The DU Lounge

According to Wikipedia:

The name "Hell Gate" is a corruption of the Low German or Dutch phrase Hellegat which means “bright gate”. It first appeared on a Dutch map as Helle Gadt.[2] The name was originally applied to the entirety of the East River, by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, the first European known to have navigated the strait, who bestowed the name sometime during his 1614–1616 voyage aboard the Onrust circumnavigating Long Island, from its namesake Hellegat on (the mouth of) the River Scheldt, in Zeeland back in the Netherlands.

I’ve traversed the East River and Hell Gate in sailboats from 18’ to 45’. It can be placid if you time the tidal properly. If timed wrong, it can also be a brute! People have died because of the river ‘s dangers.

But seeing NYC from the water is spectacular! And sailing past the Statue of Liberty is awesome-inspiring.

By the way, the sailor referenced, Adrian Block, had the island off Rhode Island named for him: Block Island.