nice spot, but better suited for an adult overnite....

Cold Spring is a place I have gone to swim and you can hit Glen Cove for dinner on the way back. When do you want to go? water must still be to cold to swim.

Water is definatley still to cold. I'm heading out early Sunday from Peekskill to make a test run down to Sandy hook then I was going to head over to Jones Beach inlet to see how long of a ride it was before I drag the kids along. So I was thinking since I was down that way I would head home via the East river and maybe see how long of a ride back it was from the "sandhole " or somewhere else in the Sound where I could beach up the boat and take the kids for the day.

If you decide to hit Port Jeff you can use my mooring in Pirates Cove which is on the east side of the inlet. Making a weekend of it would be your best bet rather than a day trip. Danfords has slips available but reserve first. They will have showers and everything you need. Restaurant is pricey and the food sucks. There's tons of restaurants in town and your wife will love the window shopping.

Thanks for the offer I hope i'll be able to take you up on it.

Is the Sandhole located near Port Jeff .After doing a search on it the only thing I came up with was something called "Belle terre lagoon" or Cold Spring Harbor ?

Cold Spring harbor is west of PJ and I'm not too familiar with it. The Sandhole in PJ is known as Pirates Cove. This was actually a sand mine from the 30's into the 50's. What I wuld suggest is taking an inflatable from the mooring onto land or its a short swim from the mooring. If your into roughing it your able to set up a tent on land which most people do. Head into Danfords to take a shower but they will charge the slip by the hour. There are two old wooden barges that the kids need to stay away from. Years ago my kid stepped on a spike that almost went through his foot. Do obey the speed limit when you get into the channel. There is a floating pump out station in the harbor.

Thanks Cig1988, I'll make the run out to PJ tommorrow on my way back from Sandy hook. And see how long of a ride it is back home . Thanks for the Help.

From Sandy Hook I believe it takes me roughly an hour to an hour and a half to get to the Sand Hole. I haven't been there in a long time but I don't remember it being extremely far once you got thru hells gate. It's a really nice place!

Jones Inlet is roughly 30 minutes from Sandy Hook.

If you ever bring the family to Sandy Hook there are a bunch of places you can go to including Party Island, Airforce Cove and a bunch of restaurants that dock/dine.

If you ever need anything just let me know!

Frank

If you get over to Jones Inlet take a look at Short Beach..... It is on the eastern side of the inlet just behind the Coast Guard station....... I am there most weekends..... They have bathroom facilities, barbecues, a beach to beach your boat and plenty of slips.

port jeff is about 45 miles or so from the east river.im about 5 miles west of pj in smithtown bay and i drove into nyc thru hellgate down east river around nyc, up to the gw bridge then down the harlem river and back and it was about 120 miles,give or take a few.WATER LAST WEEKEND WAS 65 DEG

The last time I was at Sandy hook was in my dads boat when I was a kid so I'm looking foward to seeing it again. Can you give me a better idea where Party Island and Air force cove is ,I'll head there tommorrow to check it out.

Thanks Kevin

Thats were I was headed tommorow ( short beach) after Sandy hook. I was stationed at the Jones Beach Coast guard station about 20 years ago and remember Short beach being a great hang out back then .I Know its since been redone and wanted to check it out.

Cant wait to leave tommorrow.:boat:

Stop at west marine and get some charts.What you want to do in one day sounds a bit much. Also do you have a gps on board? Its a good thing to have running the outside of south LI. Check wind speed and direction before heading south of NYC harbor. And I would cruise out to the sound for a day trip with you . Maybe get some Hudson guys together and go as a group.

The official "sand hole" is west of Port Jeff. Once in Port Jeff, on the left side there is another sand hole with dunes for the kids to play on. I just didn't want you to think that the official sand hole is in Port Jeff...it's actually closer to you.

I have lotsa charts of the area , I also have a Garmin Chart plotter GPS. I familiar with the locations I'm heading to and have been there before .I'm just not sure of the exact locations of various spots to bring the kids .

As for a bit much , I'll make the Sandy hook & Jones beach run since they are fairly close together and then I'll decide at Hells gate if I have time to make the 2 hour round trip out to the Sandhole.

I would definatley like to hook up sometime and make the run as a group. Kevin

I just tried to call you but I must have the wrong # . If you can call me tonight .

