Hell Gate NYC - Historic Dangerous Strait On The East River Of New York City
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Hundreds of ships had sunk in this treacherous tidal strait on the East River separating Astoria, Queens from the area from Randall's Island and Wards Island - a section of land made up of two separate islands that are how joined by a landfill.
Many New Yorkers refer to Hell Gate as Hell's Gate and believed it was so named because of the extremely choppy water that results from the collision of the tide coming in the and flow going out on the East River and the Harlem River. Actually though, the name "Hell Gate" is a corruption of the Dutch phrase Hellegat, which could mean either "hell's hole" or "bright gate/passage". The name was originally applied to the entirety of the East River.
The strait was described in the journals of Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who is the first European known to have navigated the strait, during his 1614 voyage aboard the Onrust.
In this video, you can also see the Hell Gate Bridge in the distance. It's the brownish, crescent shaped structure located just beyond the RFK Bridge (formerly the Triboro Bridge). The Hell Gate Bridge was completed in 1917, and it connects Wards Island and Queens. The bridge provides a direct rail link between New England and New York City.
Navigation in this area of the East River was extremely hazardous at one time because of rocks and converging tide-driven currents (see the video) from the Long Island Sound, the Harlem River strait, Upper Bay of New York Harbor and lesser channels. By the late 19th century, hundreds of ships had gone down in the Hell Gate area.
In 1851 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began clearing obstacles from the strait with explosives, which took decades. A notable event occurred on On September 24, 1876, when the Corps ignited 50,000 pounds of explosives to smash the dangerous rocks. More blasting continued in subsequent years, and on October 10, 1885, the Corps exploded 300,000 pounds in a blast that was felt as far away as Princeton, New Jersey.
While Hell Gate, or Hell's Gate, is now much smoother to sail than it used to be, you can see from this video I shot from the shore that it can still generate huge waves that toss small boats around violently.
And its not the RFK bride its the Triboro bridge and always will be!
TheMusiclegends56 Also Interboro Parkway, Shea Stadium, IRT, BMT, Johnny Pumps and all that other NYer centric stuff.
+TheMusiclegends56 Will be interesting if these politicians ever try to re-name the Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Williamsburg Bridges, eh? But I guess George Washington Bridge and Lincoln Tunnel are safe - for now.
Did the politician scum try to rename it?
I have always said the same thing.
I totally agree with you 👍 💯
Same with the Tappan Zee bridge, not the Cuomo bridge!😊
I have been through this many times ferrying boats from 30 to 130 foot and always treat it like my first time. Respect the water and always a sharp eye for floating debris. Anyone else who has not navigated this before trust me you don't want to have issues like losing power or steering in these waters.
I did a paper on the conquest of Hell Gate when I was at SUNY Maritime college. To say that the Army Corps blasted would be an understatement. They actually employed cornish miners to tunnel underneath Hallets Reef initially and then Flood Rock in a later project. They excavated shafts and then connected them with galleries. After the digging they deployed explosives in the tunnels and ignited them. The river bottom imploded on itself. The rock from Hallets reef could then be dredged and removed. Flood rock was done so that dredging afterward would not be necessary. The currents here were decreased as a result of these projects and later damming Bronx Kill and filling in Little Hell Gate. As an aside the current or movement of water east and west is not due to the transit of the moon. It is due to having different water levels in Long Island Sound vs. NY Harbor. The 5 hour difference in high water at either end causes confluence of both tides, which is what causes the eddys and swirls.
Thank you. I knew what it is called (and I guessed it was because of ship wrecks) but I
did not know why it is what it is or how the government has tried to mitigate the issues
in in stretch of water.
My great-grandfather drowned there in 1910, he was supposedly a top notch swimmer but those currents are brutal
I enjoyed the History lesson. Your video is a service to sailors!
I fell off my brother's boat right there about 15 years ago. Luckily he went down from the current 1/4 mile and did a 180. I swam into his stearn. Man, it pulled me like a rag doll. I kicked my shoes off immediately. My wife's hat fell in the water and I had leaned over to grab it when a wave caused me to lose my balance.
