The Professional Captain:
Cruising Chronicles of
Captain Don Fleming
from Red “2”, along the Westside of Man-
Captain Don Fleming is well known on the Hudson River
and Long Island Sound for his on-board training in docking, maneuvering, navigation, and electronics. He holds a
USCG Master of Oceans license for power and sail up to
100 tons and has over thirty years experience as a professional captain and as an educator. He is available for private onboard instruction. For additional information visit
www.captaindonfleming.com or call 914-941-3998
hattan, you’d notice there are no other
buoys in the channel. They’re unnecessary because there are no other obstructions, and the actual start of the Hudson
River Channel at the Battery is, in fact,
unmarked by buoys.
However, immediately south of the Bat-
BEWILDERING BUOYS/
CONFUSING CHANNELS
tery, on a direct line toward the Statue
of Liberty, there is a large, lighted buoy,
Green “31”, out in the middle of the river,
just east of Ellis Island. Many people are
confused as to why a large numbered
green buoy is placed at what appears
to be the start of the Hudson River Main
Channel.
A careful study of the nautical chart
solves the problem. It shows that rather
Battery Area
than marking the start of the Hudson,
this buoy marks the end of the famous
Ambrose Channel which begins twentytwo miles to the southeast in the Atlantic Ocean at the famous Ambrose Light
Tower (formerly the Ambrose Light Ship)
between Sandy Hook and Rockaway
Point.
THE PAPER NAUTICAL CHART:
Everyone knows “The 3 R’s”,
STILL YOUR PRIMARY REFERENCE
the
Whenever you come across a buoy that
“Red, Right, Returning Rule” for interpret-
has a strange or confusing number, you
ing buoys in a navigational channel. Is
have to trace it backwards or forwards or
there more to it than that? Yes there is.
both ways to determine which channel
Statue of Liberty
And, as most people realize, it can get
it belongs to, where that channel starts,
quite confusing at times.
Loyal readers of this column know the
“Returning” part of the “3 R’s” has nothing
River Channel, and the “3 R’s Rule” gets
from the system rather than re-number
flipped over to “Green, Left, Leaving”.
the entire roadway or channel.
Governors Island in foreground Manhat-
where it’s going, and where it ends. And,
tan to the left and Brooklyn to the right.
the old fashioned paper nautical chart is
the best way to do it.
to due with where you keep your boat.
These basics never change. In fact they
In other situations, it is not always so
For example, if a boat from the Haver-
form the foundation to correctly inter-
obvious whether or not you are returning
are now leaving may not be apparent.
be difficult to interpret correctly by the
cal on a GPS screen. The screen, even a
untrained eye.
large one, is still much smaller than the
This simple procedure is not very practi-
straw Bay area takes an afternoon cruise
preting more complex channels. In some
or leaving. There are intersecting chan-
This can result in confusion regarding the
up river to West Point, they are leaving
channels, for example, the buoys may
nels which cross each other or meet at a
correct side to pass a particular buoy.
their homeport in a landlubber’s view-
not line up in pairs and can appear to be
point but are returning in the Hudson
arranged in a scattered fashion. Some-
River channel in a navigational viewpoint.
times buoys may be missing. They may
This is because they are returning inland
have been damaged by a storm or colli-
paper chart, even the ones in the chart
“T”. There can be one channel from a cer-
There are several other circumstances
CRUISING TO THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
books. The buoys and other vital infor-
tain direction leading into a bay behind an
that can make the interpretation of the
For example, if you were to cruise down
mation on modern electronic charts are
island or a cluster of islands and another
basic “3 R’s Rule” challenging.
