We are going to Montauk this summer. Where else should we go?

[Jeremygavin]

We are heading down to Montauk this summer for our week long trip. We have our 11 and 8 year old girls with us. Looking for other places/marinas we should see in that area when we are down that way from MA. We were thinking Mystic for a few days and then head out to Montauk for 4 days and then hit Block On the way back but we are open to seeing new places.

 

[superwa]

Narraganset Bay is also awesome, places like Newport, Jamestown and Wickford.

 

[Ididntdoit]

newport - easy to grab a mooring, plenty of dinghy docks, arcade and other stuff for the kids - if you've already done npt or had enough of it jamestown is great too and there are plenty of moorings

napatree beach is a great anchorage with close access to watch hill by dinghy

in mystic, stay at the seaport or in the anchorage just past it - again, sheltered and safe

greenport or sag harbor would be nice stops too if you want to just stay in the "forks" of LI

further west saybrook point marina is a nice resort

I kind of chuckled when I read going to Montauk.....you mentioned in your other thread about anchoring out b/c of the high transient cost.....i think MYC is up to $10/ft per night.....

looks like my home port will be mystic this season - it would be fun to get together at some point if you guys are around

 

[Jeremygavin]

newport - easy to grab a mooring, plenty of dinghy docks, arcade and other stuff for the kids - if you've already done npt or had enough of it jamestown is great too and there are plenty of moorings

napatree beach is a great anchorage with close access to watch hill by dinghy

in mystic, stay at the seaport or in the anchorage just past it - again, sheltered and safe

greenport or sag harbor would be nice stops too if you want to just stay in the "forks" of LI

further west saybrook point marina is a nice resort

I kind of chuckled when I read going to Montauk.....you mentioned in your other thread about anchoring out b/c of the high transient cost.....i think MYC is up to $10/ft per night.....

looks like my home port will be mystic this season - it would be fun to get together at some point if you guys are around

Thanks Mike. We go to Newport/ Narragansett a few times a year (The boat is in Warwick for the winter) so looking for ports farther South that we haven’t been to yet. I will check out some of the other places you pointed out. I think the reason the anchoring out question started because we did the math on a slip for 4 days in Montauk. We still like having the resort feel we go to places like Nantucket Boat basin and Newport so we will continue to go to marinas like that. I the last we were at a slip every night. This are looking for moorings to compliment a nice marina when on a longer trip.

 

[Rocket]

We are heading down to Montauk this summer for our week long trip. We have our 11 and 8 year old girls with us. Looking for other places/marinas we should see in that area when we are down that way from MA. We were thinking Mystic for a few days and then head out to Montauk for 4 days and then hit Block On the way back but we are open to seeing new places.

I think you have the perfect itinerary! Mystic stay in the seaport, you will have to wait for the bridges to open but it is great for kids. I would do 3 nights here so you have 2 full days. Hit the aquarium one day.
Montauk, stay at the yacht club. Hit the beach at ditch plains, take a surf lesson for the entire family. Go one day to Gurneys they are a sister resort and have a shuttle service. use the beach there and facilities. Restaurants to eat at: Salivars, West lake chowder house, Gossmans dock, Inlet. I would do 3 nights here as well.
Block - stay at Champlians, perfect for kids, try and plan for mon-thurs as it is less hectic with the rafting. Eat at he Oar, BBQ one night. Dead eye Dicks. Best beach!! go to State beach.
If you want to add another port you can do 1 night at Watch Hill RI. hit that on the way to Mystic, or when leaving mystic. This was a such a great little town and awesome beach as well.
I say do Montauk, Mystic, Watch hill, BI.

 

[saopm]

If you haven’t been, try Mitchel Park Marina in Greenport for two night. I keep my boat out there. My girls at 10, 8, and 3. There’s always things to do out there for the kids. Town has a carousel at the marina, nice lawn area for the kids to run, roller rink, movie theater, fire boat tour, maritime museum, great restaurants, ice cream, Greenport brewery, vineyards via Uber, etc.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I grew up in Mystic..and worked there in my early years. Even worked at the Mystic Seaport Museum for almost 10 years. It's a great place to tie up for a few days, gorgeous grounds, the exhibits, lots of things to do. Technically can walk to downtown Mystic.

Also several marinas right in downtown Mystic, both sides of the river by the drawbridge, so easy walking to restaurants and bars and the shops.

I also second Mitchells in Greenport...gorgeous place centered right on the town green...in the pictures forum I put up some pics from a trip there around September. Mitchells is a pretty low price off holidays, for our 33 loa I think ~120 bucks/night last time we went.

For a day trip, or overnight on the hook, Napatree Point is great. At the mouth of the Pawcatuck River...corner of CT and RI, I grew up boating there, Sandy Point, Watch Hill, etc.

Day trip..inside of Fishers Island is also a great hangout. Sheltered waters, great views. I do a lot of work out on Fishers Island regularly.

We're planning on two trips to Greenport this summer, and another out at Sag Harbor.

For a good early part of my life spent a lot of time going out to block island from Mystic on an antiquer (that's still on the Mystic River). But BI has turned into quite a...hectic mess of boozers.

 

[bmac]

Jeremy

I think you've got all the ports identified by others on this thread. When my kids were the age of yours they could tolerate about 4 hours underway before they got antsy. If you don't need to stop at BI to break the trip up I would definitely do MYC for 4 nights, you can really get the feel and relaxation of the resort over that duration. Your best choices after that are Greenport or Shelter Island. They are very different ports. In Greenport you can stay at the town marina (Mitchell Park) which is right in the middle of everything or you can stay at Townsend Manor marina, which has a pool, bar and restaurant and bbq area and is about a 10 minute walk to downtown. On Shelter Island there's two marinas, Island Boatyard and Marina and Coecles Harbor Marina. Although both have a pool, Island Boatyard is more suited to kids. Shelter Island is a VERY quiet destination. Great restaurants, interesting scenery but it's no more than a 2 night port, unless you're just looking to unwind. I wouldn't bother with Sag Harbor or East Hampton, not much for kids there. On the south shore of Long Island, further west of Montauk is the Westhampton Bath and Tennis Club, but it requires you to enter either Shinnecock or Moriches inlets and transit the ICW. Further west is the Federal park Watch Hill. Great transient marina, with an Ocean beach, but they do have a mosquito issue. Further west of that are a number of great marinas on Fire Island with honky tonk little towns and great Ocean beaches. Accessing any of those through Moriches is about a 2 1/2-3 hour trip from MYC and 4-4 1/2 hours if entering through Fire Island inlet. To remove any speculation by checking my bill from last season, MYC is $9/ft. + $45/night electric (single 50/250) + $15/night resort fee. Feel free to pm me if you have any detailed questions on any of those alternatives.

 

[Jeremygavin]

I think you have the perfect itinerary! Mystic stay in the seaport, you will have to wait for the bridges to open but it is great for kids. I would do 3 nights here so you have 2 full days. Hit the aquarium one day.
Montauk, stay at the yacht club. Hit the beach at ditch plains, take a surf lesson for the entire family. Go one day to Gurneys they are a sister resort and have a shuttle service. use the beach there and facilities. Restaurants to eat at: Salivars, West lake chowder house, Gossmans dock, Inlet. I would do 3 nights here as well.
Block - stay at Champlians, perfect for kids, try and plan for mon-thurs as it is less hectic with the rafting. Eat at he Oar, BBQ one night. Dead eye Dicks. Best beach!! go to State beach.
If you want to add another port you can do 1 night at Watch Hill RI. hit that on the way to Mystic, or when leaving mystic. This was a such a great little town and awesome beach as well.
I say do Montauk, Mystic, Watch hill, BI.

Thanks for the info on Mystic. I will check it out. Is there a specific marina at Watch Hill it is an an anchorage?

 

[Jeremygavin]

If you haven’t been, try Mitchel Park Marina in Greenport for two night. I keep my boat out there. My girls at 10, 8, and 3. There’s always things to do out there for the kids. Town has a carousel at the marina, nice lawn area for the kids to run, roller rink, movie theater, fire boat tour, maritime museum, great restaurants, ice cream, Greenport brewery, vineyards via Uber, etc.

Thanks, I will check out Greenport

 

[Jeremygavin]

Jeremy

I think you've got all the ports identified by others on this thread. When my kids were the age of yours they could tolerate about 4 hours underway before they got antsy. If you don't need to stop at BI to break the trip up I would definitely do MYC for 4 nights, you can really get the feel and relaxation of the resort over that duration. Your best choices after that are Greenport or Shelter Island. They are very different ports. In Greenport you can stay at the town marina (Mitchell Park) which is right in the middle of everything or you can stay at Townsend Manor marina, which has a pool, bar and restaurant and bbq area and is about a 10 minute walk to downtown. On Shelter Island there's two marinas, Island Boatyard and Marina and Coecles Harbor Marina. Although both have a pool, Island Boatyard is more suited to kids. Shelter Island is a VERY quiet destination. Great restaurants, interesting scenery but it's no more than a 2 night port, unless you're just looking to unwind. I wouldn't bother with Sag Harbor or East Hampton, not much for kids there. On the south shore of Long Island, further west of Montauk is the Westhampton Bath and Tennis Club, but it requires you to enter either Shinnecock or Moriches inlets and transit the ICW. Further west is the Federal park Watch Hill. Great transient marina, with an Ocean beach, but they do have a mosquito issue. Further west of that are a number of great marinas on Fire Island with honky tonk little towns and great Ocean beaches. Accessing any of those through Moriches is about a 2 1/2-3 hour trip from MYC and 4-4 1/2 hours if entering through Fire Island inlet. To remove any speculation by checking my bill from last season, MYC is $9/ft. + $45/night electric (single 50/250) + $15/night resort fee. Feel free to pm me if you have any detailed questions on any of those alternatives.