Sure! When you go under the Verrazanno Bridge you'll see a large building south of you on top of a large hill. Head straight for the building and it will bring you just west of Sandy Hook, then head for the building and it will bring you right into the channel. Party Island will be named "Spermacetti Cove" on a chart. Picture 1 and 2 are pictures of the area. You enter the cover via. the false channel which is NOT marked but has deep water, just follow someone in... I'll be in Olrando tomorrow so I can't help.

Airforce Cove is a little further up. You go past the Atlantic Highlands bridge and after the bridge you stay to your right and enter the Navesink River. Be sure to follow all the markers and don't go out of the channel. You'll see a bunch of boats anchored on the right hand side, DON'T turn right YET. Proceed past the small island and go about 1000 ft and hang a right to get into the cove.

If you have a GPS with the local chips you can see the false channel by Sandy Hook and you can also see the false channel that gets you into Airforce Cove. If you want to get some lunch, check out Windansea dock and dine. http://www.windanseanj.com/

Great places to hang out!! If you just want to anchor, hit Airforce Cove. If you want to get off the boat and hang out on the beach, head to Party Island. At Party Island you can easily beach the boat on the east side of the sand finger. Here's a link to the party that's held at Party Island every year! http://www.lucidideefastboats.com/2007islandbash.html

Frank

Thanks panther, I couldnt ask for more. Thanks Kevin

Hope you had a great time, looks like the weather was awesome!

I'm stuck in Orlando doing a trade show for work...... rats!

Sand Hole is a crescent shaped lagoon on the tip of Lloyd's Neck with Oyster Bay to the west side and Huntington Harbor to the east. It's a wonderful spot on a summer weekend to hang, swim, eat, whatever. There's usually 50 boats or so anchored on a nice summer day, and quite a few overnighters also. You must use caution though when navigating through the narrow inlet to the lagoon. There are no markers at all and local knowledge is a must to ingress/egress the lagoon. Your best bet is to follow the locals exactly. At low tide there is maybe two feet of water and you need to follow a strict path, at high tide the rock jetty and sand bar at the west side of the channel is hidden and could ruin your day. If you have any questions, just hang and wait until a local shows you the way in or out, there's plenty of traffic at Sand Hole and the wait won't be long. Once you're in though it's a very cool spot, it could be choppy as heck in the Sound and not a ripple inside the lagoon, perfect for hanging or rafting up.

Thanks Everyone
 

The results are in:

Myself and my friend had an awesome day that started at 6am and covering 235+ miles and burning LOTSA fuel . That started in Peekskill to Sandy Hook to Jones Beach to Port Jeff then back to Peekskill.

Sandy hook was the fastest and easiest to get to and took about 1 1/2 hours from Peekskill .Thanks Panther for the great info or I would still be aground now.I went a little wide coming aroung the horn into the cove and sand blasted my skeeg to a nice silver color.

Next stop was Jones Beach which was the farthest and most difficult to get to of the three at a little over 2 hours from Peekskill.Which is a shame since it was so nice with ths park on the other side of the bay.At least I got to run offshore and got some nice airtime off some nice rollers.

Last stop was Port Jeff which due to a 3rd degree sunburn and blood coming from my ears from hours of blower whine I never made it into the cove and turned around in the inlet.PJ came in at about 1 3/4 hours from Peekskill.I will definatley be making this trip again in the very near future.

All in all it was a perfect day and I'd like to say thanks to everyone for your help. I cant wait for the next trip with the family. Kevin

Was wondering where the heck you were. I saw the boat on the lift , Saks too !!!

Kevin , I'm mad I didn't read this thread earlier , I'd have been glad to show you the way in too. I did make it out there , what a nice day!!!!!!

Awesome! I look forward to meeting you guys next time and I'll bring the family out as well!

used to make a lot of runs up the Haverstraw when I had the Scarab but with the Apache I run the ocean. I haven't run to Peekskill in a while so I'm probably overdue! With the newborn, maybe some hudson runs would be nice.

If you ever run to Jones again and it gets a little rough, duck intoRockaway Inlet and run the inside, it's about 15 minutes west of Jones.

I make most of my runs to Jones Inlet, good times on the high seas!!!! :)

Glad you guys had a good time..it sucks sitting here in a hotel room when there's good weather at home... Orlando was a balmy 94 with swamp azz humidity...

Yup...stuck here until Thursday..... I'll probably idle over to the island next weekend though! Gonna be savin the fuel for NYC the following weekend!:cool-smiley-026:

Just saw your post now. Sounds like you had a good time yesterday!

Congats on the new baby . Give me a shout if you venture north.

hey the sand hole is right before huntington. Its about 45 min. west of portjeff. cruising at 45