Fortu-
the Hudson to the Statue of Liberty and
often layered and some buoys can only
channel or several channels leading into
nately, very few of these circumstances
observe the buoys, you’d realize that the
be seen at a close-up zoom level. It’s dif-
first buoy in the Hudson River Channel,
ficult to see the directional flow of an
from the open sea toward Albany or the
sion. They may have been removed on
the same area from different directions.
occur on the Hudson River. However, the
Federal Lock at Troy. Conversely when
purpose when the original obstruction
In these cases it can be confusing where
waters beyond: the Upper and Lower Bays
Red “2”, is all the way up at the George
unfamiliar channel from a close-up zoom
Washington Bridge, some ten miles
level, and when you zoom out to view the
that same boat turns around at, let’s say,
was cleared. Like an exit that is closed on
one channel ends and the other begins.
of New York Harbor, Long Island Sound,
Constitution Island to return home, they
a highway, it is more practical to simply
Furthermore, the crucial transition point
and the Barnegat Bay, to name a few, are
north of the start of the channel at the
larger area, some buoys may disappear
where you are no longer returning and
known for confusing channels that can
Battery. If you continued down the river
as the layers of information are pealed
are leaving, navigationally, in the Hudson
28
May 2011
remove the number of that exit or buoy
www.boatingonthehudson.com
www.boatingonthehudson.com
May 2011
29
away.
In many cases you cannot find the other
buoys in the channel unless you already
know their approximate location, and can
zoom back in on them.
This is one of the few remaining selling
points in what is becoming a hard sell
these days: trying to convince boaters to
use the good old, tried and true, paper
nautical chart. These papyrus scrolls of
recent maritime antiquity do not layer
the buoys or other vital information. Yes,
they do sequence the reader from wide
area (small scale) to small area (large
scale) charts to get further details, but all
the vital information including the buoys
appear on each chart in full view. Nothing
disappears in layers.
The other selling point for the continued
use of paper charts in the electronic age
is that they are the safest way to place
risky practice far too commonly followed
first buoy you’d encounter would be
these days. As previously mentioned, it
lighted buoy Red “18” about one half mile
is much too easy to miss an important
north of the Williamsburg Bridge. Should
buoy marking a dangerous shoal or con-
you leave it to port or starboard? Are you
fusing channel because of the relatively
returning or leaving? Another “Bewilder-
small size of the screen compared to the
ing Buoy”?
paper chart and the aforementioned layering of information.
Think about this: you are entering New
York Harbor on an ocean liner bound
If you do not believe me, try figuring
from Europe and you realize you are
out the explanation of lighted buoy,
returning navigationally. You then reach
Green “31” at Ellis Island by tracing its
the Battery and head up the East River. In
channel back to the source on your GPS
your mind you assume you must be still
screen alone, and you will see what I
returning. Makes sense? You’re still head-
mean. Then, try it on the appropriate
ing inland, deeper into the Harbor from
paper charts (MAPTECH Region 3 Chart-
the Atlantic Ocean, right? The answer
kit pages 15, 50 & 51) or MAPTECH Water-
is “No” to all these assumptions. Why?
proof Chart # 8 “New York Harbor and
Because they are based on a landlubber’s
Approaches”, and you will be convinced
perspective.
of what I’m saying.
This is an interesting dilemma from a
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The very process of placing pencil
dots for waypoint locations on the
chart as you are focused on the
flow of the channel also provides
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waypoint is placed on the correct side of the buoy. This avoids
the embarrassment and possible
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As you transfer the waypoints
them together in your route with
the paper chart along side, you
Cruising up the East River
have the ability to double check
your accuracy. This gives you the
confidence to trust the electronic
route, and that is a very good thing
If you were to continue your cruise from
River could actually start at either end:
Creating routes directly on the screen
the Statue of Liberty by heading up the
Throgs Neck or the Battery. Only by refer-
without consulting the paper chart is a
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U.S. Coast Pilot: Atlantic Edition, the commercial ship version
Understanding the directional flow of the buoys in East
of Roosevelt Island directly in front of the United Nations
resolved. The Coast Pilot states that the East River is “consid-
River Channel is also important for interpreting several green
Building. Keeping the green, the top color, to starboard
ered to begin” at Throgs Neck. In using the word “considered”
and red junction buoys you will encounter along the route.
