Great Cove Inlet is located off Great South Bay about six miles northeast of the Fire Island Inlet and five miles east of the town West Islip. One of many fingers of water that work their way into southern Long Island, Great Cove is primarily lined with marinas and not a popular place to anchor. Inside the cove there are five marinas, all of which accept transient guests at their slips, and a large ferry terminal that takes passengers to outlying beach resorts.

Although located near the town of Bay Shore, the marinas are a fairly long distance from any of the town grocery outfits, drug stores or other provisioning possibilities. For this reason, Great Cove is mainly used by transient boaters as a stopover destination while cruising Long Island South Shore waters. Depths in the cove are six feet in most places.

Use NOAA Chart 12352.

From Great South Bay, pick up flashing green buoy “1,” about two miles south of the entrance to Great Cove. From here, chart a course toward flashing red buoy “2,: and then toward the flashing white fixed light that is posted on the east side of the inlet. All of the marina facilities are located on the port side upon entry, and you can hail any of them via VHF to inquire about a slip for the evening. Anchoring, although not restricted, is not recommended due to the large ferry terminal in the middle of the cove. Large vessels come and go early in the morning until late at night.

Local Notices to Mariners are now exclusively available online from the U.S. Coast Guard.