Next Cruise Event
Signing on for a Weekend Cruise
New Cruisers
Notes from Typical RYC Cruises
Block Island Rendezvous - Annual Club Trip
Where do RYC boats sail from Block Island?
Inter-Bay Cruiser's Association
Yacht Club Recriprocal List
Off-Season

Stow your gear, unfurl the sails, set the GPS and fill the ice chest. It's time to cruise with Raritan Yacht Club. From May through September RYC organizes cruises every month. Some are short overnight sails to moorings at local yacht clubs in Keyport, Atlantic Highlands, Great Kills, or Sheepshead Bay. Others are longer sails over several days. RYC's premiere event each season is the Block Island cruise. Mix fabulous food and a peaceful mooring with a sky full of stars and it doesn't get any better.

Each cruise is organized and led by a volunteer cruise captain. The cruise captain selects the dates, destination and arranges reservations at local yacht clubs and restaurants. If you are interested in volunteering, you can pick any weekend, other than those above, that is convenient for you by advising Tony O'Reilly. New cruises will be added to the schedule as they are developed.

Any member may sign up for a cruise by notifying the cruise captain. Signing up no later than a week or so before gives the cruise captain time to make appropriate reservations. Last minute additions to the cruise can usually be accommodated.

The cruise captain provides destination and social activities information about the sail plan. Multi-night cruises usually begin with a skipper's breakfast meeting in the RYC Galley at 9:00 a.m. on the first morning of the cruise. Members who want to join a cruise are encouraged to attend. If you miss the meeting, you can call the cruise captain on VHF channel 68 for the latest information and to advise that you are joining the cruise. You can also check the RYC bulletin board for any last-minute changes.

Once we have reached our destination, most cruisers relax at a cocktail party around 6:00 p.m. The cruise captain will designate the host boat. Each member boat attending the party brings an hors d'oeuvre to share. Beverages are the responsibility of each boater. The cocktail party usually lasts about an hour, followed by dinner on shore.

If you are unfamiliar with cruising, please contact the Cruising Committee for help. The goal is to make boating a pleasure not a chore. Most of us didn't "learn the ropes" without the advice and help from someone else. In fact, cruising with others provides an excellent opportunity to develop and improve your general boating skills through advice and discussion with other cruisers. Don't miss the opportunity to cruise with friends, enjoy the great outdoors, participate in stimulating conversation and have a wonderful learning experience with all the members of your family.

If you are fairly new to sailing, you may be a little anxious about sailing out of Raritan Bay for a weekend. Such anxiety is to be expected. Members who feel the need of a bit more of a support system should contact the cruise captain and ask to be assigned a "cruising buddy." The cruise captain will assign a more experienced member to help you by reviewing navigation and safety issues, keeping in close radio contact and sailing in company with you to the destination. We want to encourage cruise participation and will do all we can to make it fun.

The first weekend cruise of the season is usually a short one with only a few boats ready for an early shakedown. Tonga, Sunrise and Almost Enough sailed one year to Keyport for an excellent dinner on a Saturday in May. They made themselves comfortable with the hospitality of Keyport Yacht Club, who provided guest moorings for the night, and had an excellent dinner at Ye Old Cottage Inn, a 10-block walk. On Sunday morning they sailed back to RYC.

On Memorial Day Weekend that same year, cruise activities began on Friday evening, as the cruisers met for dinner at the RYC galley to discuss the next day’s destination. Four boats headed for Sheepshead Bay on Saturday morning - Mystifying, Sunrise, Tolerance, and Almost Enough. While keeping in radio contact with each other, some boats sailed part way into New York harbor hoping for a glimpse of Fleet Week ships.

Six RYC boats attended a Labor Day weekend cruise to Sheepshead Bay: Sunrise, Tonga, Never Enough, Patience and flotilla leader Invicta. After an instructive 9:00 am meeting at the Club, where each skipper was provided with piloting information and tide tables, the group left their moorings. It was a beautiful day with light winds requiring mostly motoring to Rockaway Inlet and into Sheepshead Bay. Moorings were provided by Miramar Yacht Club. A cocktail party was held aboard Invicta. Later, the group proceeded to dinner at the reopened Lundy's restaurant, where they were subjected to a long wait to be seated and served. The next morning, the group had breakfast at a local diner before the return trip to RYC.