puts us in the primary channel along the Manhattan side
they are implying that there are two possibilities, and they are
The key concept, that you are leaving the East River as soon
and keeping the red, the bottom color, to port puts us in the
recognizing that they have made an arbitrary decision favor-
as you enter it at the Battery and that red buoys will be kept
secondary channel along the Queens side.
ing one over the other, namely that it officially begins at Throgs
to port and greens to starboard allows us to interpret the
LEAVING UPON ENTERING
It turns out that this Red “18” is the last buoy in the East River
Channel, and because we would be leaving the East River as
soon as we entered it at the Battery on our hypothetical cruise,
we would leave buoy Red “18” on our left, to port. It would be
great if there was a large “You Are Now Leaving” sign at this
point, but I have yet to see one.
The actual start of the East River Channel is out at the Throgs
off Whitestone Point between the Throgs Neck and Whitestone
Bridges on the Queens side of the channel.
of New York Harbor. The Ambrose Channel flows in from the
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If you think about it, this makes the Battery the hub, if you will,
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toward the big turn at Rikers Island, the same is true for green
and red buoy “ER” about a half mile southwest of North and
South Brother Islands and green and red buoy “C” which sits
between the “Brother Islands” and Rikers Islands. Both are
kept to starboard if one intends to stay in the East River Channel because, once again, you’re still leaving.
LONG ISLAND SOUND: LEAVING UPON ENTERING, AGAIN
If you continue out the East River into Long Island Sound at
Throgs Neck, you are immediately leaving Long Island Sound
as soon as you enter it. You cannot trust your own perspective: that because you are now entering Long Island Sound,
this must be the beginning of it. The key to understanding
this is, once again, the directional flow of the buoys in the
channel. Immediately next to Throgs Neck is Red “48”, which
is the last, not the first buoy in The Sound. The first buoy is
at “The Race” all the way out at the eastern end between the
north fork of Long Island and the western tip of Fishers Island,
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flow of the buoys reveals that Green “11” technically marks the
ing again, this buoy at “The Race” is Green “11”, not Green “1”
as you might expect for the start of the channel. Tracing the
western end of Block Island Sound at its border with the start
of Long Island Sound. So, it’s leaving upon entering again,
green buoys to starboard, as you head into Block Island Sound
as well.
As you can see, there is more to figuring out bewildering
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buoys and confusing channels than the simple “3 R’s”. This rule
845-297-4767
90 LYONS LANE, MILTON, NY 12547
www.boatingonthehudson.com
is the fundamental principle, but understanding the flow of
the channel inbound and outbound is the essential next step.
Prudent navigators always study the paper chart beforehand
and plan out an accurate route before departing. The view
T& R Marina
of Piermont
from the pilot house, flybridge or cockpit out to the horizontal
surface of the water is the worse possible place to attempt to
interpret a channel. Flying by the seat of your pants is dangerous.
RESERVE YOUR SLIP NOW
Have a great start to the season.
“Quick’s the word and sharp’s the action.” See you next
time from wherever the winds blow us.
The above comments are general suggestions. They are not
intended to be used for navigational purposes. Individual captains are ultimately responsible for setting proper courses and
safely navigating their vessels by relying on their own knowledge, judgment and experience to determine the correct
FOR THE COMING 2011 SEASON
A FULL SERVICE MARINA
T&R Marina of Piermont, New York is located just two
miles south of the Tappan Zee Bridge. We are within
walking distance to the beautiful village of Piermont.
We have fifty-five slips (many finger slips), twelve
moorings, jet ski platforms, transient slips and a
LAUNCH RAMP. We even have daily boat rentals. Just
call ahead to reserve for 1/2 day or full day rental.
action in any given situation.
Call Tony at: 845-359-6308
© Captain Don Fleming 2011
675 Piermont Avenue
Piermont, New York 10968
www.trmarina0.tripod.com
www.boatingonthehudson.com
May 2011
35