Mattituck Charters on Great Peconic Bay
North Fork, NY
Mattituck is the only hamlet on the North Fork with water on both sides and no way to get between them by boat. James Creek runs south into Great Peconic Bay. Mattituck Inlet runs north into Long Island Sound. The two come within about 500 yards of each other, and they have never been connected. A canal was proposed and rejected over ecological concerns. So a Mattituck charter is really a question of which side you want. We run the bay side, with USCG-licensed captains, and we pick up in Greenport. Call (631) 251-1777.
Two waterways, one hamlet
This split matters more than it sounds. The Sound side, reached through Mattituck Inlet, is open and exposed. It is the only real harbor on the north shore of Long Island east of Port Jefferson besides Mount Sinai, which tells you how little shelter there is up there.
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The bay side, through James Creek, is the calm one. It opens into Great Peconic Bay and leads east toward Robins Island, Shelter Island and the rest of the East End. That is where our charters run and that is the water we know.
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If you are staying in Mattituck and picturing a flat afternoon of swimming and cruising, the bay is the answer.
Where to meet the boat
We do not run out of Mattituck. Our home dock is at 63 S Menantic Rd, Shelter Island, NY 11964, and our North Fork pickup point is Greenport. From Mattituck that is a drive east on Main Road through Cutchogue and Southold. Sag Harbor is our South Fork pickup if that is easier for part of your group.
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A standard charter runs about four hours. Half-day and full-day trips are available.
What you will see
Leaving the Greenport waterfront puts you straight into the wide part of the bay. Heading west toward Mattituck you get the low farm-country shoreline that the North Fork is known for, seen from the side almost nobody sees it from.
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On land, Mattituck’s Love Lane is the short commercial strip everyone knows. At the corner of Main Road and Love Lane stands the Andrew Gildersleeve Octagonal Building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. It is an unusual piece of architecture for a farm hamlet and worth a look before or after your trip.
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Out on the water the interest is different. Working oyster gear, osprey platforms, long empty stretches of beach, and a shoreline that flattens out the further west you go.
Trips Mattituck charters run most
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Sunset cruises. The bay runs west from here, which makes this end of the water good for evening light. We push off roughly 90 minutes before sundown.
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Inshore fishing. Fluke, porgies, bluefish and black sea bass through the warm months. See our Hamptons fishing charters for the full list.
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Swim and anchor afternoons. Protected water, easy anchoring, the trip families ask for most.
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Water sports. Jet skis, paddleboards, tubing and wakeboards, either added to a charter or booked on their own. Our water sports rentals page has the details.
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Longer runs. Full-day trips can reach Shelter Island, Sag Harbor and further east. Our destinations page shows the range.
Before you book
Six passengers plus crew is the maximum, set by the USCG six-passenger rule for uninspected vessels under 100 gross tons.
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New York Navigation Law requires children under 12 to wear a USCG-approved life jacket while the boat is underway on vessels 65 feet or under. There is an exception for children inside an enclosed cabin. We carry approved life jackets for every passenger.
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Bring food and drinks, towels, sunscreen and soft-soled shoes.
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​Who runs your Mattituck charters
Cousins, raised in the marina business on Shelter Island. Our captains earned USCG licenses in 2019 and have more than 200 charters behind them. Shelter Island sits in the middle of the Twin Forks, which is why we can reach the North Fork shoreline, Sag Harbor and open water without burning your afternoon getting there.
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We run a fleet of 27+ vessels, from smaller boats for a family afternoon up to our flagship Pershing yachts. That range is the reason we can match a boat to the day rather than the other way round. The fleet page shows what is available.
Why the bay side is the right call
People staying in Mattituck sometimes assume the Sound side is the better option because the inlet is closer. In practice it rarely is for a day on the water.
Long Island Sound off this stretch is open, and there is almost no shelter along it. Mattituck Inlet and Mount Sinai are the only real harbors on the north shore east of Port Jefferson. If conditions turn, there is nowhere close to duck into.
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Great Peconic Bay is the opposite. It is enclosed, it is shallower, and it has harbors and creeks all along both shores. For swimming, fishing, sunset cruising and anything with kids aboard, it is the better water almost every time.
Weekdays mean quieter water and easier parking in Greenport.
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Call (631) 251-1777 and we will price your date.
What a captain is actually for
There is a version of this day where you take a boat out yourself, put it in at a ramp, and figure it out. Plenty of people do. Here is what the captain is doing that is not obvious from the dock.
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Reading the bottom. Great Peconic Bay is shallow in places that do not look shallow, and the channels through the creek mouths shift. James Creek carries about six feet at the entrance and shallows to roughly five feet inside, consistent to the head, but those numbers move with the season and the weather.
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Reading the wind against the tide. When they run opposite each other the same stretch of water that was flat an hour ago turns short and steep. Knowing which shore to hug in a southwest blow is most of what makes a trip comfortable.
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Docking. Transient slips at East End restaurants are first come, first served, and coming alongside in a crosswind with an audience is where rental days go wrong.
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Handling the day when it changes. Conditions out here turn faster than the forecast suggests.
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None of that shows up in a brochure photo. All of it is the difference between a good afternoon and a long one.
Frequently asked questions
Book a Mattituck charter
Mattituck charters run the bay side, out of Greenport. Call (631) 251-1777 or email captain@chartersinthehamptons.com. Tell us the date, how many are coming, and whether Greenport or Sag Harbor is the better pickup.