50CJAZZ where is the hat now? Really conserned
Your one lucky son of a gun
I remember going through Hell Gate when i was a kid...my father and grandfather had a twin engine 30 foot boat, but i was still petrified going through here! LOL
My exhusband and I did this in a 21' Aquasport (from Greenwich, CT) at night just to watch the freakin' fireworks. I never felt so close to death ever.
One of the important things about transiting Hell Gate is paying attention to the tides
FROM NY HARBOR TO LONG ISLAND SOUND
Any trip northbound begins in either one of two ways: 1. check for when Northeast flood begins at Hell Gate or; 2. low water at the Battery.
Hell Gate - slack water flood
If using Hell Gate current information, use Eldridge (a book all sailors should have onboard) for when “NORTHEAST Flood Starts”. Otherwise look on the Internet for when slack - flood starts.
Enter the East River at the southern tip of Manhattan when Northeast flood at Hell Gate begins.
The distance from the southern tip of Manhattan (the Battery) to Hell Gate is approximately 7 nautical miles so you can calculate your time to Hell Gate depending on your boat speed.
The Battery - low water
Again, using Eldridge, look for LOW at the Battery.
Enter the East River at the southern tip of Manhattan 2 hours after low at the Battery.
FROM LONG ISLAND SOUND TO NY HARBOR
Any trip southbound begins in either one of two ways: 1. check for when Southwest ebb begins at Hell Gate or; 2. high water at the Battery.
Hell Gate - slack water ebb
If using Hell Gate current information, use Eldridge (a book all sailors should have onboard) for when “SOUTHWEST Ebb Starts”. Otherwise look on the Internet for when slack - ebb starts.
Enter the East River at the Throgs Neck Bridge when Southwest ebb at Hell Gate begins.
The distance from the Throgs Neck Bridge to Hell Gate is also approximately 7 nautical miles so you can calculate your time to Hell Gate depending on your boat speed.
The Battery - high water
Again, using Eldridge, look for HIGH at the Battery.
Enter the East River at the Throgs Neck 2 hours after high at the Battery.
Years ago, my friend's father was a NYC Firefighter at a firehouse in Astoria, Queens. Astoria is on the eastern shore of Hell Gate. The firefighters at his house, as well as their softball team, were referred to as "The Hellgaters". Just a little trivia for ya'.
I kayaked around there once, the water pulls away from the shore.. Very strong pull, was fortunate by God, I was able to paddle to shore.. As a kayaker, you don't want to be stuck in the middle of the river, when there's boat traffic..
That canoe stern boat is my boat
Hell Gate is part of what flushes the natural toilet of New York Harbor. The different water levels in the Harbor to the Sound (see below), along with the inflow from the Hudson River (which is a flooded estuary affected by the tides as far inland as Albany) and the tides. Geography created a naturally flushing system.
Great video and description. Just went through it yesterday. Definitely choppy!
Great job on the video, looks very rough in any boat under 30 feet.
Participating in a paddleboard race around Manhattan in August and slightly terrified to go through here. I'm glad to know I'll have a chase boat if something goes wrong!
Alexa Suess if your paddle boarding you should fall off. Paddle boards are gay
Yeah, but if you swim there you'll be in untreated sewage. And fine chemical waste as well. Hope it went well.
You should be more afraid of the water toxicity.. If Hell Gate doesn't kill you, the parasites, bacteria and waste contamination will..
Is this where the flood rock was in 1840
Wow ,,,,,, yeah its tough went thru there today thought i could drive my boat and hold camera to video ,,, no way ,,,,,, great video
Hells gate is named that because of all the rocks that tore up ships.
Wrong.
Great video.
Whirlpools and current of 4 to 7 knots means sailboats should acknowledge when to proceed. I remember going thru one day when a Morgan 41 towed a rubber dinghy with two children at his stern
Now i know where HELL GATE CIRCLE ON WARDS ISLAND GOT ITS NAME.
This looks like the turbulence of the Niagara River
looks a bit scary.......*prolly good fishin' though......
1FM
Lake George, NY
very dangerous water way...
Cool
Better know what your doing going through there
Is this the flood or ebb??????
abralaventana Flood
Wouldn't stick my little toe in that river.
indeed looks demonic.
I don't be live that hell. Gate
Don't let Donnie swim through this!