One of the many cruises Knot Again made to Long Island Sound included a stop at Knickerbocker Yacht Club in Port Washington. When the group walked to town for dinner they decided to bypass tried-and-true Louie's for a new Italian restaurant, Da Mino, which is next to Knickerbocker. Da Mino has a posh but comfortable décor, serving families with children as well as well dressed couples. The group found the food to be excellent and the ambiance most enjoyable, with the only problem being that after you eat, the walk back is too short.

Block Island Rendezvous – Annual Club Trip

(Picture from a previous trip)

If circumstances prevent you from sailing to Block Island, you can join RYC on the island by driving to Point Judith, Rhode Island and boarding the ferry to Block Island. You should get a ferry reservation for your vehicle. Cars are convenient on the island especially if you stay outside Old Harbor. If you do not bring a car, cabs and mopeds are available. Lodging information can be found on Block Island’s web page.

Block Island is absolutely beautiful. It offers great beaches, clean water, biking, hiking, wind surfing, kayaking and views that are spectacular. Although it can be reached in 22 hours, it is best to plan for more time. Many members will make the cruise part of a two-week vacation. Newport, Cuttyhunk and Martha’s Vineyard are all within a short sail of Block Island.

RYC's three days at Block Island are filled with activity. On Tuesday, daytime activities include grave rubbing at the Island Cemetery, shopping and sightseeing. In the evening we hold a floating cocktail party. Wednesday usually finds RYC at Scotch Beach for a major volleyball tournament. Scotch Beach is a short dinghy ride from the moorings of Great Salt Pond. The major club feast is held at Ballard's Inn. Dinner usually attracts forty to sixty members of RYC. The menu is an extensive one, but cold beer and lobster with steamers, served family style, is the order of the day. Dancing follows dinner. Our members have been known to lead the restaurant in the famous Chicken Dance! Later, the party moves to Ben & Jerry's or Aldo's for ice cream. Thursday is a travel day. The group meets for a family style breakfast at the Narragansett Inn, where schedules and destinations are discussed. Farewells and adieus follow.

RYC's oar takes its place among others on the ceiling at the Oar restaurant in New Harbor, Block Island.

Some sail home; others sail to more adventure. One year, a flotilla of Jouissance, Knot Again, Imani, Tolerance, Kathy ll and Sunrise left Block Island for Old Lyme, Connecticut. They found a quiet creek where moorings were generously made available for the night. The next day they proceeded to Port Jefferson on Long Island, where there are buildings of historic interest to visit as well as several good restaurants. The flotilla's last stop before proceeding home was the highly recommended Knickerbocker Yacht Club on Manhasset Bay.

That same year, Rosie McRory remained at Block Island until Sunday, at which time she underwent a crew change before heading to Noank on the Connecticut shore. The next stop was West Brook, which turned out to be a two-day layover because of rainy weather. A visit with a friend was the reason for the next port of call, Port Jefferson.

Magic ventured further east with a four-hour motorsail to Cuttyhunk on Friday. The next stop was Quissett Harbor, just north of Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Magic proceeded further northeast to the Cape Cod Canal before reversing her direction. There was an exhilarating beat along the cliffs at Newport, under the watchful eye of the "Summer Cottages" on Bellevue Avenue. Magic traveled to Noank, where a taxi was available for the drive to Mystic Seaport. It is possible to get a berth at the Seaport, but reservations must be made at least six months in advance. The next-to-last leg of the trip left Magic at Sea Cliff at Hempstead Harbor on Long Island. After the eighty mile run, a day of relaxation was enjoyed by all.

Dragonfly also traveled east after a quick run over to Montauk Lake to change crew. A Sunday night departure from Montauk made for a midday arrival at Martha's Vineyard. The anchor was dropped at Vineyard Haven. From there, Dragonfly's itinerary included Newport, Greenport, Port Jefferson, and Manhasset Bay. Transmission trouble at Hell Gate meant a sail down the East River and the rest of the way back to Perth Amboy.

Almost any off-season Saturday will find a work party busy in the house or yard. You can verify specific days with the Vice or Rear Commodores. Work begins at 8:30 a.m. Lunch is usually provided.