Thank you for all that info. Very helpful. I will check out Greenport and Shelter Island. I don’t think we want to go too far beyond MYC as we will only have a week and the kids to get anxious on longer rides but they haven’t done one on the 520 so I think they will be more comfortable on that having room to move around. Longest run we did on the 340da was 5hrs to Boston and they were fine but going slow through the Canal breaks up the ride as they got up and moved around for that hour. We were planning on Stopping at Block on the way back but we have been there 3-4 times so if we miss itnon this trip it isn’t the end of the world.

 

[bmac]

Thank you for all that info. Very helpful. I will check out Greenport and Shelter Island. I don’t think we want to go too far beyond MYC as we will only have a week and the kids to get anxious on longer rides but they haven’t done one on the 520 so I think they will be more comfortable on that having room to move around. Longest run we did on the 340da was 5hrs to Boston and they were fine but going slow through the Canal breaks up the ride as they got up and moved around for that hour. We were planning on Stopping at Block on the way back but we have been there 3-4 times so if we miss itnon this trip it isn’t the end of the world.

I'm actually on the Cape Cod Canal right now, just not on the boat. My company is building the new power plant on the Canal. I'm up here once or twice a month.

 

[swaterhouse]

Mystic Seaport was always one of my favorite stops as a kid and I still love going there. It's so cool to be there at night after the day trippers leave, the grounds have a totally different feel at night. The best place to stay is at the seaport so you can see the grounds at night. We dropped the dinghy in and took it to Mystic to visit downtown- there is a dinghy dock on the east side of the river just south of the draw bridge. You can also hang the big boat on that dock if you need to wait for the bridge opening (up to 1 hour).

Your smart keeping the first big trip on the shorter side both in terms of time and distance. My guess is the kids will have a much different experience on the much larger boat. I think you'll find that on calmer days they can more easily play or watch a movie since the boat is so much more stable. My 5 year old sleeps when its rough (mild seasickness), but on the long transit days where wind/seas were mild this past summer trip to the chesapeake she spent most of her time either watching her iPad or coloring/playing. Other than not being able to swim or use the playground it was no different to her than a day in port.

 

[Havana Shamrock]

MYC was purchased by Gurneys and I've heard their prices have gone through the roof. At $10/ft his boat is $520 / night
No thanks Im not into the "resort" thing anyway. That's why I have an inverter etc put us on the hook for a week and I'm happy. No one walking past etc. Drop the hook inside Montauk pond and dinghy over.

 

[Jeremygavin]

I'm actually on the Cape Cod Canal right now, just not on the boat. My company is building the new power plant on the Canal. I'm up here once or twice a month.

That’s cool. That is one hell of a project they are doing there. I grew up in Sandwich and pulled the 340da at Sandwich Marina each season to keep it at my parents house for the winter. We stop there a few times a year when going through the canal to hit Fisherman’s View. They have a nice patio in the summer.

 

[JVM225]

Haven’t been by boat yet, but hope to get to Greenport this summer for a night or two.
We’ve been there many times over the last 25 or 30 years by car. Nice place. Very small town, but nice in the summer and these days with Uber available to you a trip to a couple of vineyards from the marina is easy to do.

 

[Jeremygavin]

Greenport looks interesting. I am going to explore that a little further. I am curious, Why Mitchel park or Townsend Manor Inn over Greenport yacht yard or Stirling Harbor Marinas? Is it because they are the same side of the bay as town, better facilities?

 

[saopm]

Mitchell Park is your best bet for a short stay. It is in the hart of town, and has nice concrete foating docks. I really don’t think you can go wrong here unless you need a pool.

Townsend is going to be tough for you to get into with your size boat. The dock is tight and splintery. They do have a nice pool though.

Sterling is the nicest (also my home marina) but just a bit out of the main town action. They do have a shuttle, but you may spend some time waiting for it. They have a nice pool, very nice bathroom/laundry/ clubhouse, and restaurant. The docks are hardwood with fingers.

I didn’t think there is anything special about the yacht yard other than the restaurant(Bill’s By the Bay).

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Agreed..Mitchell is nicer. Just a great location! Nice being right there on the green, nice view. And easy walk to everything in down town.

Staying at the others like Stirling or Greenport Yacht Yard...they're both across the basin from downtown, and a little walk. Take a look at both via Google Maps..and drive around via Google Earth...you'll see. I can stay at both for free since my home port is a Safe Harbor (Brewers)....but I prefer Mitchells and I'll pay for it. Although I'll stay at Stirling once this summer during one of our trips just to help out the summer boat trip budget.

 

[Rocket]

Thanks for the info on Mystic. I will check it out. Is there a specific marina at Watch Hill it is an an anchorage?

There is only one Marina called Watch Hill Docks, run by Frank Hall boat yards. Its on DOCKWA, its not the main yard in westerly, they run the docks in town, only 22 slips so book it ahead of time.