Around the World - Column by Jennifer Merin

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Around The World: New York Classic Harbor Lines' Sushi and Sake at Sea

Jennifer Merin

It’s like clockwork. The minute we leave the cab and step onto the walkway at Chelsea Piers that leads to Pier 62, there’s a sudden downpour. We avoid the soaking sheets of rain by darting under a canopy that leads to the New York Classic Harbor Lines kiosk where we are picking up boarding passes for the sunset cruise we’ve booked.

Several of our cruise mates have already sought shelter under the awning, and a few more scamper behind us into the covered area. Everyone looks a bit dismayed, and there’s even some grumbling among the troops. But that stops as soon as a very nice agent comes towards us, splashing through the puddles from the kiosk to our waiting area, to assure us that the boat will depart on schedule and that we will have a good-- and not to wake-y -- time.

But what about the pretty sunset? Well, weather happens. And, we just have to adjust our expectations.

By the time we ready to board the Yacht Manhattan, the rain has subsided considerably. Thanks goodness soaking downpours don’t last any longer in New York City than they do anywhere else.

The captain, a tall man with a sonorous voice, prepares us for the next two hours of harbor cruising with a thorough safety rundown, warns us to be careful on the gangway because it‘s slippery.

Everyone is game for the adventure. Perhaps that’s because this particular harbor cruise has a lot more to offer than the scenery -- the Yacht Manhattan is an elegant teak-and-brass appointed vessel that’s stem and stern above other harbor cruise boats in its elegance and luxury. If you’re going to go on a harbor cruise in New York, this is the boat to book.

Built by Scarano Boat Building in Albany, New York, the Yacht Manhattan is an 80-foot Gilded Era commuter yacht built in 1920s’ style. She’s a new vessel, brought to New York City Harbor in Spring, 2006, to offer tourists circumnavigations of Manhattan, day cruises, dinner cruises and sunset cruises. She’s also available for private charter -- and what a wonderful setting for a small and intimate wedding she would be!

She has a sleek foredeck with wooden benches, but we head directly for the main cabin, a cozy space that’s completely enclosed with spotless glass windows. The skylights are now dotted with raindrops that glow like little prisms.

The cabin has comfortably cushioned banquettes for passengers to sit on and, for this cruise, is outfitted with low coffee tables stationed in front of the banquettes.

The tables have place cards on them, and as soon as we find our seats, the captain casts off and maneuvers the from the dock into the flow of the Hudson.

It’s 6:30 pm, and we leave behind us the traffic-jammed cars and their honking. On the water, it’s quite quiet -- except for the hum of the boat‘s motor and some light jazz background music that springs from the speaker system.

There’s surprisingly little traffic -- none of the large sea-going cruise ships are in harbor, but freighters angle into their berths at the city’s commercial docks, a few private yachts speed by and one or two other tourist boats cruisers ply the Hudson. And the water is relatively calm, except when a boat does come near enough to rock us with its wake. But the ride is stable enough for us to not worry about the drinks -- champagne, red or white wine, or beer -- that are set before us on the tables.

We head south from Chelsea Piers, cruising slowly down the Hudson River towards Battery Park. From time to time, as we pass the different landmark locales on either shore -- the monumental Lackawanna Railroad terminus on the New Jersey side of the Hudson and several of the buildings on Ellis Island, where many of our forebears landed when they immigrated from Europe to the United States -- the captain’s voice breaks into our conversation with interesting historical commentary and entertaining local lore.

By the time we’ve traveled down river far enough to see the Statue of Liberty, the clouds suddenly break and we’re delighted to see that stunning sunset we’d given up hope of seeing. And it is glorious: a pink halo silhouetting Ms. Liberty and her distinctive crown and torch.

When the sky is dark, our attention is captured by the dazzling skyscrapers of Lower Manhattan -- and by the marvelous food that’s set before us. This is the Monday night Sushi and Sake Cruise, and it’s a sit-down feast with two courses of sushi served and four varieties of sake poured. The sushi has been prepared by the famous Iron Chef Morimoto who has a restaurant near Pier 62, and the Sake -- which progresses from a light and sparkling (Yes, sparkling sake! And it was new to me) vintage, to a slightly richer one, to a full-flavored sake and, to finish, a sweet sake that still has a bit of a tang.

The meal is beautifully presented by a well-trained staff and not-too-intrusive staff who allow you to enjoy your food and drink at your leisure, while you‘re breezing by Governors Island and heading up the East River, passing under the Brooklyn Bridge and towards the Queensboro Bridge.

By the time we start heading back down the East River, everyone is feeling quite full and very jolly. Conversations continue quietly, but some of us simply fall silent. Manhattan by night from the perspective of our boat is so pretty we just want to gaze at it, savoring the sights just as we’ve savored the dinner and drink.

This evening of sushi and sake at sea has been such a lovely New York celebration, we decide that we’re going to come back to the Yacht Manhattan for other harbor cruises. We haven’t exactly decided on which one we’ll book next, but we’re leaning towards the afternoon tea cruise. It‘s a two-and-a-half-hour voyage around Manhattan Island featuring a formal and filling high tea service, and it‘s offered on alternative Saturday and every Sunday from October through January.

For more information on the Yacht Manhattan and her various cruises, visit http://www.sail-nyc.com/ on the Web or call 646-336-5270.

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COPYRIGHT 2009 JENNIFER MERIN

Copyright 2009 Jennifer Merin

This news arrived on: 10/02/2009

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