A hint for people who are starting the Great Loop from south of NYC and intend to stop in Staten Island. I used to live on Staten Island and kept a boat in the Great Kills harbor, but that was when Staten Island was a small sleepy borough of Gotham. I received an update on conditions from George Hechtman a while back to pass along. * * * * * * Larry, I don't subscribe to the GL list anymore but saw your post in the archive. We use Great Kills whenever we are In NYC. A few points: There is very limited anchoring room anymore, the harbor is filled with moorings administered by the friendly Richmond Yacht Club. The best marinas to use are the yacht club if you qualify, Atlantis, and Mansion (least costly). This way you can walk to the nearby restaurants, marine stores,  nice little village and bus. The state marina is a long ways from anything. It is closer to a 45 minute bus ride to the ferry. Once we learned that through experience, we started taking the express "X" busses ($5) that go all the way up through lower Manhattan to Central Park; very convenient, with stops right on Hylan near the marinas. The convenience stores/deli in the village sell the metro cards which make using all the transit systems very convenient. I suppose everyone should take the ferry at least once, it is good orientation to when you will be transiting the harbor yourself. We really enjoy Great Kills; it has become a destination for us. For refueling and pump out, it is worth a side trip to Atlantic Highlands where prices are excellent, but it is a long and expensive ($40) ferry ride to Manhattan if you anchor/moor or dock there. We have taken to anchoring in Haverstraw Bay, off Croton point, nice setting. George * * * * * * I would like to thank George for the update. Great Kills harbor is insulated from most sea conditions. Large waves can't get in the small entrance channel. No rolling. When I lived near there, Great Kills was surrounded by lower middle class housing, then inhabited by folks of Norwegian ancestry. It was as safe as any urban area can be. In fact overall crime in the NYC area is lower than in most large cities. If you really want to live dangerously, walk around in Washington D.C., Jersey City, or Miami at night. I agree about a Haverstraw Bay anchorage. It is about 30 miles north of Manhattan. Tuck into the cove just north of Croton Point. There is 8 feet of water over a hard sand and clay bottom. Very good holding. Dinghy into the Croton town dock. Croton has some very good restaurants within walking distance. There is a gourmet supermarket, Zetina's, adjacent to a CVS, a liquor store, a Dunkin Donuts, a good Japanese restaurant, Samurari, a hardware store that carries a big stock of marine parts, a Chinese takeout, a pizza parlor, the best seafood restaurant in the New York area, the Ocean House, and a branch of the Hudson Valley hospital in case you eat too much. All of this is within three blocks of the town dock. It is also near the Metro North commuter railroad station for a NYC visit. If you anchor at Croton Point or use the adjacent Half Moon Bay marina, dinghy over to Croton Point Park for a little exercise. This is a large county park with hiking trails, a nature museum, athletic fields and basketball courts, a life guarded swimming area in season, rental cottages, and the ruins of the first commercial winery in the USA. The stone wine cellars are still there. Using the park is free. There is a charge for parking if you come by car but no charge if you dinghy in. Larry Z