Sailing Charter Near Me: Captain Eric's Six-Guest Tayana From Pier 59

Narwhal Yacht Charters is one boat and one captain. Captain Eric founded it in 2012, restored the Tayana 37 Genesis by hand, and says he has skippered every charter out of Chelsea Piers since, so 2026 is his fifteenth season on New York Harbor. The boat sits in a slip at Pier 59, roughly level with West 17th Street, takes a maximum of six guests, and a two-hour daytime sail for four or fewer costs $560. If your search for a sailing charter near me is really a search for a quiet private boat, start here.

The directions are specific, and worth reading before you leave. Genesis is moored on the south side of the Chelsea Piers driving range, the one with the tall green golf nets, and the marina entrance is a metal gate marked MarineMax. Look up Narwhal Yacht Charters on Google Maps for the exact pin, then walk along the Hudson River Park path rather than through the sports complex, which is the slower way in.

From the subway, the closest stops are the C and E at 23rd Street and Eighth Avenue, a walk west of roughly ten minutes. Eric answers the phone himself at (516) 343-3557, and calling has a practical upside: booking through FareHarbor online adds a 6 percent fee, which his FAQ says disappears if you book by phone instead. Charters run seven days a week from 8:00 am to midnight between April 1 and November 30.

Narwhal prices by headcount and time of day rather than per person. Morning and afternoon sails, offered every day, cost $560 for two hours with up to four guests, $740 for three hours and $920 for four. A fifth guest moves the two-hour price to $700, and a full boat of six pays $840. Those are totals for the whole private boat, which works out to $140 each when six friends split a daytime trip.

Sunsets are where the calendar matters. From Friday to Sunday a two-hour sunset charter for up to six is $840, with three hours at $1,110 and four at $1,380. Monday through Thursday the same sunset slot is $700 for five or fewer. A two-hour City Lights sail, offered every day after dark, is also $700 for five guests or $840 for six. A Friday, October 30 sunset at 5:00 pm lists at $840 on the booking page.

To hold a date, Eric takes a 50 percent deposit, and the deposit is not refundable if you cancel within ten days of the charter. That is stricter than the shared-ticket schooners elsewhere on the river, so it suits groups that have already fixed their plans. The last bookable slots this year fall on November 30, with sunset trips in that final week starting as early as 3:15 pm.

You bring the drinks. The FAQ answers the alcohol question with a simple yes, adding that he does not supply any, while the boat stocks bottled water, sodas, ice, cups, plates, bowls, utensils and napkins. That combination makes Genesis a good fit for a cheese board and a bottle of white, and a poor fit for anyone hoping for a bartender. One firm line: he will not let anyone board inebriated, so arrive sober.

The other rules are short. Children under 12 must wear a life jacket, which he provides, and the only footwear rule he enforces is no high heels. The site describes every sail as private, with only your group and Captain Eric aboard, so there is no stranger sharing the cockpit and no fixed route announced over a speaker. Tell him at the dock whether you want the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge or simply open water, and the two hours bend around that.

Weather rules are written out in numbers. If the forecast shows a chance of rain above 40 percent lasting more than 30 minutes, you can decide not to sail and he will try to reschedule, with a full refund if no date works. He also says he does not force guests out when the temperature is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which becomes a real factor on November evenings.

That makes late October the sweet spot for this boat. The water is still warmer than the air, the summer crowds on the Hudson have thinned, and the sunset arrives early enough that a 5:00 pm departure catches the skyline turning gold over New Jersey. In the last two weeks of November, bring gloves and a hat even on a clear afternoon, since a six-person cockpit offers little shelter from a north wind.

Pier 57, at 25 Eleventh Avenue, is a two-minute walk south of the marina and the obvious place to gather your group beforehand. Its indoor food hall makes it easy to pick up sandwiches or dumplings to carry aboard, and the rooftop park looks straight down onto the Chelsea Piers slips, so you can spot Genesis before you reach the gate.

After a sunset sail, walk ten minutes south along the river to Little Island at Pier 55, near West 13th Street, where the planted hills catch the last light over the Hudson. If the group wants a sit-down dinner instead, the Meatpacking District starts two blocks inland. Skip the four-hour charter unless the group is committed: two hours covers the Statue and the downtown skyline, and the extra time mostly adds open-water sailing.

Book by phone if you can, both to avoid the online fee and to ask about wind and tide for your date. Arrive a few minutes early to find the MarineMax gate, since the sail time starts at the slip. Pack layers, sunglasses and a soft bag rather than a hard cooler, and plan drinks for the group, since nothing alcoholic is supplied.

If Genesis is booked on your date, Go Sailing NYC also runs six-guest private charters from the same Pier 59 marina. For a cheaper shared alternative, Brooklyn Sail sells individual seats on its group sails from Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Narwhal's advantage is the single owner-captain who has sailed this water for fifteen seasons.