NEW YORK HARBOR SURVEY UPDATE

I mentioned a few posts back that NOAA and the Army Corp of Engineers where doing post superstorm Sandy surveys of New York Harbor.  Making sure the channels were clear of debris and shoals. I hoped that they would also do surveys of the areas around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I and other sailors often use these areas for anchorage as we wait for a favorable currents to help speed us up the Hudson (North) River.  I am glad to report that is the case NOAA has recently released a graphic of some recently completed surveys of those areas made in April:

As you can see the survey includes the whole area around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and also the basin where the the Liberty Landing Marina is located. These new surveys should lead to some new chart data and comfort that there are not any new surprises waiting below the surface in these areas for smaller cruising sailboats following Hurricane Sandy.

SURVEYING AFTER SANDY

It seems the Army Corp of Engineers and NOAA have been busy the past few months re doing surveys of the major commercial waterways and channels of the New York and New Jersey waters. I hope they will also survey the basin behind the Statue of Liberty and also the area north of Ellis Island. These areas are used as anchorages for smaller boats waiting for favorable currents going up and down the Hudson (North) River. BIANKA and I used the Ellis Island anchorage a few days before Sandy raked the area last year. It would be real good if they were to be surveyed and cleared of debris post Sandy before sailors start using them again during the upcoming season.

SURVEY SAYS

While getting BIANKA ready this spring I noticed a ship hanging out off the coast:

It's the NOAA coast survey ship Thomas Jefferson and it is conducting surveys of the nearby waters that BIANKA sails in. Which is good to see. Updated charts are always a good thing in my opinion. Looks like I'll be getting some new chart chips for my  Chartplotter , paper charts and downloads  in the near future once they are released by NOAA: