Portsmouth RI to NYC -Inside or Outside

[grluecke]

We are having family argument: Back in the 1700's in the age of sailing ships, when a ship would go from Portsmouth, NH to NYC, do you think they would go outside Long Island or inside through Long Island Sound?

The approach to the city gets pretty constricted down at the city, but Portland, Oregon is something like 50 miles up the Columbia River, so ??? Here are some charts for the debate.

[Jim Walsh]

I would think a “ship” would routinely take the outside passage, whereas a coastal trading vessel would be incentivized and capable of maneuvering in Long Island Sound.

[Steve Laume]

You might look at the bigger picture to get a better idea of a preferred route. Since there was no Cape Cod canal that would require you to stay well offshore of Nantucket so a straight run outside of Long Island seems like it would be a better course. Tacking into the fickle, SW winds of LIS seems like it would have been quite a challenge for sailing ships. Even today, it would seem easier to stay outside if you were doing a direct run and wanted to make time between those two ports, Steve.

[BernieA]

Portland has an interesting maritime history telling how it became the head of navigation along the Columbia and Willamette rivers. There were two reasons for ships to sail up the rivers. First was that ships were able to do so, taking advantage of tidal currents, river depth and prevailing winds. They could load logs, milled lumber and agricultural products directly, rather than loading barges and transferring loads from barges at Astoria. Second, Portland offered the only fresh water port on the west coast, and my understanding is that fresh water kills barnacles, thus reducing costs of bottom cleaning, at least in theory.

I agree with the comment that ships would likely have gone outside Long Island and coasters would go inside.

I was born and raised in Portland, OR and live in Sequim, WA now. Sailing the Salish Sea is amazing with its beauty and challenges.

Bernie A
S/V Pinafore
CD 28, Hull 192

[Nebe]

They went outside.. Hells gate was a different animal back then before it was blasted to remove all of the rocky bits that would eat up boats.

[Bill Goldsmith]

Interesting read on the topic of Hell Gate in NYC's East River:

http://gothamist.com/2016/02/22/hell_ga ... ry_nyc.php

[Tom Keevil]

We have sailed up and down the Columbia River. The prevailing winds are upstream, and these are channeled by the mountainous topography. Even at the height of the river flow, it is possible to sail upstream much of the time (although patience is a necessary companion). Downstream is a piece of cake for obvious reasons.

The real challenge is not the river, it is the infamous Columbia Bar. Approximately 2,000 ships have been sunk there. Once you got into the river, you had it made. In all our years of sailing, the one experience we remember most vividly is our first crossing of the bar on a nasty day, and that is after the jetties, the dredging, etc. I can't imagine doing it in the early19th century. Remember that the river was not "discovered" until 1792, and by the 1850's they were running steamships on the river, so the era of sail was pretty short. Portland was founded in 1843, so I think most of the early sailing ships were headed to Fort Vancouver of the Hudson's Bay Company. The history out here is pretty short. In the 18th century, there was no place on earth farther from Europe.

I agree with Bernie, though it is possible to sail on the Columbia, the Salish Sea is infinitely better.