Navigation & Anchorages:
Montauk is a summer resort at the southeast end of the bay. A depth of 10 feet was reported alongside the commercial pier on the east side of the bay. There are no public piers available.
Fort Pond Bay is a semicircular bight about 1 mile wide on the north side of Long Island, 5 miles westward of Montauk Point. The bay is free of dangers, but flats with 8 to 12 feet over them make out 0.2 mile from its eastern shore. The bay affords anchorage in 40 to 50 feet, soft bottom, but is exposed to northerly and northwesterly winds; the shoaling is abrupt on its east and south sides.
Montauk Point, the easterly extremity of Long Island, is a high sandy bluff, on the summit of which is the light. The land is grass covered, with a height of 165 feet at Prospect Hill, 2 miles westward of the point. The south side of the point is bold, and the 10-fathom curve is about 0.5 mile from shore; depths of 24 feet and less extend 0.8 mile off the northeast side of the point.
Montauk Point Light (41°04’15″N., 71°51’26″W.), 168 feet above the water, is shown from a white conical tower with a red band midway of its height and a covered way to a gray dwelling. A sound signal at the light is operated by keying the microphone five times consecutively on VHF-FM channel 83A.
Surrounding Montauk Point for about 4 miles is a shoal area that has been closely surveyed; the bottom is very broken, and extra caution should be observed where the depths are less than 10 feet greater than the draft. In general, the shoals are a series of long narrow ridges, in places only a few yards wide, and their positions are indicated by the rips over them at the strength of the tidal currents.
Montauk Shoal, about 2.5 miles south-southeastward of the light, has least depths of 30 feet. Great Eastern Rock, 1.5 miles east-northeast of the light, has a least depth of 25 feet. Phelps Ledge, just northerly of Great Eastern Rock, is covered by 24 feet. Endeavor Shoals, about 2.3 miles northeast of the light, are covered by 19 to 24 feet on a narrow ridge about 0.4 mile long. A lighted gong buoy is off the eastern end of the ridge.
Vessels drawing up to 20 feet can avoid the dangers eastward and northeastward of Montauk Point in smooth weather by giving the point a berth of over 1 mile and avoiding Great Eastern Rock.
Broken ground with rocky bottom and boulders extends about 2 miles off the north coast west of Montauk Point. Shagwong Reef, with a least depth of 6 feet and marked by a lighted bell buoy, is the northern limit of this area. Shagwong Rock, with a least depth of 7.5 feet and marked by a lighted buoy, and Washington Shoal, with a least depth of 12 feet, are between the shore and Shagwong Reef. The principal danger outside Shagwong Reef is a shoal with a depth of 29 feet, 5.3 miles northwestward of Montauk Point.
Montauk Harbor, in the northern part of Lake Montauk, is entered through a dredged channel on the northern shore about 3 miles west of Montauk Point; a federal project provides for a depth of 12 feet in the channel and 10 feet in the boat basin northwestward of Star Island. The entrance is protected by jetties, each of which is marked by a light. A lighted bell buoy, about 0.3 mile north of the entrance, marks the approach to the harbor.
Star Island, just inside Montauk Harbor, is connected to the mainland by a causeway. A privately marked channel, with a reported controlling depth of 7 feet in 1999, leads from beyond the end of the federal channel to the southern part of Lake Montauk where there are depths of 6 to 8 feet in the center. Montauk Coast Guard Station is at the northern end of Star Island.
Napeague Bay, 8 miles westward of Montauk Point, is shallow in the western and southwestern part. Promised Land Channel, the buoyed passage southward of Gardiners and Cartwright Islands, has a least centerline depth of about 14 feet; however, the depth is continually changing due to the shifting shoals.
The tidal currents have a velocity of about 1.5 knots through all the channels between the shoals. It is not advisable for vessels drawing more than 10 feet to attempt the passage without local knowledge, and then only when the buoys can be seen.
Napeague Harbor, a small-craft refuge in the southwest part of Napeague Bay, can be entered through privately dredged channels northward and southward of Hicks Island. In 1981, the reported controlling depths were 4 feet in the northerly and southerly entrances. Depths in the central part of the harbor range from 1.5 to
7 feet; the chart is the best guide. The harbor is especially useful in northeasterly weather when the adjoining bays are unsafe. There are no landings in the harbor.
Promised Land is a former fishing village on the southwest side of Napeague Bay. A depth of about 4 feet can be carried to the landing at the yacht club, 1.3 miles westward of Promised Land.
Current:
Tidal currents at the entrance to Montauk Harbor have a velocity of 1.2 knots on the flood and about 0.5 knot on the ebb. They are reported to decrease rapidly after entering the harbor and are practically negligible near the yacht club landing on the east side of Star Island.
Small-craft facilities:
There are several small-craft facilities on both sides of the entrance to Montauk Harbor, and a yacht club and several marinas are on the east side of Star Island. Gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, marine supplies and space for transients are available. Lifts to 80 tons can handle craft for complete engine and hull repairs. Groceries and other supplies may be obtained at the village of Montauk. The yacht club can be contacted at 631–668–7732.
