Connecticut River Navigation

T

tmal2

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Jan 18, 2004
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12663
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I'm going to be helping a friend bring a boat from Portland CT to RI waters and I've got some questions about the swing bridge operations.

I've checked my charts and found 2 bridges that will come into play. The first is the East Haddam swing bridge. The second is the Amtrak bridge between old Lyme and Old Saybrook. The clearances listed were 22 ft and 19 ft respectively. The boat is a 370 Sea Ray Sedan and I have no idea what the height is to the top of the radar. I'm guessing it's gonna be 15-20 feet plus there are 2 8 ft antennas mounted on the top of the arch.

I've done a little research and found out that it is illegal to ask for a bridge opening if there are non structural items (antennas in this case) that can be dropped to ensure safe passage. Dropping the antennas is not easy on this boat due to the angle of the arch going out over the back deck. The seller told us to just have the bridges opened and don't worry about it.

Can anyone familiar with the area please give me some local input on this subject and can you tell me if either of those bridges operate on a set schedule or open on demand. I really have been able to find much information on the subject.

Thanks in advance
 
I recall it opening fairly regularly on weekends. Only closes when train is coming.
 
I did the same trip (portland to RI) last year. I had no problem getting the bridges opened, though, the operators were not the nicest people in the world. Your right in that they don't have to open for non-structural items but I would agree just ask them..shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully all the markers are in by now. I came down in early april and only had the day/shore markers to work with, kept us on our toes.
 
quote:
Originally posted by TimHenn

I did the same trip (portland to RI) last year. I had no problem getting the bridges opened, though, the operators were not the nicest people in the world. Your right in that they don't have to open for non-structural items but I would agree just ask them..shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully all the markers are in by now. I came down in early april and only had the day/shore markers to work with, kept us on our toes.

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Thanks for the info Tim. I went along for the sea trial last week and can verify that the navaids are NOT all there. I've got the Navionics app on my smartphone and couldn't believe the markers that were showing on my chart but not on the water. It was a little unnerving to say the least.
I've got plotting software on my home computer and I've already plotted a route to the sound that I can transfer to the plotter on the boat so I'm not overly concerned with navigating the river. I just wasn't sure how the bridges worked.

How long did it take you to make the trip? I'm guessing 5-6 hours to Warwick Cove.
 
You'll want to take it slow on the upper portion of the river. There is lots of junk in the water from the recent rain storms and the current will be at better that 4 kts if you catch the outgoing tide and 3 kts. if you don't. Take it slow and keep a good lookout between Portland and East Haddam, especially. A lot of the debris is semi-submerged and difficult to see.

The bridge at East Haddam opens on the half hour, I believe. Due to the condition of the river, they may open on demand for you if you call them on the radio. Do this as soon as the bridge is in sight. The bridge tender isn't exactly Mr. Speedy answering the radio.

I make this trip every spring and fall at about this time in a 34 ft. Silverton with a fly bridge. If the spring freshet has passed, I can easily fit under the closed Haddam bridge without the antenna tips touching. With all the rain we've had, that may not be possible for a couple of weeks.

The railroad bridge in Old Saybrook is normally open and closes only for train traffic. There is lots of space to hang out and wait above that bridge if it is closed.

As for the missing nav markers, stay on the outside of all of the turns. With the river higher than usual, you won't have any problems grounding.

I'll be making that trip at the end of next week. Hope you have a safe great trip and a great season.

Bill
 
quote:
Originally posted by chriscraft67

You'll want to take it slow on the upper portion of the river. There is lots of junk in the water from the recent rain storms and the current will be at better that 4 kts if you catch the outgoing tide and 3 kts. if you don't. Take it slow and keep a good lookout between Portland and East Haddam, especially. A lot of the debris is semi-submerged and difficult to see.

The bridge at East Haddam opens on the half hour, I believe. Due to the condition of the river, they may open on demand for you if you call them on the radio. Do this as soon as the bridge is in sight. The bridge tender isn't exactly Mr. Speedy answering the radio.

I make this trip every spring and fall at about this time in a 34 ft. Silverton with a fly bridge. If the spring freshet has passed, I can easily fit under the closed Haddam bridge without the antenna tips touching. With all the rain we've had, that may not be possible for a couple of weeks.

The railroad bridge in Old Saybrook is normally open and closes only for train traffic. There is lots of space to hang out and wait above that bridge if it is closed.

As for the missing nav markers, stay on the outside of all of the turns. With the river higher than usual, you won't have any problems grounding.

I'll be making that trip at the end of next week. Hope you have a safe great trip and a great season.

Bill

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Thanks for the info Bill. I was there last week and did notice a LOT of tree limbs and even one the size of a telephone pole floating down the river.
We may be making the trip next week also depending on how things go.
 
quote:

How long did it take you to make the trip? I'm guessing 5-6 hours to Warwick Cove.

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We did the trip to Portsmouth, RI in 5 hrs 15 min that included a little delay at the end of the river. So you can make it in 5 hrs with a 22kt cruise. Conditions were good through LI sound.

The river is tricky without the markers. I was glad to have the admiral spotting markers along the shore as we wound down the river.
 
Does anyone know when all navaids will be back on the river?

Thanks
 
quote:
Originally posted by TimHenn

quote:

How long did it take you to make the trip? I'm guessing 5-6 hours to Warwick Cove.

Click to expand...


We did the trip to Portsmouth, RI in 5 hrs 15 min that included a little delay at the end of the river. So you can make it in 5 hrs with a 22kt cruise. Conditions were good through LI sound.

The river is tricky without the markers. I was glad to have the admiral spotting markers along the shore as we wound down the river.

Click to expand...


We'll be closer to a 20 kt cruise and probably slower speeds on the trickier parts of the river so I'm gonna be a little conservative and figure 6 hours without any other issues.

Do you have any idea when all navaids are returned?
 
I was out Saturday on the Connecticut. Saw an entire dock complete with power pedestal and light floating down. Some buoys dragged off location. Will probably be a couple weeks before they get to it. You can still navigate with your chart and depth finder. It is always like this in the spring. You won't have any trouble with Saybrook Bridge. Haddam bridge isn't going to give you a hard time for not putting down antennas but may make you wait if they have opened recently. Radio and ask when the next opening is. Drop anchor and enjoy the view. My interactions with the Haddam tenders have been good. They called me on a sudden fast approaching severe thunderstorm which we couldn't see.
 
We went down on May 28 and only hit four pieces of junk in the water that we could feel and we were keeping a good watch and going no more than 10 MPH all the way to East Haddam. Just before East Haddam, we encountered a small boat pulling many sections of floating dock up river, so I guess we found the same dock sections that Andy65 had seen. My guess is that he was heading for Glastonbury.

Once in the Sound the visibility was about 1-1/2 miles so we lit up the radar and practiced tracking targets as we went east towards New London. It was cold and damp but how bad can it ever be on a boat?

Bill
 
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