Popularly regarded as NLM’s “Signature Tour” this exciting boat tour, familiarizes passengers with key lighthouses that facilitate safe passage from the Atlantic Ocean into Lower New York Harbor. The series will be narrated by Wade R. Goria. Wade is a National Lighthouse Museum historian, author, and former New York University professor.
We explore a total of nine lighthouses: Battery Weed Light located atop Fort Wadsworth, the Coney Island Lighthouse, West Bank and Romer Shoals Lighthouses, the Sandy Hook Light, The Twin Lighthouses of Navesink at Atlantic Highlands, the Staten Island Rear Range at Richmond Hill, the New Dorp Light, and the Elm Tree Beacon at Miller Field, also located in New Dorp.
After sailing past historic Forts Wadsworth and Hamilton at the Narrows, we head under the Verrazano Bridge passing the former Quarantine stations of Hoffman and Swineburn Islands.
Enroute to the Sandy Hook Light, situated near the tip of an eight mile spit at Fort Hancock, a coastal defense base that once guarded the approach of NY Harbor, we learn about the role that this proud and historic beacon has played on behalf of NYC’s maritime trade and its commerce over the centuries.
Cruising on the Ambrose Channel, Sandy Hook Bay and the Shrewsberry River we journey along the Atlantic Highlands past the towns of Keyport and Leonardo, home to Naval Weapons Station Earle and the world’s longest pier as well as Mount Mitchill, the highest point on the Atlantic coast from Maine to the Yucatan in Mexico. The Atlantic Highlands is home to one of the most spectaular lighthouses in America: the Navesink Twin Light Station, the very first structure in America witnessed by immigrants following an Atlantic crossing.
Upon our return along the Ambrose Channel into Lower New York Bay, we head near to the Coney Island Lighthouse at Norton’s Point in Seagate, Coney Island, where famed Keeper Frank Schubert, NYC’s last Light Keeper, resided for 40 years. We are also treated to a memorable image: the bright and powerful lens emanating from Staten Island’s Rear Range Light, located atop Richmond Hill.
Tickets are non-refundable.
Lighthouse Boat Tours commence rain or shine.
The boat leaves from the NYC Ferry-Fast Ferry Dock. The boat does not leave from the National Lighthouse Museum. 1 Bay Street is a large general area which includes the St. George Ferry Terminal and the Empire Outlets. The outdoor NYC Ferry-Fast Ferry Dock does not have its own address. Please call the museum for further information if needed.